Public-private transfers: UM pioneers ethical standards
Since March 9, UM has been one of the first French universities to establish an ethics advisory committee. This internal body is responsible for making preliminary recommendations for authorizing researcher 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 objectives is to simplify the process for researchers who wish to start or participate in a business in order to promote their research. It all stems from one observation: since 2000, only 231 civil servant researchers have applied for authorization to start their own business, representing less than 0.01% of those working in public research each year. At the same time, 0.8% of researchers recruited by companies are public research agents.
"This observation is the result of the strictness of French law, prior to the PACTE law, governing partnerships between the public and private sectors," points out Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice President and Ethics Officer at UM. According to the authorities, this is a barrier to 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 bodies. At the national level, while the civil service ethics committee was previously responsible for ensuring this control, on February 1 this function was transferred to the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life.
With regard to university-affiliated research laboratories, it is up to university presidents to decide whether or not to authorize such transfers. Philippe Augé was one of the first presidents to establish an advisory ethics committee at his university, tasked with reviewing requests for authorization submitted by researchers and providing a preliminary opinion to inform his final decision.
This committee, approved by the Board of Directors on March 9, is chaired by François Pierrot, Executive Vice President for Industrial Development and Partnerships. He is joined by Jacques Mercier, Vice President in charge of research, Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice President and Ethics Officer at UM, 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 scenarios that may lead them to ask their employer for permission to contribute their expertise, receive additional remuneration, or even acquire a stake in the share capital of a private company.
First scenario: they want to start their own business based on an innovation (patent, software, know-how, etc.) that they developed in the laboratory to which they are attached and become the president or one of the managing partners. "The patent belongs to the university," explains Bénédicte Labat, commercialization officer at the Innovation and Partnerships Department. "If the technology transfer is authorized by the president, the university draws up a license agreement that allows the company to exploit the patent in exchange for the payment of a royalty."
Second scenario: request for scientific assistance. The researcher does not wish to start their own business, but a company is interested in developing their innovation and wishes to benefit from their expertise. Here again, the ethics advisory committee is called upon to ensure that the conditions are met, in particular the absence of any conflict of interest. "Several articles of the Research Code set out specific requirements in this type of case. For example, the researcher must not have acquired a stake in the company's share capital in the three years prior to their request," explains Bénédicte Labat. The researcher may then devote up to 50% of their working time to the company, alongside their research work in the laboratory.
The third and final possibility, which Bénédicte Labat describes as "less common," is when a researcher wishes to sit on one of the governing bodies of a commercial company. Here again, the advisory committee is called upon to give its opinion to the president, as the researcher may receive remuneration from the company.
Nine opinions issued
Since its creation last March, the Ethics Advisory Committee has already met twice and issued nine opinions. Among the companies concerned are Diag2Tec, an expert 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.
A new meeting of the commission will be held next July. "We have received many requests from researchers for scientific competitions, and it is essential that the President's authorization be issued before the researcher takes a stake in the company's share capital."
UM co-organizes C.U.R.I.E. Network Day
On July 1, UM (the Innovation and Partnerships Department) will co-host, as part of the national C.U.R.I.E network, a morning of reflection on the PACTE law, researcher mobility, and the establishment of advisory ethics committees. Founded 29 years ago, the C.U.R.I.E network is at the heart of the public-private ecosystem. It aims to promote and support the commercialization of research through the transfer of technologies from public research to the socio-economic world. Its 190 members are mostly public research institutions such as universities, university hospitals, national research organizations, schools, and structures resulting from the investment plan for the future, such as Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATT), Technological Research Institutes (IRT), and University Hospital Institutes (IHU).