Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 785
The Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (STTR) funding opportunity (PA-18-785) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant program designed to push forward the development of a new generation of wearable alcohol monitoring technology. Its central goal is to support eligible small businesses in creating a non-invasive, discreet wearable device that can measure blood alcohol levels in real time. In practical terms, NIH is looking for technology that can provide timely, continuous, and accurate alcohol measurements without requiring invasive blood draws, bulky equipment, or obvious monitoring hardware, with an emphasis on wearability and user acceptability in everyday settings.
A key technical priority in this announcement is the biological target and measurement approach. NIH places the highest priority on methods that quantify alcohol in blood or in interstitial fluid, because those measurements more directly reflect physiological alcohol levels. This is specifically contrasted with approaches that detect alcohol that has diffused out through the skin (such as traditional transdermal alcohol sensing). While transdermal methods have been used historically, this FOA signals a preference for approaches that more directly estimate blood alcohol concentration by measuring alcohol in blood or interstitial fluid, which may offer advantages in accuracy, timeliness, and interpretability.
The mechanism is an STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) opportunity using the R41/R42 phased award structure, with clinical trials listed as optional. That structure generally aligns with a staged development pathway: early-stage feasibility and proof-of-concept work under the first phase, followed by more advanced research and development, refinement, validation, and potential preparatory steps toward commercialization in the second phase. The “clinical trial optional” language indicates applicants may propose studies that meet the definition of a clinical trial if that is appropriate for validating the device in human participants, but a clinical trial is not mandatory for every project. This flexibility is useful because some projects may focus on sensor design, benchtop validation, algorithm development, or early engineering prototypes, while others may need human testing to demonstrate performance in real-world conditions.
Eligibility is tightly focused on small businesses, consistent with the SBIR/STTR mission of moving innovative technologies toward commercialization. The FOA makes clear that non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible. At the same time, it notes that “foreign components,” as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed in some circumstances, meaning a U.S. small business could potentially include limited foreign elements in the work if NIH policy permits and the application justifies it. However, the overall message is that the applicant organization must be U.S.-based and meet NIH small business eligibility requirements, and applicants should review the FOA and NIH policy carefully for the specifics.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program funded under CFDA 93.273, run by NIH. The funding instrument type is a grant, and the activity category is health, reflecting NIH’s focus on biomedical and behavioral health technology development. The opportunity was created on 2018-05-15, and the original closing date listed in the source data is 2021-04-05. The source data does not provide an award ceiling amount or an expected number of awards, so applicants typically would need to consult the full FOA text (and any related NIH budget guidance for SBIR/STTR) to understand typical budget ranges, project period expectations, and any institute-specific considerations.
Overall, this opportunity is aimed at catalyzing commercially relevant, real-time wearable alcohol biosensing solutions that are both technically credible and practical for real-world use. The strongest applications under this announcement are likely to be those that show a clear path from sensor concept to a functional, discreet wearable prototype, with strong evidence that the measurement approach can accurately and reliably reflect blood alcohol levels (especially through blood or interstitial fluid measurement), and with a development plan that anticipates usability, validation needs, and eventual deployment in settings where continuous monitoring could matter.Apply for PA 18 785
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (STTR) (R41/R42- Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-15.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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