Material Transfer Agreement Guidelines

These guidelines address all the steps required to execute a material transfer agreement (MTA) for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso). TTUHSC El Paso policy dictates that MTAs be managed in a manner consistent with established accounting, legal and fund flow policies.

MTAs are binding written contracts that govern the exchange of research materials between individuals at separate institutions or organizations. They address ownership, intellectual property, publications and liabilities related to the use of research materials, among other issues. MTAs often reflect the fact that one of the parties has a proprietary interest in the material under exchange and that the other party intends to use the material for his/her own research purposes. Examples of materials may include recombinant DNA, monoclonal antibodies, cell lines, mouse strains, plant varieties, technical data, software, confidential information, integrated circuit designs, blueprints, products, processes, devices, fabricated equipment and any unique material.

MTAs govern the receipt of materials by faculty at TTUHSC El Paso (incoming MTAs) and the sending of materials from TTUHSC El Paso to external institutions (outgoing MTAs).

Incoming MTAs (IMTAs)

An individual faculty member who requests materials from an external institution or organization should forward the MTA to Sponsored Programs (SP) for review. SP will review the MTA for any risk issues, review terms and conditions and ensure compliance with TTUHSC El Paso policies. Before SP can finalize the MTA, the faculty member must complete and secure all relevant compliance approvals (i.e., if the material is bio-hazardous, of human origin or involves animals). If the TTUHSC El Paso faculty recipient or the sender has plans to develop intellectual property associated with the MTA, then the Office of Research Commercialization will need to review the agreement as well.

Required Documentation for an Incoming MTA:

NOTE: Please be sure to obtain all research committee approvals prior to submitting this material request form.

  • A complete incoming MTA request form - The form is available at:

Incoming Material Transfer Agreement (IMTA) Request

  • A copy of the provider’s incoming MTA (electronic Microsoft Word document, if possible). This is the transferring institution’s document giving the conditions and permission for allowing the transfer of its materials to TTUHSC El Paso.

Outgoing MTAs (OMTAs)

An individual faculty member who intends to send materials to another institution must notify SP of their plans to distribute material to an external party. If the TTUHSC El Paso faculty member or the recipient has plans to develop the intellectual property associated with the MTA, then the Office of Research Commercialization will also need to be involved in reviewing the agreement.

Required Documentation for an Outgoing MTA:

NOTE: Please be sure to obtain all research approvals prior to submitting this material request form.

  • A complete outgoing MTA request form - The form is available at:

Outgoing Material Transfer Agreement (OMTA) Request

Execution of an MTA: SP will review and negotiate the terms of the OMTA. Upon agreement by both sending and receiving parties, SP will direct the faculty individual to review and sign the agreement, which also will be signed by the vice president for research, who is the authorized signing official for TTUHSC El Paso. The partially executed OMTA will then be submitted to the other institution to fully execute the agreement. The faculty member and department administrator will receive a copy of the fully executed OMTA.