Material Transfers and Sales

It is now commonplace for researchers in the biomedical sciences to share research materials, particularly unique biological reagents or materials, vectors, and cell lines. Such exchanges are essential for the rapid advancement of certain areas, and it is in the best interests of the University to encourage such exchanges where appropriate.

It is now University policy that all such exchanges be covered by an appropriate Material Transfer Agreement. These Agreements provide a formal record of what has been sent from and received by the University and perform several useful functions:

• The Agreement provides protection to the University should others be harmed by inappropriate use of the Materials we send out.


• The Agreement places the recipient on notice that the Materials must be used for research purposes only (not for human trials), and should not be passed on to others.


• The Agreement asks that the recipient properly acknowledge the provider on publications resulting from the use of the materials.


• The Agreement reminds the recipient that the materials may be covered by patents and that the provider should be advised if patent applications might be made based on use of the material. In this way the originator of the Materials can fairly share in any commercial application that may result.

How Do I Get a Material Transfer Agreement?

If you have requested materials from another University, you will probably receive a Material Transfer Agreement from that institution. These must be signed in the Office of Technology Transfer and Business Development . For the most part these are standardized agreements, and we can give you a one-day turnaround. Occasionally these come in with provisions that we find difficult, usually in the form of requiring more access to Intellectual Property than we or you would happily accept. We will negotiate these, with your input, as rapidly as possible.

Should you wish to transfer some of your own research materials to a colleague at another institution you should do under a Material Transfer Agreement. To get such an Agreement:

• Fax, phone or E-mail to us the name/address of the recipient and a precise description of the Materials to be transferred.


• Within a day, we will fax a finished Agreement back to you for your approval and send it out from this office when you approve it.


• When we receive the signed form back from the recipient institution, we will fax you a copy and you may then send the material out. It is useful to enclose a copy of the MTA with your shipment.

Sales of Materials

If you have unique Materials in quantity sufficient to release a potion without affecting your research program, you may wish to consider selling it. This is particularly attractive in cases in which the recipient organization is a commercial firm and/or the amount requested is clearly more substantial than would be required for occasional research use. In such a case, we will need to generate a sales agreement that also contains aspects of the Material Transfer Agreement (which still would need to be done) and aspects of a sales contract. Please get in touch with us if this is a possibility. We can directly participate in the sales negotiations if you wish.