In order to ensure that the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine uphold the highest ethical standards in research and the development of Penn technology, Penn has adopted conflict of interest and conflict of commitment policies to address both actual conflicts and the appearance of conflicts that may arise in connection with the commercialization of that technology. The following Conflict of Interest Guidance: Investments in Penn Technology and Fiduciary Obligations provides a simple articulation of policy principles and rules that are applicable to Trustees, Overseers, Faculty, and Staff involved in research and the commercialization of Penn technology.

—David L. Cohen, Chair, Board of Trustees

—Amy Gutmann, President

—Wendell E. Pritchett, Provost

—J. Larry Jameson, Executive Vice President, Penn Medicine

Conflict of Interest Guidance: Investments in Penn Technology and Fiduciary Obligations

Effective March 1, 2019

In order to ensure that Penn continues in its global leadership role as an engine for innovation without creating inappropriate conflicts of interest or the appearance of these conflicts of interest, which are both contrary to Penn’s academic mission and could be harmful to its reputation, this guidance articulates four principles to clarify our existing conflict of interest policies.

1. No member of the University Board of Trustees, Penn Medicine Board, or Board of Overseers of any School or Center (or a family member) may invest in any Penn start-up company or hold a fiduciary position in a Penn start-up company, such as serving as a Board member, Director, or Officer. This restriction precludes the investment of personal assets by any Board member and also precludes Board members from participating in any way in an investment of assets from a fund or company in which the Board member has a material financial interest.¹ A Penn Start-up company includes any entity that is created to commercialize Penn owned technology, is expected to or has licensed Penn owned technology, or is founded predominately on the basis of Penn-owned technology.
2. No Penn faculty member or employee may hold a fiduciary position, such as Board member, Director, or Officer, in a Penn start-up company, except as an institutional Penn representative during the period of company formation, and without personal compensation or a financial interest in the company. In addition, no faculty member or employee (or family member) may invest personal assets in a Penn start-up company without the prior approval of an appropriate Penn or Penn Medicine official (e.g. dean, department chair, the Provost, or the President).   
3. No Penn faculty member, department chair, or officer of the University or Penn Medicine may serve on the Board of Directors of any for-profit company, whether or not publicly traded, without prior approval of their department chair, dean, the Provost, or the President of the University, as appropriate.
4. No Penn employee (including a faculty member employed in an administrative capacity) who develops technology at the direction of the institution, for use by Penn, using Penn resources, or in a Penn initiated project as work for hire, may have a fiduciary or personal financial interest in any Penn Start-up company that was created to commercialize that technology. This restriction does not include a faculty member’s generated intellectual property that is part of their academic pursuits and is subject to the patent policy.

¹ The determination of what constitutes a “material financial interest” involves the exercise of personal judgment but, at a minimum, it includes entities in which you and all individuals or entities having significant relationships which you own, in the aggregate, more than (a) 1 percent of any class of the outstanding securities of a firm or corporation, (b) 10 percent interest in a partnership or association, or (c) 5 percent of the total direct and beneficial assets or income of the person.