Public-private transfers: the UM pioneers a code of ethics

On March 9, the UM became one of the first universities in France to set up a consultative ethics commission. This internal body is responsible for formulating recommendations for the authorization of researchers' mobility between public research laboratories and the private sector.

This is a consequence of the 2019 PACTE law for business growth and transformation. One of its aims is to simplify the process for researchers wishing to create or participate in a company in order to make the most of their research. The starting point is that, since 2000, only 231 civil servant researchers have applied for authorization to set up their own company, i.e. less than 0.01% of people working in public research each year. At the same time, 0.8% of researchers recruited by companies are public research employees.
"This observation is the result of the rigidity of the rules of French law, predating the PACTE law, governing partnerships between the public and private sectors", points out Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice-president and ethics officer at the UM. According to the authorities, this hinders French innovation and business competitiveness.

Strict guarantees

However, such transfers cannot take place without strict guarantees to rule out any suspicion of conflicts of interest between private companies and public research players. At a national level, while the Commission de déontologie de la fonction publique was previously responsible for this control, on February 1 this year it was entrusted to the Haute autorité de la transparence de la vie publique.

In the case of research laboratories under university supervision, it is the university presidents who decide whether or not to authorize such transfers. Philippe Augé, for example, was one of the first university presidents to set up a consultative ethics committee to examine requests for authorization from researchers and issue an opinion in preparation for the final decision.

The committee, approved by the Board of Directors on March 9, is chaired by François Pierrot, Vice President, Development and Industrial Partnerships. He is joined by Jacques Mercier, Vice-President in charge of Research, Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice-President and UM's ethics officer, Bénédicte Luporsi, Director of Human Resources and Gaëtan Lan Sun Luk, Director of Innovation and Partnerships.

From public to private?

For researchers working in the public sector, there are three situations in which they may need to ask their employer for authorization to contribute their expertise, receive additional remuneration or even take a shareholding in the private sector.
First situation: they wish to set up their own company based on an innovation (patent, software, know-how, etc.) they have developed within the laboratory to which they are attached, and become its president or one of its managing partners. The patent applied for belongs to the university," explains Bénédicte Labat, in charge of technology transfer at the Innovation and Partnerships Department. If the technology transfer is authorized by the president, the university draws up a licensing agreement that allows the company to exploit the patent in return for payment of a royalty.

Second scenario: a request for scientific assistance. The researcher does not wish to set up his own company, but a company is interested in developing his innovation and would like to benefit from his expertise. Here again, the Consultative Commission on Ethics is called upon to ensure that the conditions are met, in particular the absence of any conflict of interest. "Several articles of the French Research Code lay down specific requirements in such cases. The researcher must not, for example, have taken a shareholding in the company in the three years preceding the application", explains Bénédicte Labat. The researcher can then devote up to 50% of his or her working time to the company, in parallel with his or her laboratory research.

Third and last possibility, "less frequent" according to Bénédicte Labat: the researcher wishes to sit on one of the management bodies of a commercial company. Here again, the Advisory Board is asked to advise the Chairman, as the researcher may receive remuneration from the company.

Nine opinions

Since its creation last March, the Consultative Ethics Committee has already met twice and issued nine opinions. The companies involved include Diag2Tec, experts in hematological cancers and the early validation of new therapeutic molecules. Néocean, a specialist in nautical engineering and innovation, Sterlab, a specialist in biomedical research and services in the microbiology sector, and Acusurgical, which works on precision surgical robotics.

The committee will meet again in July. "We receive many requests from researchers for scientific competitions, and it is essential that the Chairman's authorization be issued before the researcher takes a stake in the company's share capital."