The San Diego–based biotechnology firm NovaRx develops new cancer therapeutics, including experimental approaches involving vaccines. Like many other small companies, NovaRx faces a funding hurdle in advancing drugs from its pipeline into human clinical trials, says executive vice-chairman Habib Fakhrai. In the past, NovaRx has gained support for clinical trials through the US government's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Now, small companies such as NovaRx have the chance to apply for additional financial support from the government to move more cancer drugs into this testing phase: in May, the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that it would devote $10 million annually toward a new initiative known as the Bridge Awards program. The Bridge Awards will complement the already existing SBIR program designed to help small businesses cross the 'valley of death'—the funding gap between the development and commercialization of potentially lifesaving innovations.

Companies applying to the NCI's SBIR program currently compete for several sequential funding phases. The first funding stage establishes the technical merit and feasibility of the proposed research project, and the second and third stages focus on drug development and commercialization, respectively.

Beginning next year, up to ten Bridge Awards—which consist of $3 million given over three years for each project—will help nudge eligible companies from the second to third stage, says Michael Weingarten, director of the SBIR program. “The goal of the awards is to get those cancer drugs and cancer imaging technologies from preclinical development to human clinical trials,” he explains. Companies that succeed in securing matching funds from other sources will have an advantage in competing for the Bridge Awards, Weingarten adds.