# NIH Awards Path Fertility $2M SBIR Grant

On October 26, 2026, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), awarded Inherent Biosciences, which operates as Path Fertility, a two-year, **$2 million** Direct-to-Phase-II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant (R44HD121294). The funded R&D will develop and clinically validate a semen-based epigenetic test for non-obstructive azoospermia, including multisite validation, assay validation in a CLIA-certified laboratory, and investigation of MSH5 epimutations in 500 colorectal cancer patients. The award is not an open solicitation, and no commercial launch date has been announced.

- The award signals federal investment in reproductive-health diagnostics and translational biomedical research; it is a grant award, not an available contract competition.
- Research, assay-development, clinical-study, and laboratory-service firms may find indirect collaboration or subcontracting potential as the award work proceeds, but the signals identify no active solicitation or specific procurement.
- Companies pursuing NIH SBIR work can use the award as an example of funded Direct-to-Phase-II development focused on clinical validation and diagnostic translation.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Healthcare
**Topics:** Grants & Funding
**Published:** October 26, 2026

### Government Entities
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

### Vendors
- Inherent Biosciences, Inc. (Path Fertility) (awardee)

### Sources
- [
                                    Path Fertility Awarded $2 Million NIH Grant to Develop Epigenetic Test for Severe Male Infertility and Associated Cancer Risk |
                                    Newswire
            ](https://www.newswire.com/news/path-fertility-awarded-2-million-nih-grant-to-develop-epigenetic-test-22877418) - Newswire
- [Path Fertility Receives $2M NIH Grant to Develop Male Infertility Diagnostic Test | citybiz](https://www.citybiz.co/article/923898/path-fertility-receives-2m-nih-grant-to-develop-male-infertility-diagnostic-test) - citybiz
- [Path Fertility Awarded $2 Million NIH Grant to Develop Epigenetic Test for Severe Male Infertility and Associated Cancer Risk](https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/news/access-newswire/path-fertility-awarded-2-million-1345452198.html) - Digital Journal