Small businesses seeking to commercialize health-related technologies in the medical or life science sector can learn how to access more than $870 million in federal funding during the Department of Health and Human Services Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) conference, which will be held in Orlando, Florida, on November 15-17, 2016.

“This flagship SBIR/STTR event provides the chance for entrepreneurs and researchers to meet one-on-one with federal representatives, network with each other, and learn how the National Institutes of Health helps small businesses forge new relationships that can help bring technologies and discoveries to market,” said Matthew Portnoy, Ph.D., the NIH SBIR/STTR program coordinator. “We are hoping businesses take advantage of this opportunity and register to attend the conference.”

The 18th Annual HHS SBIR/STTR Conference, titled Shining a Light on Small Business Innovation, will be co-hosted by the State University System of Florida and the University of Central Florida, Orlando, and is expected to attract nearly 800 participants from around the country.

One of the key objectives of the SBIR and STTR programs is to foster and encourage participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by women and socially and economically disadvantaged people. The NIH keynote speaker will be Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and interactive workshops and sessions will feature presentations by women-owned and minority-owned businesses supported by the SBIR/STTR programs.

Attendees will include representatives from NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Administration for Community Living, Office of the HHS Inspector General, and the Small Business Administration. Early bird registration is available until August 31, 2016, and a draft agenda is available online at: https://www.regonline.com/sbirsttrorlando.

The HHS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are designed to help researchers and small businesses forge academic partnerships and build new businesses based on recently developed medical and biotechnology. The conference is hosted in a different location around the country every year.