Critical funding for U.S. biotechs caught in congressional stalemate

The U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, a cornerstone of early-stage funding for biotechnology start-ups, expired on Sept. 30, cutting off a major source of non-dilutive capital. Congress remains deadlocked over its future.

Despite broad bipartisan support for small business R&D, lawmakers have been unable to agree on how aggressively to reform SBIR and its companion Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, leaving thousands of early-stage companies in limbo...