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Co-Development Agreements

Handshake between researcher lab and business technology transfer negotiation deal

The National Cancer Institute's Technology Transfer Center (TTC) recognizes the importance of co-development in order to translate early-stage discoveries to outside entities to benefit public health. In support of this goal, the TTC establishes formal collaborative agreements with industry, academia, and non-profits to facilitate co-development through the exchange and development of research materials, knowledge, and technologies.

The TTC uses three different co-development agreements to help industry and academia interact and partner with National Institutes of Health laboratories and scientists to support technology development activities:

Collaboration Agreement (CA)

Permits a two-way exchange of materials and information, and assumes exchange of results and/or conclusions will occur between NIH and companies, universities, state/local governments, Federal labs, and non-profits.

  • Combines terms of a CDA and MTA
  • Simplified research plan
  • Exchange of new material created during the collaboration is addressed
  • No funding from the outside party allowed
  • No license option
  • Rights to foreground IP are not addressed
  • Human and non-human materials covered

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)

Permits co-development of NIH or outside invention involving companies, universities, state/local governments, Federal labs, and non-profits.

For NIH:

  • May receive funds or in-kind contributions for collaborative research project
  • May provide confidentiality for research results up to five years after development 

For Collaborator:

  • Exclusive option to license any inventions that are developed by a Federal laboratory employee(s) as part of the collaborative research
  • Access to unique reagents and resources
  • Access to scientific and regulatory expertise
  • Access to Federal lab

Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA)

Transfers material into NIH for research in Human Subjects from companies, state/local governments, non-profits, and universities

  • Covers investigational data, drug, diagnostic, or device
  • No funding from the outside party required
  • No option to license foreground IP
  • Clinical and non-clinical
  • Addresses regulatory issues and monitoring
  • Addresses Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

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