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Overview
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), one of the components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has released its annual “$100,000 Start an SUD Startup” Challenge for 2025. NIDA is looking for research ideas that can potentially be commercialized as products for use in the areas of drug use, misuse, and substance use disorder (SUD). Ideas may have originated in another research field as long as they are applicable to drug use, misuse, or SUD.
Challenge participants must be a group of no less than 3 and no more than 5 individuals who will test whether their research idea can be fostered into a biotech startup. NIDA expects that newly created startups will eventually contribute to the pool of innovative small business companies successfully competing for NIDA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding.
The Challenge will offer a non-cash prize of technical expertise and mentoring from NIDA scientific research entrepreneurship experts for up to 12 teams in stage 1 and up to ten awards of $10,000 each in stage 2. The Challenge total purse is up to $100,000.
Timeline
- Submission Due Date: February 4, 2026, 6:00 p.m. ET
- Judging Period: February 9, 2026 to February 27, 2026
- Winners Announced for Stage 1: March 9, 2026
Requirements
The submission package includes a 5-min video introducing the team and highlighting their dedication to being mentored and a 4-page written proposal describing the idea for the startup.
Please note: Learn more about the challenge, rules, and submission requirements "More Information" section of this page. Faculty and researchers interested in applying for these opportunities based on technologies developed or disclosed at Vanderbilt must submit their proposals through the CTTC.