CDMRP Funding for Small Businesses

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs fund biomedical research through dozens of disease and military health programs, and for-profit companies are eligible applicants. The route is different from SBIR: there is no small business test, every award mechanism has its own program announcement, and a pre-application in eBRAP comes before the full application.

Who this fits and who it does not

CDMRP's How to Apply page states that, unless otherwise stated in the funding opportunity announcement, extramural non-DOD organizations and intramural organizations within the DOD are eligible to apply, including foreign and domestic organizations, for-profit and non-profit organizations, and public or private entities. Biotechnology companies are named as an example of an extramural organization.

• It fits a company with a research question in one of the funded programs, for example breast cancer, Parkinson's, reconstructive transplant, traumatic brain injury and psychological health, orthopaedics, lung cancer, melanoma, military burn or toxic exposures.
• It fits a company that can show military relevance where the program asks for it, or disease relevance where it does not.
• It does not fit a company that missed the pre-application: without the eBRAP letter of intent or pre-application by its date, the full application is not accepted.
• It does not fit a company whose PI cannot meet the mechanism's own rules, for example the career stage limits on early investigator awards.

How the process works

1. Register the organization and the PI in eBRAP, Grants.gov and SAM.gov; CDMRP's page says these must be active and in good standing before submission.
2. Step 1: submit the pre-application in eBRAP by the program announcement's pre-application date.
3. Step 2: submit the full application in eBRAP or Grants.gov by the application date.
4. Step 3: verify the application submission in eBRAP.

Each program announcement sets the mechanism, award amount, period and the two dates. Programs open now, with their dates as the program pages state them:

• Breast Cancer Research Program: Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 II; Clinical Research Extension Award II: Open. Pre-Application (Letter of Intent) November 4, 2026 5 PM Eastern Time; Application November 18, 2026 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Pre-step: Pre-application in eBRAP. Official page
• Parkinson's Research Program: Early Investigator Research Award; Investigator-Initiated Research Award: Open. Pre-Application (Letter of Intent) October 23, 2026 5 PM Eastern time; Application November 6, 2026 11:59 PM Eastern Time; Confidential Letters of Recommendation (EIRA) November 13, 2026 5 PM ET. Pre-step: Pre-application in eBRAP. Official page
• Reconstructive Transplant Research Program: Concept Award; Investigator-Initiated Research Award: Open. Pre-Application (Letter of Intent) October 21, 2026 5 PM Eastern Time; Application November 4, 2026 11:59 PM ET. Pre-step: Pre-application in eBRAP. Official page

Counting backward from an application date: the pre-application comes first and a new organization has to be registered in eBRAP before it, so a company that is not yet registered should treat the pre-application date, not the application date, as its deadline.

My read

• CDMRP programs reopen every fiscal year with the same families of mechanisms. The pattern is predictable, which makes it the best program for planning twelve months out.
• The pre-application is screened, not rubber-stamped. For mechanisms that invite full applications from pre-applications, the one-page abstract decides whether you write the rest.
• The program announcement, not the website table, has the award amount and the page limits. I read the PDF for the specific mechanism before scoping any work.
• Military relevance is a scored criterion where the program asks for it. A company that can connect its question to service members, veterans or their families should say so in the first paragraph.

Frequently asked questions

Does a company need to be SBIR-eligible to apply to CDMRP?

No. CDMRP eligibility is set per announcement and the default includes for-profit organizations of any size and ownership.

Can a foreign company apply?

The How to Apply page says foreign organizations are eligible unless the announcement states otherwise; individual announcements can restrict this, so the specific program announcement is the authority.

What is eBRAP?

The electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal, where pre-applications are submitted and where full applications submitted through Grants.gov are verified. It uses the UEI from SAM.gov.

Which programs are funded this fiscal year?

CDMRP's research programs page lists the funded programs for the current fiscal year, from Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders to Vision. Each opens its own announcements during the year; the funding overview page shows what is open at any moment.