ABSTRACT
The task of acquiring financing for the small business-based investigator presents a significantly different situation from that faced by the investigator who is associated with a university or some other group. In order to address the funding needs of the profit-oriented investigator, National Institutes of Health opened its grants mechanism to private industry in 1982; permitting companies to compete directly with universities and not-for-profit organizations for research dollars. Several sources of government assisted funding include Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) and Minority Enterprise SBIC—which are privately capitalized venture capital firms, licensed and regulated by the Small Business Administration (SBA)—and the SBA's unique Small Business Innovation Research Program. The free enterprise system has as its primary objective a favorable return on its investment and a special niche in the marketplace. Its roles in health care technology are pluralistic in nature, and involve an array of complicated interactions, including basic research and reimbursement for medical care.
