Academic Material Transfers: UBMTA vs. NIH SLA
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) explores the use of Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA) and NIH Simple Letter Agreement (SLA) for academic-to-academic material transfers. The presentation highlights the benefits of standard agreements in streamlining transfer processes, based on increasing trends in academic MTAs. Challenges and recommendations are discussed, emphasizing efficiency and time savings for MTA professionals.
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Why Not? Using the UBMTA or NIH Simple Letter Agreement for Academic-to-Academic Material Transfers AUTM 2011 Annual Meeting Topics of Current Interest in Management of MTAs March 2, 2011 - Las Vegas, NV Cherry Joy Beysselance, J.D. Contracts Counsel Howard Hughes Medical Institute *With contributions from : Erika Carmean, J.D., Contracts Counsel, HHMI Chris Howe, Contracts Manager, HHMI Angelica Infozino, MTI Legal Administrator, HHMI
Context MTAs Addressed: Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement ( UBMTA ) Simple Letter Agreement ( SLA ) MTA for Organisms, as known as MTA-TO For U.S. academic-to-academic MTAs (considerations could also be applicable to non-U.S. academic / not-for-profit entities, too, but not specifically addressed in this presentation) For published research materials NOT: human subjects, human tissue, export controlled materials, materials containing specifically restricted 3rd-party materials 2
Background: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Profile Non-profit, medical research organization Employ approximately 350 Principle Investigators HHMI PIs located on site at approximately 70 U.S. universities, research institutes, medical schools and affiliated hospitals, as well as at HHMI s own Janelia Farm Research Campus HHMI MTA Policies / Practices Signatory to UBMTA Will sign NIH Simple Letter Agreement or NIH MTA-TO Defer to our host institution on preference of MTA for distributing research materials HHMI s MTA Data for In-Bound MTAs Reveals: Number of MTAs continues to increase More than 50% increase in total number of MTAs received from 07 10 HHMI processed 1,857 MTAs in 10 Greatest growth 10 ~ MTAs for materials from non-profit entities 83% of MTAs HHMI processed in 10 were from other non-profit entities More than 60% increase in MTAs from non-profit entities over the 4-year period Our experience is that only minimal use of the UBMTA or SLA by non-profits Substantial increase in idiosyncratic, academic institution-specific MTAs Including modified UBMTAs and SLAs 3
Considering the facts . . . Academic MTAs are ever-increasing segment of MTA processing 2010 AUTM MTA Survey Reveals ever increasing MTAs ( 06- 08 timeframe) Respondents report more MTAs executed with other non-profits than with companies 47% of responding institutions reported INCREASE in number of executed academic MTAs Reducing time spent on reviewing / negotiating academic-to-academic transfers would result in substantial time savings for MTA professionals 2010 AUTM MTA Survey Reveals Time to completion ( 06- 08 timeframe) 71% completed in 1 month or less 92% completed in 3 months or less Standard agreements exist UBMTA & SLA & MTA-TO that would essentially eliminate the need for substantive review of an entire category of academic MTAs Why is your institution not using the UBMTA or SLA or MTA-TO as the go to agreement in the first instance on a regular basis? 5
Benefits of using one of the uniform material transfer agreements Certainty Terms / conditions standard and well-understood by community Increased customer satisfaction Your researcher receives materials in timely fashion Speed of conclusion Minimal time / effort in processing Clarity for required signatories Positive effect on your job Increased productivity Added time to devote to more complex agreements Enhanced record-keeping Simplified, comprehensive documents for tracking materials in/out of lab Ease of use results in greater compliance 6
So, why not? Are the terms of these material transfer agreements inadequate? 7
MTA is a binding legal contract Overview of essential contract terms/conditions in uniform MTAs Why are these not sufficient? Simple Letter Agreement (SLA) UBMTA (by Implementing Letter) NIH SLA for Transfer of Organisms (MTA-TO) Material identified with specificity Intended for use: vectors, plasmids, compounds, antibodies, peptides. NOT for Human Subject Research or for samples directly obtained from humans. [Per NCI] Intended Materials: genetically modified organisms, such as mice and other rodents [per NCI] Ownership of Material expressly stated Statement of research purpose 8
