NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI): Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AG 22 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 22 007

The NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI): Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) designed to help early-career scientists build real entrepreneurial capability while moving their work toward an industry setting. It uses the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) mechanism, meaning the applicant organization must be an eligible small business, and the project is expected to support innovation with a clear commercialization path. The core idea is not only to fund research and development, but to deliberately support the scientist's transition into an industry-oriented role by pairing technical progress with structured entrepreneurial development.

This opportunity is issued as a discretionary grant under the NIH SBIR program and is associated with Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AG-22-007. The activity code is R43/R44, which typically maps onto the SBIR Phase I (R43) and Phase II (R44) structure. In practical terms, this usually means applicants may seek early-stage feasibility support (often Phase I) and, if successful and eligible, follow-on development support (often Phase II) aimed at advancing the technology toward a product, service, or deployable solution. The notice specifies "Clinical Trial Optional," which indicates that a project may include a clinical trial if it makes sense for the technology and aims, but a clinical trial is not mandatory for every application. That flexibility is important for aging-related innovations that can range from basic enabling technologies to interventions that may ultimately need clinical testing.

The target audience is small businesses proposing projects aligned with NIA's mission area (aging and age-related conditions) while also centering the professional development of an early-career scientist with entrepreneurial interests. Unlike standard SBIRs that mainly emphasize the innovation and commercialization plan, the REDI framing explicitly elevates career development and immersion in entrepreneurial skill-building as part of the grant's intent. The program is meant to help bridge a common gap for scientists leaving academia: learning how to operate in a product-driven environment, understand market needs, manage development milestones, and navigate the transition to industry.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses, and the opportunity is clear about foreign involvement rules. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, including foreign institutions, are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components may be allowed under NIH policy as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. small business applicant could potentially include certain foreign elements in the project if they meet NIH requirements and are appropriately justified, but the applying entity itself must be U.S.-based and eligible under SBIR rules.

From the source details provided, the opportunity falls under the health funding category and is associated with CFDA number 93.866, which corresponds to NIH aging-related research support. The posting (creation) date is 2021-06-10, and the original closing date listed is 2021-10-26. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the extracted fields, so applicants would typically consult the full funding announcement text to confirm budget caps, project period limits, and the expected scale of funding per phase.

Overall, this REDI SBIR transition award is best understood as a specialized NIA mechanism that combines the usual SBIR emphasis on high-impact innovation and commercialization with a deliberate focus on the human capital side of translation: training and positioning early-career scientists to succeed as entrepreneurs and industry leaders while advancing aging-related technologies that could ultimately improve health and quality of life for older adults.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI): Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-06-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-10-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

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