12/10/03
12:48:16 |
Dr. Gary Archamboult |
Madison, SD
Msg 71 of 99 |
If the VC organization does not qualify as a small
business under SBA guidelines; American owned, for-
profit, fewer than 500 employees, and less than $50
million in revenues they should not be allowed to
compete for funds restricted to small businesses.
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/10/03
13:04:12 |
A. Metzger, PhD |
St. Paul, MN
Msg 72 of 99 |
Isn't the real goal of this program to improve the
quality of life of everyone through the development of
new technologies? As long as a project results in
even the slightest scientific advancement, it
shouldn't matter whether the company is funded by
venture capitalists.
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| Vote: YES | |
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12/10/03
15:30:45 |
Gretchen Unger, Ph.D. |
Chaska, MN
Msg 73 of 99 |
Very simply, SBIR funding is the only funding that
early startups have access to. Part of continual
advancement is making sure the early pipeline is always
being fed. Changing the rules 20 years into the program
to benefit large biotech VC will starve innovation
eventually. Very bad, short-sighted idea.
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/11/03
01:25:19 |
David A. Sherman / President & CEO |
Salt Lake City, UT
Msg 74 of 99 |
| As the President of a small Ut e-commerce business, I
strongly oppose the proposed ammendment. The
ammendment would essentially allow large
institutions ; through their small business proxies,
to compete against independent small businesses. This
would reduce innovation, and make it more difficult
for individual entrepeneurs to establish their small
businesses and innovative technologies. It would also
reduce the creation of jobs with small businesses.
David A. Sherman President CEO
Imagestockhouse Inc.
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/11/03
06:16:35 |
Name withheld by request |
Minneapolis, MN
Msg 75 of 99 |
Changing the rules would defeat the purpose of SBIR.
If a project has enough appeal (feasibility and
potential big payoff) that VC's have invested, then
the project has obvious commercial value. SBIR
funding should be reserved for those less obvious
projects--excellent science, but a lower threshold of
obvious commercial success.
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/11/03
13:44:57 |
Patrick Guire, Chief Sci. Officer |
Eden Prairie, MN
Msg 76 of 99 |
SurModics, Inc. is a profitable small business of 160
employees which has brought numerous surface
modification technologies to the medical device and
diagnostics markets (e.g., PhotoLink and the first
drug-eluting stent coating). Financial assistance is
available to start-up SBIR-awardees thru not-for-
profit business incubator programs and private angel
investors, as well as financially strong Venture
Capital firms. The latter should not be provided a
stronger role in the SBIR program thru the proposed
rule change; this would damage its entreprenurial
strength.
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/12/03
13:41:15 |
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Ames, IA
Msg 77 of 99 |
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/17/03
12:57:57 |
Debra Skeen Perret |
Winston-Salem, NC
Msg 78 of 99 |
Our company is a biopharmaceutical research and
development firm devoted to creating new drugs for
unmet medical needs for neurological, psychiatric, and
gastrointestinal diseases. Our venture capital
investors backed us in order for us to move our
ALREADY DISCOVERED promising compounds through
clinical trials and into the marketplace, a long and
expensive process. Our reseachers have the
knowledge,team experience, and facilities to keep
making remarkable discoveries of new, promising
compounds for unmet medical needs, particularly for
diseases that affect the central nervous system, thus
SBIR and STTR Phase I and Phase II grants are
extremely important to us for that purpose. We have
the ability to discover and commercialize products of
use to humankind and respectfully request that VC-
backed small businesses be eligible to compete for
SBIR and STTR funding.
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| Vote: YES | |
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12/22/03
12:58:11 |
Nicole Toomey Davis |
Draper, UT
Msg 79 of 99 |
| I am a serial entrepreneur and an advisor to numerous
small technology businesses (including one that just
applied for an SBIR grant). You can access my bio at
http://www.enclavix.com/nicole_toomey_davis.htm for
more information on my background.
I would strongly urge you NOT to relax the ownership
requirements for VC-backed firms. Only a small
fraction of the small technology business in the U.S.
are able to find venture financing. The SBIR program
is an alternate source of funding for those businesses
that are a) too early stage to receive venture funding
b) in an area with an under-supply of venture capital
(such as Utah, my home state) or c) simply not
interested in giving up so much of their company to
outsiders at an early stage.
Permitting VC-controlled companies to compete with
companies that meet the existing SBIR qualifications
does not improve the state of research (those
VC-controlled companiess will still be there), but I
believe that it will definitely hurt the variety and
quantity of small businesses that are able to get past
the "early stage" hurdle to become vibrant, large
businesses. It will simply tilt the playing field more
firmly in the direction of venture capital firms
deciding the state and direction of our technology
industries.
Please help our nation's small businesses by protecting
the ONE program where small is better, and where small
business can truly leverage creativity and human
innovation to fund their growth and future opportunities.
Please feel free to contact me on this issue.
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| Vote: NO | |
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12/29/03
09:16:48 |
Mark Heffernan |
Chevy Chase, MD
Msg 80 of 99 |
| I see no reason to change the rules or the intent of
the SBIR program to allow large VC and capital funds
to participate in the SBIR program directly.
As one earlier commentator pointed out, "Contrary to
the impression created (by the VC and BIO
communities), the current SBIR eligibility rules do
not exclude <50% VC-backed (as opposed to VC-owned
and controlled) small businesses. These rules do,
however, properly exclude those businesses that are
majority owned and controlled by entities other than
individuals, VC's included.
It should be the intent of the SBIR program to help
bridge the gap between the needs of emerging
technology companies and the availability of VC
funding. The SBIR program should not, in effect,
replace VC capital nor assume the risk that is
appropriately associated with returns on VC
investments.
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| Vote: NO | |
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