Must ‘MTA’ equate with ‘delay’? Material Transfer Agreements and institutional processes in Australian biomedical research

The exchange of tangible materials remains essential to biomedical research, and has become increasingly formalised, including through use of Material Transfer Agreements (‘MTAs’). While MTAs provide comfort in clarifying legal relationships, they have not been without problems. Delays in the process of exchanging materials have reportedly epitomised the modern research environment. Most Australian research institutions now have offices dealing in technology transfer and business development (‘TTOs’). These offices employ combinations of legal, business and scientific experts. In this article, we explore the impact of TTO practices on the material transfer journey. We present qualitative evidence to demonstrate that resourcing and organisational processes, in addition to levels of experience in MTA processing, affect the pace of material exchange. Our analysis may assist in streamlining transfer processes to a greater extent than standardisation.