SBIR & STTR Topics for Pharmaceuticals Companies in North Carolina

There are 15 open federal SBIR/STTR topics right now that match Pharmaceuticals capabilities, across DOD, NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA, USDA, and 5 other agencies. Below: the current open topic list, recent Pharmaceuticals winners headquartered in North Carolina, the North Carolina SBDC SBIR contact, and how TopicScout compares to SBIR.gov / Grants.gov / HigherGov / Instrumentl for finding the next topic to apply to.

Open Pharmaceuticals topics (15)

1. Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) (K12 Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-05-28
   The NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) and participating NIH Institutes and Centers invite institutional career development award applications for Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)…
2. Preclinical Proof of Concept Studies for Rare Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-02
   This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) provides funding to conduct efficacy studies in an established rare disease preclinical model to demonstrate that a proposed therapeutic agent warrants further development. In addition to preclinica…
3. Impact of Initial Influenza Exposure on Immunity in Infants (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-04
   The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to support the establishment or continuation of longitudinal infant cohorts to determine and compare how initial and repeated natural influenza infections and/or influenza vaccinat…
4. NEI Institutional Mentored Physician Scientist Award (K12 Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-09
   The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to encourage institutions to propose creative and innovative institutional research career development programs which will prepare clinically trained vision scientists for independ…
5. Single Source: Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ): Data Processing, Analysis, and Coordination Center (DPACC) (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-09
   NIMH is announcing its intent to issue a single source cooperative agreement award to Brigham and Women"s Hospital to support continuation of the AMP® SCZ Data Processing, Analysis, and Coordination Center (DPACC). This allows DPA…
6. Standardizing Data and Metadata from Wearable Devices (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-10
   The purpose of this NOFO is to support the creation of standards and related efforts that will allow researchers to easily access data from personal tracking devices. The awardees will be expected to partner with device manufacturers as wel…
7. Identify and Evaluate Potential Risk Factors for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA · closes 2026-06-10
   CDC/ATSDR is inviting research proposals to study risk factors for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Studies on military service, contact sports, traumatic brain injury, neuroinflammation, and infections agents and exposures are encourag…
8. BRAIN Initiative: New Concepts and Early-Stage Research for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21) (Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-15
   A central goal of the BRAIN Initiative is to understand how electrical and chemical signals code information in neural circuits and give rise to sensations, thoughts, emotions and actions. While currently available technologies can provide …
9. Novel Approaches to Support Therapeutic Development in Ultra-Rare Cancers — Food and Drug Administration · closes 2026-06-15
   Background The FDA Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) aims to advance the development and regulation of oncology products for patients with cancer. The Pediatric Oncology Program and Rare Cancers Program were established to facilitate and …
10. BRAIN Initiative: New Technologies and Novel Approaches for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-16
    This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks applications for proof-of-concept testing and development of new technologies and novel approaches for recording and modulation of neural cells and circuits, to address major challenges and en…
11. BRAIN Initiative: Optimization of Instrumentation and Device Technologies for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (U01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-16
    This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks applications to optimize instrumentation and device technologies for recording and modulation of neural cells and circuits, to address major challenges and to enable transformative understandi…
12. BRAIN Initiative: Promoting Health for All Through BRAIN Technology Partnerships (R34 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-17
    The goal of this concept is to increase the impact of the BRAIN Initiative by targeted dissemination and integration of validated BRAIN Initiative tools to investigators at institutions that historically have not been major recipients of NI…
13. New Generation of Glucose Control Technologies Incorporating AI/ML Tools/Strategies (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-17
    The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support research addressing barriers that limit progress toward more effective open- and closed-loop diabetes control systems. This may include research that addresses: 1) innovation of sensing …
14. Awards Supporting Cutting-Edge Technologies for Translational Science (ASCETTS) (R21 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-18
    The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) invites applications for the Awards Supporting Cutting-Edge Technologies for Translational Science (ASCETTS) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to foster investigator-initia…
15. Clinical Validation of a Candidate Biomarker for Neurological or Neuromuscular Disorders (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-06-22
    The purpose of this Program Announcement (PAR) is to enable clinical validation of strong candidate biomarkers for neurological diseases and conditions. Specifically, the goal of this PAR is to enable the rigorous validation of biomarker me…

Recent Pharmaceuticals SBIR winners in North Carolina

1. NEUROGT, INC. (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase I 2026, $342,740
   Novel AAV gene therapy for treating CNS neuropathy of MPS IIIC
2. AegisCN LLC (Durham, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $562,291
   CN-105 Improves Functional Outcome After Intracranial Hemorrhage
3. REACTIVE BIOSCIENCES INC (Durham, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $952,800
   Boron-containing antimalarial drug discovery
4. ARTIAM BIO INC. (Cary, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase I 2023, $368,673
   THERAPY FOR ALCOHOL USE DISORDER
5. H3PELVIC THERAPY SYSTEMS, INC. (Lewisville, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase I 2023, $384,737
   Targeted Temperature Modulation with Smart Radiometric Monitoring for Effective and Long-Lasting Opioid-Free Pelvic Pain
6. Anelleo, Inc. (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $1,570,185
   Innovative 3D Printed Intravaginal Ring AnelleO-PRO, the first Single Administration of Progesterone for Infertility
7. ONCOTRAP INC (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase I 2023, $400,000
   An Aptamer-directed IgG1-Fc Drug Conjugate (AFDC) for Treating Pancreatic Cancer
8. ATTAGENE, INC. (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $1,000,000
   Assigning mode of action to phenotypically discovered anticancer leads.

How to find SBIR topics: TopicScout vs alternatives

SBIR.gov is the canonical source — every SBIR/STTR topic posts there first. TopicScout's value isn't access; it's the cap-statement scoring + weekly digest so you stop scanning portals by hand. Try the free matcher against your statement — takes a paragraph, no signup.

FAQ

How do I find open SBIR topics for a Pharmaceuticals company in North Carolina?

The canonical source is SBIR.gov, which lists every open SBIR/STTR topic across all 11 federal agencies. To filter to Pharmaceuticals-relevant topics that match your specific tech, paste your capability statement into TopicScout's free matcher — it scores all open topics against your cap statement in ~60 seconds. North Carolina SBIR firms also get help from the North Carolina SBTDC and state matching-fund programs.

What's the best SBIR matching tool for Pharmaceuticals startups?

For solo founders: TopicScout's $29/mo plan covers all 11 agencies with weekly AI-scored digests. For consulting firms supporting multiple clients: TopicScout institutional plan ($500–2k/mo flat) or HigherGov ($500–5k/yr). For nonprofits (not SBIR-eligible): Instrumentl. SBIR.gov itself is free but requires manual scanning.

Which agencies fund the most Pharmaceuticals SBIR/STTR work?

Based on the current open topic list, the top agencies for Pharmaceuticals are visible in the topic list above. Historically: DARPA + AFWERX + Navy SBIR for defense-adjacent Pharmaceuticals, NIH + CDC for health-adjacent, NSF + DOE for foundational R&D.