VA Technology Transfer has role in malaria invention

When a VA researcher invents a new drug or technology, it won't help Veterans or anyone else unless it makes it out of the lab. That's where VA's Technology Transfer Program comes in.

The program works to protect the intellectual property developed at VA and help get it commercialized. This usually involves a private company willing to invest in the technology and provide further development, manufacturing, and marketing. Typically, VA shares in some of the eventual proceeds, as do the inventors, and sometimes their universities, but the details vary depending on the exact legal agreement that is struck.

In the case of Riscoe's malaria work at the Portland VA, the researcher has three inventions registered with VA, all related to the experimental malaria drug ELQ-300. His academic home, Oregon Health and Science University, is taking the lead on patenting and licensing the inventions, but VA is a joint owner.

The details were worked out in a contract, called a Cooperative Technology Administration Agreement, that VA Technology Transfer negotiated with the university: "It dictates the parameters for how jointly owned intellectual property is handled, including the sharing and distribution of any royalty income that the inventions may garner," says Lee Sylvers, PhD, a technology transfer specialist with VA.

Sylvers says such arrangements are "the major route to translating VA innovations into products and services that ultimately impact the health care of Veterans and others."

For more details on the VA Technology Transfer Program, including a list of inventions for which VA is seeking commercial partners, visit: www.research.va.gov/programs/tech_transfer.