Technology Transfer at NEI

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is committed to advancing medical research related to eye health and eye disease treatments. The NEI Office of Technology Transfer is responsible for facilitating this commitment by assisting NEI scientists to exchange research materials, disseminate data, and forge scientific partnerships with industry, academia, and nonprofit organizations. As a federal laboratory, NEI has a variety of mechanisms through which it can exchange and advance technologies in cooperation with non-federal entities. The NEI office of Technology Transfer achieves NEI mission by

• Negotiating technology transfer agreements like Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDAs), Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs), or Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) to support NEI research programs
• Promoting  NEI’s collaborations with academia, industry, nonprofits, and government agencies
• Protecting NEI’s intellectual property
• Licensing NEI patented technologies to commercial and non-commercial entities

Below are recent NEI technologies that are available for licensing and co-development

• A method for Ex-vivo Production of Regulatory B-Cells for Use in Auto-immune Indications iPSC-RPE Cells​
• Efficient Protocol for Generating Functional RPE Cells From iPS Cells​
• miRNA-204/ 211 For Treatment and Prevention of AMD and other eye-related diseases
• Ocular Gene Therapy Product for Rare Disease Retinitis Pigmentosa​
• Strategies to protect mammalian neural tissue against cold and potentially other metabolic stresses​​
• ​Selective Estrogen-receptor Modulators (SERMs) Confer Protection Against Photoreceptor Degeneration​
• Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-derived exosomes for the treatment of glaucoma
• CEP-290-AAV for treatment of Retinal Degeneration​
• Treatment of Oculocutaneous/Ocular Albinism and Increasing Pigmentation in Skin, Hair and Eyes
• Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) From the Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel​
• Device for Tissue Cryopreservation and Recovery
• Surgical Tissue Clamp

An extensive list of NEI technologies are available at NIH Office of Technology Transfer: Inventions from NEI

If you are interested in collaborating with NEI or licensing any of its technologies, please contact the NEI Office of Technology Transfer at  neitechtransfer@mail.nih.gov and NEIOTR@nei.nih.gov