MHH works with Ascenion GmbH to market its intellectual property. Ascenion is an IP asset management agency with a clear focus on the life sciences sector. In addition to the MHH, Ascenion is the sole commercialization partner for three Helmholtz Facilities or Institutions, thirteen Leibniz Institutes and the Twincore. As a result, Ascenion has now built up a portfolio of around 400 patent families and 300 research materials. This provides industry with an optimal overview and clear access to licensable technologies in the field of life sciences. In this way, MHH and its researchers benefit from better commercialization through higher revenues from the exploitation business.

Ascenion is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Life Science Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research. Proceeds from investment transactions are distributed directly to the Foundation, which then passes them on to partner institutes for research projects.

Ascenion is directly represented at the MHH. Dr. Ralf Cordes, Dr. Torben Söker and Dr. Sören Rindfleisch are the direct contacts for all MHH employees in matters of patent protection and exploitation. They advise and support scientists in the preliminary phase of patent applications, e.g. by reviewing manuscripts and planned publications in order to identify commercially attractive inventions at an early stage. Together with the Ascenion team at the head office in Munich, tailor-made proposals for suitable IP and exploitation strategies are then developed, contact is established with industry and fair license agreements are negotiated. If a new company is to be founded on the basis of new, patent-protected technologies, Ascenion supports the founders on their path to independence and arranges contacts with specialized investors in the life sciences sector. Ascenion assumes the role of a fair moderator.

At the MHH itself, various departments are involved in the technology transfer process. The Legal department is directly involved in matters of invention and patent law, among other things, and also acts as the interface to Ascenion, as mandated by the Presidium. MHH itself is the owner of the intellectual property rights and the contractual partner of the respective licensee. It is free to make its own decisions at any point in the exploitation process and can, if necessary, give preference to non-commercial exploitation, for example through publications or scientific workshops. The strategies pursued in the individual projects are coordinated between Ascenion and the Legal Administrative Unit in regular 'jour fixes'.