Background of the MMRRC's Transfer Agreements

Participation in the MMRRC (as donor transferring strain to the MMRRC or as recipient acquiring a MMRRC strain) requires use of the appropriate Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) or license agreement. The MMRRC uses its Donor MTA to authorize transfers of mice, cryopreserved material, or ES cell lines between Donors and the MMRRC, and the Conditions of Use for transfer of material between the MMRRC and Recipients. Modifications to the MMRRC MTAs and COU are not allowed.

Donated materials not governed by the MMRRC's COU are:

• The NIH Deltagen and Lexicon lines, which are distributed according to the terms of the NIH contracts under which these lines were acquired.
  (see Deltagen License Agreement or Lexicon Simple Letter Agreement)
• The Sanger Institute Gene Trap Cell Lines, which are covered by the NIH-negotiated Sanger Institute Gene Trap MTA

The MMRRC Donor MTA was modeled after the Simple Letter Agreement described in the NIH Research Tools Policy. The MTA was developed through considerations of appropriate research resource sharing policies and discussions with technology transfer professionals among the MMRRC members.

The goal of the MTA and COU is to provide a streamlined, fair and reasonable balance for Donors and Recipients in the sharing of these valuable mouse strains among researchers.