The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), main technical-scientific organ of the Italian National Health Service and of the Ministry of health, is the highest public healthcare entity in Italy that combines the biomedical research with institutional consulting, training and regulatory control for the protection of public health. Its role in Italy is equivalent to the role of the US NIH and part of the role of the FDA , CDC, USDA combined. It has a 2000 strong workforce and is organized in seven departments: - Cellular biology and neurobiology - Hematology, oncology and molecular medicine - Epidemiology, controls and health promotion - Drug Research and Evaluation - Infectious, parasitic and immune-mediated diseases - Food quality and Food Risks - Food and Animal safety - Technology & Healthcare - Organ Transplants Research spans all areas of healthcare with specific excellence in many areas, such as cancer research, poverty related diseases, vaccines, infectious diseases, dendritic cell research, neurobiology and many other areas. ISS is the eye of a vast Italian biomedical research institutions and universities' groups, collaborates with all major European public and private healthcare entities , has significant collaborations with international scientific and healthcare organizations and a strong presence and collaborations in Africa.

ISS has a very active intellectual property protection and industrial partnering policy in all areas of healthcare. Out-licensing opportunities are available for several vaccine and therapeutic drug candidates in various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development, in addition to diagnostics and food technology opportunities. An intellectual property portfolio is available for review to qualified companies. To request one please send an email with your company profile to: Giovanni Cozzone Advisor to the Board for Technology Transfer E-mail: cozzone@iss.it