Two recent cases brought before courts in the US concern theft/disclosure of pharma trade secrets.
In September, a research scientist pleaded guilty in a US federal court to conspiring to steal trade secrets from GSK to develop rival drugs.
Yu Xue, a GSK employee of ten years, together with four other people, was alleged to have engaged in a scheme to steal both trade secrets and otherwise confidential information, related to GSK research data, procedures, and manufacturing processes. The alleged offences occurred during a four year period from 2012 to 2016.The group planned to use the GSK proprietary information to develop rival drugs by launching their own company and selling the products in China.
Xue claimed that she didn’t understand that the company materials which she shared were considered trade secrets as the information was publicly available. The judge stated that the prosecution was not required to demonstrate if Xue understood what was or wasn’t a trade secret; rather it had to be demonstrated that Xue understood the information she shared was confidential.
Xue is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She may also be forced to pay restitution on the value of those trade secrets. The Washington Post reported that this could be up to $2 billion.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/file/814381/download
https://www.biospace.com/article/-j...y-secrets-to-launch-a-rival-company-in-china/
https://www.biospace.com/article/fi...eme-to-steal-biopharma-secrets-from-b-gsk-b-/
Last month, four former employees of Genentech, led by a long-standing principal scientist, were charged with stealing Genentech trade secrets to help Taiwanese-based JHL Biotech Inc. sell similar drugs. The alleged offences occurred between 2012 and 2017.
It is alleged that Xanthe Lam and others, at the request of the founders of JHL Biotech and in return for payment, conspired to steal trade secrets in the form of proprietary manufacturing protocols from Genentech and use them to create biosimilars of Genentech biologics. To accomplish this, it is alleged that Lam facilitated the transfer of Genentech’s
“analytical methods, formulation know-how, quality acceptance criteria, and manufacturing protocols”.
Lam, who is denying the charges, faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty. Genentech, meanwhile, is seeking damages, disgorgement of proceeds and an injunction barring JHL Biotech from selling biosimilar versions to its drugs that benefited from stolen information.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/press-release/file/1106866/download
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma...amages?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=rss
https://endpts.com/genentech-suit-d...o-develop-rival-drugs-at-an-astonishing-pace/
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