Transferring Research Materials (MTA)

Research Materials Handled by the Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation

The Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation (SACI) is also in charge of outgoing MTAs (Material Transfer Agreements) for providing tangible research materials (e.g. cells, microorganisms, experimental animals, DNA/RNA, vectors, protein, chemical compounds, samples) to for-profit entities (Recipient). Provision of research materials to for-profit entities requires the approval of the SACI Director-General (Kyoto University Regulations on Handling of Research Material, Article5, paragraph2). Please contact our office by e-mail (mta[at] saci.kyoto-u.ac.jp [only for Kyoto University researchers and staff]) when a request for provision is received from a for-profit entity. The office can be consulted in advance, regardless of the specific issues involved.

Types of Outgoing MTAs to For-profit Entities

1.For Internal Research

This type is for for-profit entities that intend to use research materials from the university for their own internal research. In general, the university does not get involved in their research, provided, exceptions are made in some cases. Care must be taken to ensure confidentiality of the Materials and related information especially in the case that such Materials are unpublished because the results from the research will be retained by for-profit Recipient and it will occasionally wish to publish and/or file a patent application for such results. Also, the overview of the research project shall be specified in the MTA to clarify the scope of use of the Material.

2.For Evaluation

If the university owns a patent related to a research material, the university sometimes provides the research material to a for-profit entity for evaluation so it can review whether or not it wishes the license for such patent. An option agreement for the patent license may be concluded together with such MTA during the evaluation period. Even if there is no patent for a research material, sometimes the Material is provided at the stage of evaluation whether or not it can be used by for-profit entity for full-scale research.

3.For Reviewing Collaborative Research

Similar to when the Material is used for license evaluation, the research material is sometimes provided for reviewing whether or not collaborative research between the university and the for-profit entity is possible.

4.For Sales

The university sometimes receives a request from for-profit entity to grant a license for sales of the Materials as a reagent, for example. It is not uncommon to receive such requests from for-profit enterprises that are experiencing difficulty preparing the same thing on their own, due to slight differences in the parameters involved, due to chance factors, or due to the time required to confirm characteristics or performance. However, due to the potential controversy associated with providing research materials created using public funds to an enterprise that would financially benefit from such materials, such decisions need to be made very carefully. (In general, the university will not enter agreements to sell compounds or other items prepared at the university that will be portioned in small amounts.)

Processing of outgoing MTAs for-profit entities

Handling Other Research Materials

Provision of research materials to a non-profit organization or receiving them from other organizations (including for-profit entities) requires the approval of the division dean or director (Kyoto University Regulations on Handling of Research Material, Article 5, paragraph 1). Agreements are generally processed within divisions.