House Bill 2,418, as presented to the House Committee on Economic Development and Small Business on March 26, would appropriate $3,000,000 from the General Fund to the Oregon Business Development Department to fund Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) matching grants.

Business Oregon’s Mark Brady provided a program overview: SBIR/STTR are federal set-aside grant programs across multiple agencies that provide non-dilutive capital for early-stage research and commercialization. Brady said federal Phase I awards are typically ~6 months and about $150,000, while Phase II awards can reach $1–2 million or more; Business Oregon offers small application grants (up to $5,000) and competitive matching grants (up to $50,000 for Phase I, up to $100,000 for Phase II) to help Oregon companies win and commercialize federal awards.

Founders and executives described how state SBIR supports affect company trajectories. John Harkness of ReWire AI said his company received roughly $2.5 million in federal SBIR awards and $200,000 in Oregon matching grants; he told the committee matching funds covered legal, IP and business-development work that federal SBIR rules generally disallow and credited the matching grants for enabling commercial partnerships and revenue growth. Warapur Namshadakoon of PDX Pharmaceutical described using Business Oregon matching funds for patent filings, lab expansion and industry conferences; he said PDX now holds multiple U.S. and international patents and that state matching funds can be critical to securing later-stage federal awards that require non-federal matching. Dr. Jacques Zonneveld of Lazarus 3D described moving his company from Houston to Philomath, Oregon, and credited Business Oregon support with helping his firm secure an initial NIH SBIR and hire researchers; the company said it has grown from three employees to 21 and secured over $10,000,000 in private funding as a result.

Witnesses urged the committee to continue or expand matching funds, with suggestions including larger match amounts for advanced SBIR phases and mechanisms that allow state funds to be repaid or recycled when portfolio companies achieve commercial success. Committee members asked about program administration and how state awards complement federal rules; Brady reiterated the state review panels, competition for limited funds, and the stated goal of increasing the success rates of Oregon applicants for federal SBIR awards.

The public hearing record included multiple testimonials from early-stage life-science and medical-device companies that said Business Oregon SBIR support helped them win federal grants, grow payroll in Oregon and attract private investment. No committee vote on HB 2,418 occurred that day; the bill awaits further committee consideration and any potential amendments.