Salimetrics Expands Testing Facilities to Meet NIH Regulation Changes for Foreign Subawards
Salimetrics Expands Testing Facilities to Meet NIH Regulation Changes for Foreign Subawards
On May 13, 2025, Salimetrics, a leading provider of biospecimen services, announced significant enhancements to its testing capabilities. This strategic move aims to assist the research community in navigating the recent changes outlined in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines regarding foreign subawards, which affect various funded research projects.
Background on NIH Changes
The NIH published new regulations on May 1, 2025, which were clarified on May 7, 2025. These regulations prohibit principal investigators (PIs) with NIH extramural awards from using grant funds to outsource services provided by foreign entities as subawards to their main grants. Additionally, this policy indicates that any purchased services from foreign institutions in connection with NIH-funded research will also be affected. Such changes are crucial as they shift how funding for research can be structured, placing a greater emphasis on domestic resources.
Understanding the implications of these changes, Salimetrics underscores its commitment to easing the transition and ensuring compliance for its research partners. With these developments, researchers must reevaluate their operational strategies, especially those relying on international collaborations.
Salimetrics' Response
To address these newly introduced challenges, Salimetrics has expanded its testing capacity. This enhancement is designed to provide accessible, high-quality testing methods for researchers affected by the NIH directive NOT-OD-25-104. Salimetrics aims to mitigate the logistical and administrative burdens that might hinder the research process due to these regulatory adjustments.
Steve Granger, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Salimetrics, emphasized the company’s core mission: "We built Salimetrics to help researchers avoid these very challenges. Our infrastructure facilitates scientific inquiry by minimizing operational distractions and allowing scientists to focus on their innovative work."
Salimetrics operates one of the nation’s largest laboratories dedicated to salivary bioscience research. Their services include but are not limited to the collection and testing of saliva and dried blood spot biospecimens. The company prides itself on providing comprehensive solutions to support researchers in navigating their scientific endeavors effectively.
Navigating Compliance with NIH Guidelines
The NIH’s updated policy not only affects the structure of grants but also lays out alternatives for PIs. Specifically, NIH will permit renegotiation of awards to remove foreign subawards and redirect those funds towards domestic options or a domestic subrecipient's work. This flexibility is essential in allowing ongoing research projects to adapt and maintain momentum despite the new restrictions.
In support of the researchers, Salimetrics assures that its existing partnerships with research entities will continue to thrive without disruption due to the new NIH guidelines. The company encourages affected researchers to reach out and discuss their laboratory and biospecimen needs, asserting its readiness to provide necessary support.
Dr. Granger added, "If you have saliva or dried blood spot biospecimen testing subcontracted to a foreign entity, we're here to help. Whether or not you utilize our biomarker services, we want to ensure that researchers can successfully carry out their studies." This commitment to the scientific community underscores Salimetrics' dedication to fostering research excellence.
Conclusion
As the landscape of research funding continues to evolve, companies like Salimetrics play a pivotal role in bridging gaps and providing essential support to scientists striving to answer pressing scientific questions. Researchers interested in exploring reliable domestic solutions for laboratory and biospecimen processing can find more information on the Salimetrics website.
About Salimetrics
Salimetrics specializes in biospecimen collection and analysis services, focusing primarily on salivary and dried blood spot samples. With extensive experience in supporting NIH-funded research, Salimetrics remains committed to delivering efficient solutions that facilitate compliance with evolving policies while reducing the administrative burdens typically associated with research funding.
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