Research Advancing to Market Production for Innovators Act
The Research Advancing to Market Production for Innovators Act (S. 1660) proposes a broad upgrade of how the federal SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs support bringing funded research to market. Core changes include: strengthening the emphasis on commercialization in peer reviews, adding a dedicated Technology Commercialization Official in each agency, expanding and formalizing technical and business assistance (including cybersecurity and staff support), enabling broader I-Corps participation, and creating formal mechanisms to assess and publicize commercialization outcomes. The bill also introduces a pilot-like expansion of Phase I/II “phase flexibility” activities under caps, and establishes a prioritized patent-examination pathway in partnership with the USPTO to help SBIR/STTR recipients secure IP protection more quickly. Collectively, the bill aims to speed commercialization, improve accountability, and broaden the pathways from federal research funding to market-ready products and companies. Note: SBIR/STTR are federal programs that provide funding to small businesses to develop and commercialize new technologies. This act would affect the processes used by the administering agencies (e.g., SBA) and the way recipients receive guidance, funding for commercialization activities, and IP support.
Key Points
- 1Strengthened commercialization-focused peer review (Sec. 2)
- 2- For SBIR and STTR peer reviews, the act requires evaluating not only scientific/technical merit but also the likelihood of commercialization. It adds at least one reviewer with commercialization expertise and tightens timelines (peer review for these programs shortened to 180 days where applicable).
- 3Phase flexibility expansion with annual caps (Sec. 3)
- 4- Allows agencies (during 2025–2027) to provide more flexible Phase I/II options under SBIR/STTR. Each agency would have a cap: generally not more than 10% of that agency’s SBIR/STTR funds in a fiscal year, with NIH allowed to exceed to 15%.
- 5Creation of a Technology Commercialization Official (Sec. 4)
- 6- Each federal agency with SBIR/STTR must designate an official focused on commercialization who guides awardees, identifies markets and pathways, coordinates across agencies, and reports on commercialization progress and process improvements.
- 7Expanded technical and business assistance (Sec. 5)
- 8- Recipients may choose among different TA options (with cybersecurity added as a new area). The bill specifies funding caps for TA services: up to $6,500 per Phase I project and up to $50,000 per Phase II project, with flexibility on whether these funds come via vendors or internal staffing and other arrangements. It also allows staff augmentation funded under TA and introduces a provision for targeted reviews of TA funding.
- 9I-Corps participation (Sec. 6)
- 10- Agencies must offer recipients the option to participate in I-Corps teams courses, with costs potentially covered by I-Corps funds, TA funds, SBIR/STTR awards, or other sources, enabling broader access to customer discovery and market-validation activities.
- 11Commercialization impact assessment (Sec. 7)
- 12- Establishes an annual commercialization impact report coordinated across agencies, tracking a detailed set of metrics for eligible recipient companies (e.g., revenue, investments, spin-outs, patents, Phase III activity, employment, and more). The report is to be published with the agency’s annual reporting and submitted to relevant Senate and House committees.
- 13Patent assistance (Sec. 8)
- 14- Creates a formal collaboration with the USPTO to establish a prioritized patent examination program for SBIR/STTR recipients and to promote outreach through USPTO programs (including pro se assistance and scam-prevention efforts).