Material Transfer Agreements FAQs

An Material Transfer Agreements (MTA) protects the rights of the providing entity (and its scientists) and protects against claims that may arise through the use of the material. MTAs also allow the use of the materials to be limited to specific projects and precludes the further transfer of the materials to non-approved recipients. MTAs are needed for the transfer of tangible research materials, for example:

• Mice
• Plasmids
• Reagents
• Human materials (blood, tissue, etc.)
• Cell lines
• Vectors

Outgoing MTAs are required for outgoing transfers that involve:

• UCSD-developed materials
• Materials that contain components received from external sources (third party materials)

Incoming MTAs are required for incoming transfers that involve:

• Materials subject to Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) approval (such as viruses, prions, recombinant DNA, bio-hazardous materials) 

When Receiving Materials

MTAs are investigator-specific, so you may need an agreement even for neighboring labs. If you received the material without obtaining authorized permission from the entity that owns the material you risk:

• being prohibited from publishing results of your research
• becoming personally liable

When Sending Materials

Without MTAs, recipients have no legal restrictions on further transferring the material to other institutions or to other researchers. The MTA Team will determine if there is an existing agreement that restricts further transfer of the material. Bypassing the MTA process may cause the University of California to be in breach of the existing agreement, and you risk:

• losing control over the material developed (i.e. recipient may publish on the material before you do)
• becoming personally liable or penalties or legal action arising from such transfer
• exposing UC and yourself to penalties or legal action.

Under UCSD policy, only OCGA and OIC have designated signing authority for MTAs. Your authorized official will be a Contract Officer who listed as the "Assigned eMTA Staff" in the eMTA system.

If a PI or lab personnel executes an MTA they could be held personally liable if a lawsuit results from the transfer of the materials. 

No, an MTA is not needed, if the material transfer is contemplated in the IRB approved Study Protocol. 

Yes, an MTA is needed, if the material provided by UCSD will be used by the receiving organization for its own research and not in accordance with the Protocol.

Log into eMTA

• Business Systems (SSO) is required to access the system
• eMTA is for UCSD employees only

Yes. You can log in to eMTA remotely (off-campus or wireless), however, you need to be connected to VPN. 

For more information about logging on when working remotely, go to the VPN at UCSD Blink page.

Anyone with eMTA access can create an eMTA record for PI review.

Only PIs can submit a completed eMTA record for processing. Please review Principal Investigator (PI) Eligibility to ensure the eligibility of the PI.

There may be a couple factors affecting your search.

• Search Criteria: Use the % sign on each side of the name or institution. If you are unable to find the person or institution you are looking for, select "Other". Example: use "%stan%" to search for "Stanford".
• PI Eligibility: Please review Principal Investigator (PI) Eligibility to ensure the eligibility of the PI.

Yes. Email notifications are automatically sent when:

• the eMTA record is assigned to an analyst
• the eMTA record status changes
• the MTA has been completed

• Log into eMTA
• Go to Inbox (link in upper right column)
• Select "All MTAs" tab to see List/ Status column