BLG News Winter 2006

News from the Baylor Licensing Group
Volume 5, No. 1 Winter 2006

This bi-annual newsletter brings you the latest on licensing of reagents and research tools. We license a large number of research tools and reagents to companies that will sell them as products to the research community. These research tools range from antibodies and mouse embryonic fibroblasts to mouse models. In addition, we've recently completed an agreement with Bristol Meyers Squibb for the Cre-Lox technology which streamlines licensing of tools made with Cre-Lox.

Topics in this issue:
Requests for Antibodies
Requests for Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts
Transferring Mouse Models to a Distributor
Cre-Lox Research Tools
Distribution of Licensing Revenue
Material Transfer Agreements
New BLG Web Site

Requests for Antibodies

Many reagent companies will license antibodies from universities to sell to the research community. Typically, you would need to provide serum, precipitated antibodies or hybridoma cells along with a preferred purification protocol. The reagent company would provide purification, packaging, sales, and distribution of the antibodies. This shifts the burden of fulfilling requests from the laboratories at Baylor to the reagent companies. The typical structure of an antibody license includes an upfront fee and a royalty on sales. If you have antibodies for which you have received requests, please contact us at 713-798-6821 or blg@bcm.edu.

Requests for Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts

We have recently executed several licenses with a new company, ArtisOptimus, which specializes in making and selling research products derived from mouse models such as MEFs from normal and knockout mice. They have a unique process that enables the MEFs to be propagated and expanded without losing primary characteristics. We license mouse models to ArtisOptimus for the purpose of making MEFs and other related research tools, e.g., lysates, tissue slides, and Western blots for sale to the research community. The typical structure of an MEF license includes an upfront fee and a royalty on sales. If you have a mouse model for which you have received MEF requests or believe could be useful for other research reagents, please contact us at 713-798-6821 or blg@bcm.edu.

Transferring Mouse Models to a Distributor

Baylor has an agreement with The Jackson Laboratory which provides for JAX to notify a for-profit company that they require a license from Baylor to receive any of our mouse models. This ensures that companies that order our mice from JAX will do so under a license; just as they would if they received them directly from us. In addition, various other repositories, including the MMHCC and MMRRC have similar provisions in their Donor Material Transfer Agreements. Please contact us at 713-798-6821 or blg@bcm.edu when you are preparing to submit an animal model to a distributor.

Cre-Lox Research Tools

Our recently executed license agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb enables us to license research tools created with the use of Cre-Lox technology to industry. Under the license, you may still transfer your materials to academic colleagues as usual, under a Material Transfer Agreement. In addition, the license provides for minimal impact on our licensing activities. We are in the process of contacting those of you who have indicated you have created a research tool with Cre-Lox and/or are contacting companies that have expressed an interest in those tools. With the BMS license in place, we may now move forward on licensing those Cre-Lox research tools. If you have a research tool created with Cre-Lox that you think might be of interest to industry scientists please contact us at 713-798-6821 or blg@bcm.edu.

Distribution of Licensing Revenue

Baylor's Policy on Patents and Other Intellectual Property provides for a portion of the licensing revenue to be distributed to those who developed the technology that is licensed. Note that in the majority of cases, research tools are not patented. Therefore, there are no patent costs to recover and the developers receive their portions of the licensing revenue sooner.

The distribution is as follows:

Fifteen percent is deducted to support BLG's operations. Any direct expenses, such as patent costs that are not reimbursed by the licensee(s), are also deducted to yield the net income.

The net income is then distributed as follows:

50 percent to the developer(s) of the technology,
25 percent to the developer(s)' department,
25 percent to the Baylor General Fund

If the research was partially funded by a non-profit or private foundation, it is possible that the license revenue will be shared with the foundation. These sharing arrangements are also negotiated by BLG. BLG tries to minimize the impact of that sharing on the developer(s) and department(s) share whenever possible. Likewise if the technology is a result of collaborations with other academic institutions, BLG negotiates a revenue sharing arrangement with that other institution.

BLG may, at times, accept equity in lieu of cash as part of the license fees. This equity is distributed the same way as if it were cash license revenue.

Material Transfer Agreements

Due to an increase in volume, the Office of Research is in the process of hiring a person to handle all Material Transfer Agreements. Please remember that if you send research tools or reagents to academic colleagues, they should be sent only after execution of an MTA. For assistance with an MTA, please contact the Office of Research at 713-798-1297 or mta@bcm.edu.

New BLG Web Site

The Baylor Licensing Group has recently renovated its web site. The new format provides quick, easy access to information regarding the commercialization of inventions at Baylor College of Medicine, including an electronic copy of the invention disclosure form, list of project managers for each department, link to Baylor Policy on Patents & Other Intellectual Property and template license agreements. Also see press releases on a couple of our latest deals.

BLG Contact Information

For any questions related to inventions, patents and licenses, please contact BLG.

Baylor Licensing Group
One Baylor Plaza
BCMD-600D, MSC 210
Houston, TX 77030b

Phone:       713-798-6821
E-Mail:       blg@bcm.edu
Web site:   http://www.bcm.edu/blg/