Congress passed a five‑year reauthorization of the SBIR and STTR programs, restoring seed funding critical to small biotech innovation. The legislation passed the House after unanimous Senate approval and will reopen grant opportunities at agencies that run SBIR/STTR, including NIH. BIO and industry stakeholders hailed the move as essential for sustaining early‑stage biotech and noted the programs’ historical role in incubating translational projects that later attracted private investment. The reauthorization aims to stabilize the funding pipeline after a lapse that paused many grant solicitations. Small companies and academic spinouts should see rapid reopening of funding calls; agencies will publish application timelines on Grants.gov and coordinate with BIO to facilitate uptake across the sector.