Public-Private Transfers:UM in Ethics
Since March 9,UM one of the first French universities to establish an advisory ethics committee—an internal body tasked with formulating preliminary recommendations for authorizing the mobility of researchers between public research laboratories and the private sector.
This is a result of the 2019 PACTE Act for Business Growth and Transformation. One of its objectives is to simplify the process for researchers who wish to start a business or participate in a company in order to commercialize their research. It all stems from an observation: since 2000, only 231 civil servant researchers have applied for authorization to start their own businesses—less than 0.01% of those working in public research each year. At the same time, 0.8% of researchers hired by companies are public research employees.
“This finding stems from the well-established rigidity of French legal rules—predating the PACTE law—governing public-private partnerships,” emphasizes Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice President and Ethics Officer atUM. According to the authorities, this acts as a barrier to French innovation and business competitiveness.
Strict guarantees
However, such transfers cannot take place without strict safeguards to rule out any suspicion of conflicts of interest between private companies and public research institutions. At the national level, while the Civil Service Ethics Commission had previously been responsible for ensuring this oversight, this role was transferred on February 1 to the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life.
With regard to university-affiliated research laboratories, it is up to the university presidents to decide whether or not to authorize such transfers. Philippe Augé is thus one of the first presidents to have established an advisory ethics committee at his university, tasked with reviewing authorization requests submitted by researchers and issuing 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 Commercialization and Industrial Partnerships. He is joined by Jacques Mercier, Vice President for Research; Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice President andUM Ethics Officer; Bénédicte Luporsi, Director of Human Resources; and Gaëtan Lan Sun Luk, Director of Innovation and Partnerships.
From the public sector to the private sector?
For a researcher working in the public sector, there are three scenarios that might lead them to request authorization from their employer to contribute their expertise, receive additional compensation, or even acquire an equity stake in a private-sector company.
First scenario: The researcher wishes to start their own company based on an innovation (patent, software, know-how, etc.) they developed within the laboratory to which they are affiliated and to become its president or one of its managing partners. “The patent belongs to the university,” explains Bénédicte Labat, commercialization officer at the Office of Innovation and Partnerships. “If the president authorizes the technology transfer, the university draws up a licensing agreement that allows the company to use the patent in exchange for the payment of a royalty.”
Second scenario: a request for scientific assistance. The researcher does not wish to start a company on his or her own, but a company is interested in developing his or her innovation and wishes to benefit from his or her expertise. Here again, the Advisory Committee on Research Ethics is consulted to ensure that the conditions are met, particularly the absence of a conflict of interest. “Several articles of the Research Code set forth specific requirements for this type of case. For example, the researcher must not have held an equity stake in the company within the three years prior to the request,” explains Bénédicte Labat. The researcher may then devote up to 50% of their working time to the company, in addition to their laboratory research.
The third and final possibility— which Bénédicte Labat describes as “less common”— is when a researcher wishes to serve on one of the governing bodies of a commercial company. In this case as well, the advisory committee is called upon to provide an opinion to the president, given that the researcher may receive compensation from the company.
Nine opinions issued
Since its creation last March, the Advisory Committee on Ethics has already met twice and issued nine opinions. Among the companies involved are Diag2Tec, an expert in hematological cancers and the early validation of new therapeutic molecules; Néocean, a specialist in marine engineering and innovation; Sterlab, a specialist in biomedical research and services in the field of microbiology; and Acusurgical, which works on precision surgical robotics.
Another meeting of the committee will be held next July. “We have received many requests from researchers for scientific grants, and it is essential that the President’s authorization be granted before the researcher acquires a stake in the company’s capital.”
UM the C.U.R.I.E. Network Day
On July 1,UM Directorate of Innovation and Partnerships) will co-host, as part of the national C.U.R.I.E network, a morning session to discuss the PACTE Act, 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 derived from public research to the socio-economic sector. Its 190 members are mostly public research institutions such as universities, university hospitals, national research organizations, and schools, as well as entities established under the Investment Plan for the Future, such as Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATTs), Technological Research Institutes (IRTs), and University Hospital Institutes (IHUs).