On Jul. 30, 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration was official with the Small Business Act to “aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns.”

However, the SBA originated with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), created by President Herbert Hoover in 1932 to alleviate the depressed economy. The RFC was a federal lending program for all businesses, large and small, hurt by the Great Depression.

Today, the SBA includes an array of programs to support small business in all areas, including the life science through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program.