The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has released a draft solicitation for its upcoming Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) opportunity, giving small businesses and entrepreneurs time to review the topic areas, understand the requirements, and prepare ahead of the final solicitation.
For small companies working to move ambitious health technologies from concept toward commercialization, this draft solicitation creates an important planning window. The opportunity is relevant to entrepreneurs, academic spinouts, and translational research teams developing technologies aligned with ARPA-H’s mission to accelerate better health outcomes through high-potential research and development.
ARPA-H’s Small Business Program provides funding through SBIR and STTR awards, along with access to expert guidance, technical resources, and connections with partners, investors, and collaborators. Awards are generally issued as contracts of up to $600,000 for Phase 1 and up to $3.5 million for Phase 2, depending on progress against ambitious milestones consistent with ARPA-H’s model.
Full details are available here: https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/sbir
The current draft solicitation includes seven topic areas:
Topic 1: Development of an annual test to inform women about their future fertility
Topic 2: Versatile Bioadhesives
Topic 3: Universal Platform for Living Adaptive Toxin-removal (UNI-PLAT)
Topic 4: Breaking Ground: The First Curative, Non-Invasive, Long-Lasting Therapy for Endometriosis
Topic 5: ARPA-H Lineage Topic
Topic 6: Rapid Comprehensive Diagnostic Test for Multi-System Autoimmune Disease
Topic 7: Virtual Human Brain for the Development of Neurosurgical Robotics
Together, these areas reflect the range of health challenges being advanced through small business-driven innovation. The topics span women’s health, advanced materials, diagnostics, autoimmune disease, toxin removal, therapeutic development, and neurosurgical robotics, creating potential entry points for companies and research teams with technologies that can meet clear technical milestones.
The draft solicitation is currently available for review and planning purposes. The final solicitation will serve as the official funding opportunity announcement. ARPA-H notes that this is an upcoming opportunity and is not yet accepting applications. The ARPA-H Solutions site is expected to open for applications after the final solicitation is posted, with a target date of June 11, 2026.
Key dates currently listed by ARPA-H include:
June 11, 2026: Target date for the ARPA-H Solutions site to open for applications after the final solicitation is posted
July 10, 2026: Solution Summaries due by 11:59 p.m. ET
September 9, 2026: Technical Oral Presentations, Cost Proposals, and Task Description Documents due by 11:59 p.m. ET for applicants who are successful in the Solution Summary phase and encouraged to pitch
ARPA-H is also hosting a Small Business Program Proposers’ Day on June 11, 2026. The event will give potential applicants the opportunity to hear directly from ARPA-H leaders about the small business program, the solicitation, the application and contracting process, and the topic areas being advanced by Program Managers.
Eligible proposers must be small businesses with no more than 500 employees, majority ownership by U.S. citizens or another U.S.-based small business, and all work performed in the United States. SBIR awards include specific requirements for Primary Investigator employment and the share of work performed by the small business. STTR awards require a research institution partner and defined workshare requirements for both the small business and the research institution.
Small businesses, entrepreneurs, and translational research teams working in the listed topic areas are encouraged to review the draft solicitation, assess potential alignment, and begin preparing early.
Opportunities like this are important for companies working at the edge of health innovation, where strong science, clear milestones, and the right federal pathways can help move promising technologies toward real-world use.