Puerto Rico
State Resources
Puerto Rico is a self-governing island organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located about 1,000 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, it has approximately 3.2 million residents. The island is full of surprises. It is home to the manufacturing facilities of four of the worlds’ largest pharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb. According to FIERCE Biotech “On the medical device side, Medtronic Puerto Rico produces 90% of the world’s pacemakers, while Johnson & Johnson manufactures 85% of global sutures, including Prolene Sutures and Dermabond products.”
Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC) is the leading entity responsible for establishing “the vision and public policy of economic development and serves as coordinator and integrator of the strategies and initiatives of its affiliated entities.” Within DEDC, the Business Development division manages “grants incentives to companies and industries according to the economic impact of their projects, job creation and return on investment, among others.” The department manages several grant programs targeted to assist small businesses with technology development and commercialization activities. Another prominent organization is the Puerto Rico Science and Technology Trust.
Puerto Rico Science and Technology Trust
The Puerto Rico Science and Technology Trust was established in 2004 by the legislature as an “autonomous entity, stimulates innovation, technology commercialization and the creation of high-technology jobs in Puerto Rico’s targeted industry sectors such as Life Sciences, Alternative Energy, Environmental & Agricultural Sciences, Computer Science & Information Technologies, Medical Devices, and Aerospace & Aeronautics, among others.” Its mission is to “invest, facilitate, and build capacity to continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and its citizens’ well-being through innovation-driven enterprises, science, and technology.” The Trust offers several grant programs targeted to “high technology entrepreneurship.”
SBIR/STTR Matching Grant Program
The Trust offers the SBIR/STTR Matching Grant Program to incentivize local technology oriented small business firms and researchers to compete for SBIR/STTR grant awards. Firms receiving a federal SBIR/STTR Phase I award receive a dollar-to-dollar matching grant from the Trust, up to $100,000 and up to $200,000 for Phase II.
Advanced Research Grants Program
Advanced Research Grants Program (ARG) provides funding for advancing science and technology projects with the goal of bringing them to “a level where they can be further developed using alternative funding sources (such as federal R&D funding, angel and private investments, and others) and/or commercialized through licensing, sales, acquisitions, vertical venture integration, or a combination of these methods.” This funding opportunity provides awards of up to $150K. The ARG application process consists of two phases: Letter of Intent and Full Proposal. Award recipients receive $75,000 upon execution of the agreement and the remaining $75,000 will be disbursed after the grantee submits a mid-point progress report.
Catalyzer Research Grant Program
The Catalyzer Research Grant (CRG) provides bridge funding that aims to help researchers in Puerto Rico increase their probabilities of success in securing federal funding for their research and development activities. The CRG funding is intended to help researchers to position their R&D proposals competitively prior to the submission, or resubmission, to private or federal agencies. The CRG application process consists of two phases: Letter of Intent and Full Proposal. The CRG is open to researchers in public and private universities, colleges, and affiliated non-profit research institutions located in Puerto Rico.
ACT60
ACT60 Tax incentive to foster research and development activity conducted at local universities in Puerto Rico, allowing qualified Principal Investigators or a Co-Principal Investigator to seek tax exemptions for salaries earned from eligible R&D research grants.