Simple Letter Agreement (SLA) UBMTA (by Implementing Letter) NIH MTA for Transfer of Organisms (MTA-TO) Limitations on use of Material NOT in humans Only for teaching / NOT in humans Only for teaching / NOT in humans Only for teaching / not- not-for-profit research No further distribution w/out provider s written consent not-for-profit research No further distribution w/out provider s written consent for-profit research No further distribution w/out provider s written consent Transfer of modifications Not addressed Expressly permitted to non-profits organizations Expressly permitted to non-profit institutions Liability Provider disclaims Provider disclaims Provider disclaims warranty Recipient assumes liability, except for Provider s gross negligence or willful misconduct warranty Recipient assumes liability, except for Provider s gross negligence or willful misconduct warranty Recipient assumes liability, except for Provider s gross negligence or willful misconduct Compliance with applicable statutes and regulations required What additional MTA terms does your institution REALLY need? 9
So, why not? Standard MTAs avoid problematic terms and conditions 10
Difficult Issues in Academic MTAs as reported in AUTM survey Corresponding terms in the uniform agreements UBMTA SLA MTA-TO [SLA for Organisms] NO provision for provider rights in recipient s IP NO provision for provider rights in recipient s IP NO provision for provider rights in recipient s IP Provider s rights in Recipient s IP Provider s rights in Recipient s data & results NO provision for provider rights in recipient s data / results NO provision for provider rights in recipient s data / results NO provision for provider rights in recipient s data / results Confidentiality of research results No provision requiring recipient maintain confidentiality of research results No provision requiring recipient maintain confidentiality of research results No provision requiring recipient maintain confidentiality of research results 11
UBMTA SLA MTA-TO [SLA for Organisms] No provision Addressing confidentiality Confidentiality of provider s information No provision Addressing confidentiality No provision Addressing confidentiality Intended for use in transferring published materials Intended for use in transferring published materials Intended for use in transferring published materials Conditions on Publication No pre- publication review provided No pre-publication review provided No pre-publication review provided Specifically not intended to prevent or delay publication of research results ; Recipient Scientist to appropriately acknowledge Provider in publications Recipient to acknowledge Provider in publications Recipient to acknowledge Provider in publications 12
UBMTA SLA MTA-TO [SLA for Organisms] Indemnification No provision No indemnity No provision No indemnity No provision No indemnity Liability Provides Provides Provides Except as prohibited by law Except as prohibited by law Except as prohibited by law Recipient assumes liability for damage arising from its use, storage or disposal of Material Recipient assumes liability for damage arising from its use, storage or disposal of Material Recipient assumes liability for damage arising from its use, storage or disposal of Material Provider NOT liable to Recipient, except as permitted by law when caused by Provider s own gross negligence or willful misconduct Provider NOT liable to Recipient, except as permitted by law when caused by Provider s own gross negligence or willful misconduct Provider NOT liable to Recipient, except as permitted by law when caused by Provider s own gross negligence or willful misconduct 13
UBMTA SLA MTA-TO [SLA for Organisms] No provision Jurisdiction / Choice of law No provision No provision The uniform agreements do not contains terms / conditions identified as problematic in MTAs. 14
Uniform Agreements Embody Norms / Values of Academic Research Community What terms / conditions do researchers expect to abide by in using published research materials received from other researchers? Have you discussed with your researchers their expectations? Does the Golden Rule apply? Publication No restrictions consistent with importance of unfettered rights to publish in academia No automatic co-authorship; practice discouraged by NIH guidelines; inconsistent with journal policies Attribution of source No special rights to Provider - expectation of publication for benefit of research community Recipient s data & results 15
