Materials Transfer Agreements

When a researcher receives a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) from another institution/company from which they have requested materials, the MTA should be forwarded to the Office of Technology Management (OTM) via email or campus mail, depending on whether an original signed copy of the MTA is required by the institution/company. The College of Agriculture and the Eberly College of Science require a completed checklist form. This checklist can be obtained from the College's Research office and requires signature on behalf of the College. OTM reviews the terms of the agreement and makes sure that all compliance approvals with the Biosafety Committee are in place. If the terms are acceptable and approvals are in place, OTM will process the agreement for Penn State signature and forwards the signed agreement to the institution/company for signature. The PI is notified when OTM receives the fully executed agreement so arrangements can be made for the institution/company to send the subject materials to the researcher.

If Penn State owned materials are being sent to the institution/company, then execution of Penn State's MTA is required. The researcher should contact OTM with the necessary information for preparing the MTA. OTM will prepare and forward the agreement to the institution/company for signature and notify the researcher when the agreement is fully executed so arrangements can be made for the researcher to send the subject materials to the institution/company.

If biological materials are being sent or received, the Uniform Biological Materials Transfer Agreement (UBMTA) can be used if the other institution/company has signed the Master UBMTA. You can check the list of entities that have signed the Master UBMTA as well as download the UBMTA for completing here. The UBMTA should still be sent through the OTM for execution on behalf of Penn State.

Any questions regarding an MTA should be directed to the OTM at (814) 865-6277.