Overview
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the sentinel for the health of people in the United States and throughout the world, strives to protect people’s health and safety by providing reliable health information and improving health through cutting-edge scientific research. Every year, CDC researchers and partners develop several novel inventions which enhance the health and welfare of people all over the world.
Within the CDC, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) serves a vital role in expanding the partnerships between scientists, other government agencies, universities, public health laboratories, and industry partners. The mission of the Technology Transfer Office is to rapidly translate scientific research conducted at the CDC into products that facilitate improved public health. TTO evaluates, protects, markets, licenses, monitors, and manages the wide range of CDC discoveries, inventions, and other intellectual property. In addition, TTO also ensures that CDC’s trademarks and copyrights are not violated outside of the Agency.
Within TTO, patent advisors evaluate the patentability of technologies and evaluate other methods to protect the Agency’s intellectual property rights. TTO markets CDC technologies for licensing to commercial entities. This licensing enables CDC technologies to be further developed and integrated into commercial products used in disease diagnosis, prevention, treatment and occupational safety. TTO also serves as a liaison for companies to approach the CDC to license existing inventions or to participate in the development of new inventions through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs).
