Private Industry

As a leader in cancer research offering the most clinical trials in the world, it is the goal of MD Anderson’s Office of Research Administration (ORA) to provide high-quality customer service in support of activities relating to research, including research funding from private entities within industry. Under the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), ORA supports the application and administration of industry-sponsored research through our private industry contracts mechanism.

What is a private industry contract?

A private industry contract is a sponsored research agreement and/or clinical trial agreement that is supported through funding from a for-profit, industry sponsor (i.e. pharmaceutical company). Such contracts include legally binding terms that govern areas such as, but not limited to:

• Scope of work to be conducted, including reports and/or deliverables;
• Budget for full cost of research and institutional overhead;
• Confidential exchange of information during research;
• Publication of data as a result of research;
• Indemnification, warranty, liability;
• Intellectual property;
• Compliance pertaining to human and animal subjects, export controls, conflict of interest and more.

Our role

The Office of Research Administration is the authorized signing official for MD Anderson. As such, our office works closely with both researchers and industry sponsors to ensure that each private industry contract is compliant with all institutional, federal and state guidelines.

Why is a private industry contract important?

At MD Anderson Cancer Center, private industry contracts allow for critical collaboration between science/medicine/academia and the private sector, such as pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. Private industry contracts serve as a means to support many groundbreaking clinical studies with the potential to translate impactful results into standard patient care. Without the support of private industry, invaluable research to validate life-saving drug and medical technology development may never be conducted.

Process overview

Requests for industry sponsored agreements with MD Anderson Cancer Center should be initiated by the principal investigator (PI). The PI and their team will facilitate the contract process through Legal Services, Research Administration, and other applicable institutional offices, as needed, for compliance and execution.

Please note that all agreements must be approved by MD Anderson’s Legal Services group and can only be signed by an authorized signing official for MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Learn more

To learn more about initiation of a private industry contract, please contact the Office of Research Administration at ospcontracts@mdanderson.org.