A principal investigator explains how to structure partnerships with foreign entities on U.S. research grants. They faced tough questions about IP ownership and had to justify why they needed a foreign partner, partly because the work required manufacturing capability abroad. The advice: apply for an NIH R01, let the foreign entity be the prime awardee, but also include U.S. institutions to satisfy funders and reduce compliance risk.
When I was a PI of an application, I did have a foreign entity partnership and it's just they had a lot of questions to make sure, you know, where's the IP? Why do you need this partnership? And we argue we don't have a manufacturing facility in the States to carry that out. I would also encourage trying for an R01, which is more heavy academic-based, and the foreign entity can be a prime for that. But we do recommend partnering with US entities
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