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The University is aware that Principal Investigators
(PIs) are experiencing increasing responsibility to respond to
numerous requests by outside Researchers for their biological
materials described in their publications. To help PIs provide
these materials, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has entered into
a collaboration with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC®)
to develop a service to address just this issue.
Through this collaboration, PIs will be
able to easily share their biological materials with the scientific
community, and at the same time better preserve any intellectual
property rights associated with these materials. The material
must be published, used for research, (i.e., not clinical samples),
and have been sent out at least 5 times in the last calendar year.
JHU has demonstrated their commitment to
helping PIs with this sharing responsibility by establishing the
Biological Distribution and Resource
Center (BDRC) in the Office of Licensing and Business
Development to implement the ATCC collaboration and to provide
assistance on additional issues such as improving the Material
Transfer Agreement process.
All shipments of Johns
Hopkins Special Collection (JHSC) materials will be
provided to the scientific community with a Material Transfer
Agreement (MTA). The JHU Office of Licensing and Business Development
has streamlined the MTA process to provide better management of
liability and intellectual property rights associated with the
movement of all research materials to non-profit or educational
institutions. For outgoing MTAs (used for materials leaving JHU),
the actual agreement has been distilled to a one-page document
that is easier to read and requires fewer signatures.
ATCC has demonstrated their commitment to
this collaboration by establishing a drop-off and pick-up facility
in 1017 Blalock (at The Cell Center) for JHSC materials and by
funding a Fellow of Business Development in the University's Office
of Licensing and Business Development. Catherine Vorwald has joined
the JHU staff to help set up the BRDC and to serve as the liaison
between ATCC and JHU in the establishment of the JHSC. She will
help PIs in the process of including their biological materials
into the JHSC at ATCC.
When a PI receives a request for their biological
material in this Special Collection, they simply direct the requestor
to ATCC where they can order and acquire the materials directly.
In most instances, materials are shipped out within 48 hours!
No shipping documents to fill out, no boxes to hunt down, no shipping
expenses to recover! PIs will be able to have their biological
material shipped all over the world relatively hassle-free!
The ATCC collaboration may also increase
commercial interest in the JHSC
materials due to increased exposure via the ATCC web site catalog.
Those commercial entities wishing to acquire material from the
JHSC will be put in contact with the JHU licensing staff to discuss
a License Agreement needed for the transaction.
The BDRC
provides services to the PIs.
Contribution of biological materials for inclusion in the JHSC
can be beneficial to the PIs in a variety of ways:
- Time Savings
- Technician time in culturing and expansion of requested biological
materials, and time in preparation of special packaging and
shipping.
- Cost Savings
- Packaging cost eliminated, shipping cost paid by recipient,
and decreased demand for freezer space.
- Increase
In Citations - Increased use of the materials as
a result of exposure from the worldwide marketing of the JHSC
and worldwide distribution capabilities of ATCC.
- Revenue
Generation - Greater potential for non-exclusive
licensing to commercial or for-profit entities due to additional
exposure and promotion.
The BDRC serves
the University Administration.
Endorsement of this collaboration to encourage participation will
result in better management of the University's biological materials
in several important ways:
- Decreased
Liability - Achieved
by increased usage of MTAs specifically addressing liability,
and by the reduced handling and storage by/at JHU, with shipping
performed by ATCC from ATCC.
- Preservation
of Intellectual Property Rights -
Distribution of our biological materials from ATCC will be accompanied
either by a MTA (to a non-profit organization) or a Non-exclusive
License Agreement (to a commercial entity). These documents
will not only preserve any intellectual property rights associated
with JHU's biological material, but also state explicitly JHU's
indemnification and warranty requirements.
- Increased Transport
Regulatory Compliance - ATCC will be our agent in
transport compliance for the handling and shipping in accordance
with the regulations of 8 Federal agencies and the stringent
International Air Transport Association (IATA).
We are confident that the formation of the
BDRC and the collaboration with ATCC will greatly benefit JHU.
No longer will the sharing of JHU biological material with the
scientific community be difficult, anxiety provoking, or expensive.
E-mail Catherine Vorwald (cvorwal1@jhmi.edu)
your Request for Transfer form, bring your materials to 1017 Blalock
(Monday through Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or 2:00
p.m. and 4:00 p.m. [freezer hours]) and let ATCC take care of
all shipping documents for you. Be assured that your biological
materials will be handled correctly and arrive at their destination
viable and on time.
For more information visit the BDRC
web site at www.hopkinsmedicine.org/lbd/bdrc/
or contact: Catherine E. Vorwald, M.S., Business Development
Associate at (410) 347-3210 or cvorwal1@jhmi.edu
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