The 100,000 Dollar Question

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently announced a competition encouraging researchers studying substance use disorders (SUDs) to spin out their ideas into startup companies. Up to $100,000 will be split amongst the successful candidates (1).

“SUDs profoundly affect nearly every aspect of our society. And during the past 15 years NIDA-supported research has yielded significant advances in our understanding of SUDs. However, the translation process is affected by the perceived lack of market opportunities,” says Elena Koustova, Director of the Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations at NIDA.

To that end, NIDA is taking a different approach; instead of simply offering funding directly to research as is more typical, it would like to see each research idea presented in the form of a viable product (in its broadest sense). “NIDA will fund ‘would be’ startup founders much earlier than most investors or traditional funding models,” says Koustova, which should inspire creativity and inventiveness from all participants. Ultimately, NIDA hopes that the best ideas can be translated into new products and services for the SUD community.

The competition closes on September 16, and entries will be judged on five criteria: i) significance and unmet needs, ii) innovation, iii) approach, iv) team expertise, and v) commercialization.

Winners will be announced in October 2016.