Purdue ends $100M deal with research foundation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University has ended its dealings with a foundation that pledged a $100 million donation five years ago to help the school find commercial uses for its research.

Purdue officials announced Thursday that the university’s research foundation was taking over the nonprofit group that the school had created with the California-based Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Biomedical Engineering.

The foundation has given $15.5 million to the project, but Purdue and foundation leaders aren’t explaining why they’re parting ways.

AMIPurdue director John Hertig tells the Journal & Courier (http://on.jconline.com/IvL1p9 ) that it will own all the research patents and that the changes will make it easier to work within the Purdue environment.

Purdue accepted the foundation’s offer after some other universities rejected it amid questions about control of research innovations.