Material Transfer Agreements
IMPORTANT: Before a material transfer agreement (MTA) can be finalized, researchers must complete and secure all necessary research approvals from the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) (i.e., if the material is bio-hazardous, of human origin or involves animals).
Material Transfer Agreements
An MTA is a legal contract required for the transfer of biological material between TTUHSC El Paso and other academic, non-profit or industrial institutions for research purposes. MTAs are put in place to protect your intellectual property (IP) when you provide or receive research materials (e.g., cell lines, cultures, bacteria, proteins, transgenic animals, pharmaceuticals or chemicals). Each exchange of research material between different entities requires an MTA. For repeated exchanges of the same research materials, standardized MTAs will help streamline the process.
MTAs are important because they protect your IP rights, limit liability and fairly credit the developer of the materials. Although an MTA itself does not generate revenue, it sets the stage for future licensing contracts. An MTA outlines which party of the agreement owns IP developed from use of the materials.
Incoming and Outgoing MTA Procedures
Incoming Material Transfer Agreements (IMTAs)
A researcher requesting material from another institution must email the following documentation to OSP:
- A complete IMTA request form (including faculty researcher and department chair signatures).
- A copy of the provider’s incoming MTA (Microsoft Word document, if possible). This is the transferring institution’s document giving the conditions and permission for allowing transfer of materials to TTUHSC El Paso.
OSP will review the submission to ensure compliance with institutional policies and negotiate any revisions that may be needed.
If the IMTA contains language that affects TTUHSC El Paso’s intellectual property rights or conflicts with laws of the state of Texas, or the Texas Tech University (TTU) System Office of Research Commercialization (https://www.depts.ttu.edu/vpr/commercialization/), legal counsel may also be asked to review the document.
Once the agreement has been finalized, OSP will coordinate signatures and both parties will receive a PDF copy of the fully executed IMTA for their records.
TTUHSC El Paso Incoming MTA form:
Incoming Material Transfer Agreement (IMTA) Request
Outgoing Material Transfer Agreements (OMTAs)
A researcher sending material to an outside institution or company should email the following documentation to OSP:
- A complete OMTA request form (including faculty researcher and department chair signatures). The information will be used to determine which OMTA document will be implemented and whether further information needs to be included.
OSP will coordinate any proposed changes to the OMTA with the requested outside institution and will copy the TTUHSC El Paso researcher on the correspondence.
Once the agreement has been finalized, OSP will coordinate signatures and both parties will receive a PDF copy of the fully executed Outgoing MTA for their records.
TTUHSC El Paso Outgoing MTA Form: