# NIH Awards $2M Fertility Diagnostics Grant

The National Institutes of Health, through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, awarded Path Fertility (the commercial brand of Inherent Biosciences) a $2 million Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant. The funding supports development and clinical validation of an epigenetic diagnostic for non-obstructive azoospermia and associated cancer risk. For procurement professionals and industry stakeholders, the award signals federal R&D investment in reproductive-health diagnostics; it is a grant award, not an open solicitation or announced agency purchase.

- The grant supports product development and clinical validation, potentially creating downstream needs in reproductive-health diagnostics, laboratory testing, and clinical validation services.
- Diagnostic developers and research or laboratory service providers can assess whether their capabilities align with potential follow-on research and commercialization activity; no specific follow-on procurement is identified in the signal.
- The award identifies NIH’s NICHD as the federal sponsor and Path Fertility as the funded recipient, useful context for organizations tracking federal health R&D investments.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Healthcare
**Topics:** Grants & Funding
**Published:** November 04, 2026

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

### Vendors
- Path Fertility (Inherent Biosciences, Inc.) (SBIR grant recipient)

### Sources
- [Path Fertility Receives $2M SBIR Grant](https://www.finsmes.com/2026/11/path-fertility-receives-2m-sbir-grant.html) - FinSMEs