Global Health Initiative launched by The Association of University Technology Managers

The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) announced the launch of a new Global Health Initiative that promotes licensing practices that support access to essential medicines by developing countries.

The initiative includes a Global Health Toolkit created by AUTM members. The toolkit is intended to be a dynamic resource for academic technology managers to share information and experiences on structuring licenses to promote innovation and product development while encouraging access to essential medicines.

The AUTM Global Health Toolkit includes sample license clauses to provide academic technology managers with a starting point as they enter into licensing discussions with prospective licensees. The clauses have been contributed by AUTM members taken from signed license agreements they have successfully negotiated over the past few years that have included global health protections acceptable to the licensees. They are therefore "real world" examples.

In keeping with this initiative, AUTM endorsed the Statement of Principles and Strategies for the Equitable Dissemination of Medical Technologies. These principles were developed by a team that included Jon Soderstrom, Ph.D., AUTM immediate past president and Managing Director, Office of Cooperative Research, Yale University, and Ashley J. Stevens, D.Phil. (Oxon), AUTM president-elect, Executive Director, Technology Transfer, Boston University. These guidelines discuss successful practices for the equitable dissemination of medical technologies. Universities are encouraged to review and endorse these principles, which are published on the AUTM Web site.

"The AUTM community has been at the forefront of this movement for some time. The AUTM Global Health Toolkit provides a convenient collection of resources that will help technology managers adopt the global health principles as appropriate for their organizations. It is AUTM's desire to have university technology managers provide feedback as they gain additional experience so that the AUTM Global Health Toolkit can continue to evolve," said AUTM President Arundeep S. Pradhan, Associate Vice President, Technology Transfer and Business Development, Oregon Health & Science University.