The Wellcome Trust–DBT India Alliance (the ‘Alliance’) is a public charitable trust established under the laws of India that provides support for high quality biomedical research and seeks to promote both basic and applied research. The Alliance wishes to ensure that the useful results of this research are applied for the public benefit (i.e. the research should give adequate public benefit, with only incidental private benefit). The Alliance recognises the importance of protecting and exploiting intellectual property arising from research as a means of achieving this public benefit. Accordingly, the Alliance views it as desirable to encourage, where appropriate, scientifically productive relationships between its Grantholders and commercial organisations. At the same time, it wishes to ensure that the intellectual integrity of Grantholders and their freedom to carry out curiosity-driven research are not compromised by such relationships.

Consultancies and directorships

1. Grantholders may serve as consultants to commercial organisations. Consultancy is limited to the provision of advice and the exchange of ideas and must not include research or supervision of research. Consultancy must not enable a commercial organisation to gain access to unpublished data, findings or conclusions from grantholders that would give an unfair advantage to that organisation over its competitors in access to Alliance-funded research.

2. Subject to the policies of their host organisation, Grantholders may serve as non-executive directors of commercial organisations but may not serve as executive directors, except in exceptional circumstances. A grantholder wishing to accept an executive directorship would have to relinquish all forms of ongoing Alliance support, or would have to obtain the Alliance's permission in writing for the Alliance-funded research to continue with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the research would be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

3. Grantholders in receipt of salary support from the Alliance must ensure that their time commitments to commercial organisations and other non-research activities are compatible with the policies of the host organisation and any conditions in the Alliance’s Award Letter.

4. The terms of each consultancy or directorship must be set out in a written agreement between the grantholder and the commercial organisation. Before entering into a proposed consultancy or directorship, the Grantholder must inform the host organisation. The host organisation is required to review in advance all proposed consultancy or director’s service agreements involving grantholders and to ensure that the agreements are consistent with the policies of the host organisation, this policy and paragraph 7 of the Grant Conditions (‘Intellectual property and commercial activities’).

4. The terms of each consultancy or directorship must be set out in a written agreement between the grantholder and the commercial organisation. Before entering into a proposed consultancy or directorship, the Grantholder must inform the host organisation. The host organisation is required to review in advance all proposed consultancy or director’s service agreements involving grantholders and to ensure that the agreements are consistent with the policies of the host organisation, this policy and paragraph 7 of the Grant Conditions (‘Intellectual property and commercial activities’).

5. Where grantholders are to be involved in relationships with commercial organisations, the arrangements for any transfer of intellectual property arising from the Alliance-funded research must be in accordance with paragraph 7 of the Grant Conditions and the policies of the host organisation.

Disclosure and management of conflicts of interest

6. Grantholders holding consultancies in, or directorships of, commercial organisations are required to make a declaration of interests to their host organisation. Should no mechanism be in place to do so, the grantholder should notify the Alliance.

7. The compensation of grantholders for the work they undertake for commercial organisations must be compatible with the rules and regulations of their host organisation. Unless the rules and regulations of their host organisation dictate otherwise, compensation may include fixed amounts of cash or equity (or both).

8. Grantholders must disclose to their host organisation (a) benefits in cash in excess of the equivalent of 1 million Indian Rupees per annum or (b) benefits in equity of any level, received either as compensation for work undertaken for a commercial organisation, or in consideration of the transfer of intellectual property.

9. Grantholders holding equity in a commercial organisation must make a declaration of interests to their host organisation if they, together with members of their immediate family, hold, control or manage, directly or indirectly, (a) any level of equity in an unlisted company, or (b) equity in a listed company in excess of 1 per cent of that company's equity interest. ‘Immediate family’ includes spouse or partner; minor children; and adult children (but only in so far as the grantholder has knowledge of the interests of the adult children).

10. Grantholders must notify their host organisation in the event of any substantial upward or downward revision in the level of compensation received or the percentage or value of their equity interests, such as changes resulting from a professional financing round or the listing of the equity of the commercial organisation.

11. The host organisation may require, at its discretion, that lower levels of cash or equity holdings (or both) should be disclosed.

12. Applicants for Alliance funding will be required to indicate within the grant application form whether they have any consultancies or equity holdings in, or directorships of, commercial organisations that might have an interest in the results of the proposed research. Should they be successful in their application, confirmation may be sought that they comply with the policies of their host organisation or any Alliance requirements (including this policy, the Grant Conditions and the Award Letter).

Responsibility for managing conflicts of interest

13. The Alliance does not directly employ researchers, but funds them through their host organisation. Therefore, the host organisation is required to have a policy statement covering conflicts of interest and to manage any conflicts of interest arising from disclosures made to it by grantholders because of their involvement with commercial organisations. The Alliance will wish to review such policy statements as part of its organisational eligibility checking procedures. It should be noted that if the policy statement of an applying organisation is not considered to be compatible with the Alliance’s policy, or if the organisation lacks the means to monitor or manage the policy, the organisation will be deemed to be ineligible for funding by the Alliance.

14. In managing a perceived or actual conflict of interest, it is the responsibility of the host organisation to ensure that the Alliance will not be in breach of Indian charity law or regulation because of the relationship of a grantholder with a commercial organisation. In the event of any doubt, the grantholder should decline the Grant. In particular, the host organisation should act to ensure that the useful results of Alliance-funded research are applied for the public benefit, with only incidental private benefit. This might involve requiring a grantholder to relinquish direct control over some, or all, of the assets he or she holds in a commercial organisation or requiring the level of compensation offered to the grantholder to be capped.

15. The Alliance reserves the right to decide not to proceed with an application or to terminate an award where a host organisation is unable to comply with any Alliance requirements (including this policy, the Grant Conditions and the Award Letter).

16. Where the host organisation has a concern about the commercial relationships of a grantholder, it should seek to rectify that concern. At its discretion, the host organisation may approach the Alliance for advice.

17. In cases where there has been a breach of the policies of either the host organisation or the Alliance, the Alliance should be informed as soon as possible about the issues identified and the actions taken.

18. The Alliance reserves the right at any time to require host organisations or individuals who hold or are seeking Alliance funds to provide to the Alliance current information about consultancies, directorships and equity holdings covered by this policy, copies of all relevant documentation, copies of the host organisation’s policies and details of the host organisation’s monitoring procedures.

19. The Alliance reserves the right to review the decisions taken by a host organisation in managing conflicts of interest of grantholders in order to judge whether those decisions could have an adverse effect on the Alliance’s compliance with relevant law or regulation or the Alliance’s activities or interests.

20. To the extent permissible by law or regulation, all information provided to the Alliance in order to comply with this policy is treated as confidential.

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