Uniform Agreements Embody Norms / Values of Academic Research Community Liability / Indemnification Necessity between academic institutions? - many public institutions prohibited / limited by law - limited to recipient s own actions Use with other research materials Absolute prohibition necessary ? Realistic? 16
Dont kid yourself. Any changes to the standard agreement eliminate the value of standardization. Changes that are not highlighted by the provider are misleading. Examples of changes to the UBMTA: Are these really necessary? Modifying scope of use by limiting to specifically described research instead of teaching and academic research purposes Adding affirmative obligation that Recipient refer any request for Material to the Provider Amending the publication acknowledgement language to specifically encompass written or oral public disclosures as opposed to all publications and substituting acknowledgment or co-authorship as opposed to appropriate acknowledgement 17
So, why not? 1. Is there a problem with the terms or conditions of these agreements? If your institution is a signatory to the UBMTA, why do you not offer the UBMTA at the outset for transferring appropriate research materials to other academic researchers? Only 14% of institutions responding to AUTM survey report ALWAYS using UBMTA when sending out materials; an almost equal percentage 15% -- report NEVER using the UBMTA Only 7% report ALWAYS executing the UBMTA, although 47% report FREQUENTLY executing the UBMTA 2. If so, what s the problem? 3. If not, why are we not using them more? If your institution can t or doesn t want to use the UBMTA, why do you not offer the NIH s SLA or MTA-TO at the outset Only 1% report ALWAYS using the SLA for sending out materials Only 6% report FREQUENTLY executing the SLA; while the greatest number of responding institutions -- 45% -- report SOMETIMES executing the SLA 4. If your institution will use the UBMTA or SLA as a default, why not use these agreements in the first instance? Why waste time negotiating to an impasse before offering to use the UBMTA or SLA? 18
Using the UBMTA or SLA or MTO-TO in the First Instance Consider the Risks / Resources / Rewards Are there any risks to your institution using the UBMTA or SLA or MTA-TO? What are those risks? Are those risks ones that your institution can / is willing to tolerate in the context of material transfers between other non-profit research entities for the benefit of expediting the exchange of research materials? How many times have any of you experienced a breach of a material transfer agreement between two academic institutions? What did you do? File a lawsuit Negotiate Would using a standard MTA free up resources in your office? What would you use that found time for ? Negotiating MTAs for special materials, i.e., hazardous materials, human materials? Negotiating MTAs for materials from commercial entities? Other functions, i.e., licensing, sponsored research agreements, CDAs, etc.? Would using a standard MTA result in more expeditious transfer / receipt of research materials? Would researchers at your institution be pleased with more expeditious material transfers? 19
Promoting greater use of the standard MTAs Would changing specific terms/conditions promote greater use? Would use of the UBMTA and/or SLA with separate, clear Addendum with additional terms expedite process somewhat? See, e.g., Columbia University UBMTA with Addendum AUTM taskforce ? Could NIH encourage greater use? How? Requiring use of UBMTA, SLA or MTA-TO for distribution of research materials generated in research funded by NIH? Can standard MTAs be used for licensed materials? Yes. Reserve research use license in commercial license What can YOU do to convince your institution to regularly use one of these MTAs in the first instance for distributing published research materials? Feel free to use the reasons and analysis presented here! For the benefit of the academic research community and your own office, Good Luck! u u u u u 20
Resources for Standard Material Transfer Agreements AUTM: UBMTA, Implementing Letter and List of UBMTA signatories www.autm.net/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Technology_Transfer_Resources&Templ ate=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2810 NCI, Technology Transfer Center: Standard Agreements, MTAs http://ttc.nci.nih.gov/forms/index.php NIH, Office of Extramural Research: NIH Model Organism Sharing Policy http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/model_organism/ Council on Government Relations (COGR): Educational Materials, Materials Transfer in Academia http://cogr.edu/Pubs_intellectual.cfm University of California, Berkeley, Office of Intellectual Property & Industry Research Alliances http://ipira.berkeley.edu/material-transfer-agreements-0 21
