What’s a Material Transfer Agreement?

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A material transfer agreement is a contract between two parties who exchange biological material such as cell lines, vectors and plasmids. Such agreements can also be used for chemicals, some types of software, and other research materials. The material transfer agreement articulates the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved and can be a standard agreement or a customized document written for a specific application.

The free exchange of research information is especially common in the academic community, where research institutes affiliated with colleges and universities share materials to promote and improve research. Transfers can also take place between research institutions and members of industry; a pharmaceutical company, for example, might allow a research institution to work with a proprietary drug under development.

The material transfer agreement defines the parties involved in the transaction, discusses the materials to be transferred, and establishes terms and conditions. People may be required to maintain confidentiality, share their research with the other party, or delay publication until a patent has been obtained. The material transfer agreement may also cover derivatives of the materials being transferred; a researcher can, for example, waive intellectual property rights to derivatives by signing the contract. There may be clearly defined limits on how the material can be used for security, as well as intellectual property concerns.

In most facilities, an attorney must review a material transfer agreement before the transfer can take place. Lawyers can request changes to the contract if they believe it is not in the best interests of the institution they represent. In situations such as transfers to the academic community, the process is often very straightforward, as many institutions use standardized arrangements. For situations where materials are transferred between non-profit and for-profit organizations, the material transfer agreement can become more complicated.

Persons working with the material should know the terms of the material transfer agreement to ensure they do not violate it. When transferred materials arrive at the laboratory, the lead researcher can inform people who will come into contact with the material so they know how to handle it appropriately. If someone violates the terms by doing something like selling material to a third party, the lab can be held liable. In addition to paying fines, it may no longer be able to access materials from that source and may acquire a bad reputation in the community, making it difficult to exchange materials with other institutions in the future.

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