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Beam Therapeutics Sues Former Scientist Over IP Theft
Confirmed
In Short: Beam Therapeutics has filed a lawsuit against a former scientist for allegedly stealing intellectual property to start a Chinese company.
Beam Therapeutics, a gene-editing company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has filed a lawsuit against one of its former scientists, Zi Jun 'Emma' Wang, for allegedly stealing intellectual property and using it to co-found a Chinese company called YolTech Therapeutics.
According to the lawsuit, Wang accessed Beam's electronic laboratory notebooks late at night and on weekends, using the information to start YolTech.
YolTech, based in Shanghai, recently entered into a deal with venture capital firms RA Capital and RTW to form a new startup called Serapha Bio.
The complaint alleges that Wang utilized proprietary gene-editing research from Beam Therapeutics to establish YolTech, which has since entered into financial agreements with investment firms.
Beam Therapeutics claims that Wang stole confidential information and used it to quietly spin up a rival rare disease treatment at YolTech.
The lawsuit centers on claims that Wang transferred confidential information from Beam Therapeutics to YolTech Therapeutics, a company based in China.
Beam Therapeutics is seeking legal remedies regarding the alleged theft of its research and the resulting commercialization of its proprietary data.
What this adds
The allegation comes amid escalating tensions between American biotech companies and their Chinese counterparts.
Background
Beam Therapeutics has filed a lawsuit against a former scientist for allegedly stealing intellectual property to start a Chinese company.
Beam Therapeutics has filed a lawsuit against a former scientist for allegedly stealing intellectual property to start a Chinese company.
What's confirmed
- Beam Therapeutics is suing the Chinese biotechnology company YolTech Therapeutics and its U.S.
What's still developing
- The allegation comes at a time of escalating tensions between American biotech companies and their Chinese counterparts.
- According to a new BioPharma Dive analysis, corporate-related funds such as Novo Holdings, Eli Lilly and Sanofi Ventures have been among the most active investors in biotech startups this year.
- According to the filing, this unauthorized use of trade secrets facilitated the development of the startup’s gene-editing platform.