Confidentiality Statement

Our Commitment

Confidentiality is the foundation of our work. The scientists, biotechs, and pharmaceutical companies who engage Science Habitat share data, ideas, and intellectual property that is often pre-publication, pre-patent, or commercially sensitive. We treat every engagement as if the outcome could become a publication, a patent application, or a regulatory submission — because, very often, it does.

1. Default Confidentiality Posture

All discussions with prospective and active clients are treated as confidential by default — before, during, and after any contractual relationship. This includes scientific data, methods, results, and preliminary findings; proposals, study designs, statistical analysis plans, and protocols; manuscript drafts, regulatory submissions, and supporting documentation; client identity, project scope, and the existence of any engagement; and business or financial information shared during scoping or delivery.

2. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)

We sign mutual or one-way NDAs before any substantive scoping discussion involving your science. Our standard NDA covers a defined confidentiality period and is available on request, and we are pleased to execute your organisation's standard NDA subject to mutual legal review. [VERIFY the stated confidentiality period against the actual NDA template.]

3. Information Handling Practices

During an engagement we apply: access on a need-to-know basis (only the project team); controlled-access project folders; return or secure destruction of client materials at engagement end per your written instruction; no reuse of your data, methods, or outputs in other engagements; and separation of staff working on competing engagements where a conflict could arise. [VERIFY which technical controls — multi-factor authentication, encryption, audit logging — are actually implemented.]

4. Subcontractor and Collaborator Controls

Where a project involves external collaborators (specialist statisticians, illustrators, translators), each is bound by a written confidentiality agreement before any client material is shared.

5. Public Discussion of Engagements

We do not publicly identify client engagements, post case studies, or reference any project on our website, social media, or marketing materials without prior written client approval. Anonymised case studies published with consent are reviewed by the client before release.

6. Intellectual Property

Unless your engagement contract specifies otherwise, all intellectual property generated through a Science Habitat engagement is owned by the client. We retain only the rights necessary to deliver the engagement and to keep a confidential reference copy. Background IP (pre-existing methods, tools, or know-how) remains owned by its originator.

7. Conflict-of-Interest Management

We screen incoming engagements for conflicts with active or recent client work. If a conflict is identified, we disclose it before accepting the engagement and offer mitigation options or, where the conflict is material, decline the work.

8. Regulatory and Ethical Disclosures

Some regulatory or ethical obligations may require limited disclosure (e.g., ICMJE author disclosures, COI statements in published manuscripts, lawful regulatory inquiries). In all such cases we work with the client to keep disclosures accurate, minimal, and consistent with the engagement contract.

9. Reporting a Concern

If you have a question or concern about how we handle confidential information, contact our Confidentiality Officer at support@sciencehabitat.com.