A former CSL Behring senior medical affairs director allegedly stole more than 21,000 files containing valuable trade secrets before he left the company for a job at Pharming, a competing drugmaker, according to STAT.
According to the lawsuit filed Oct. 7, Joseph Chiao, MD, headed research in HAE at CSL for three years and played a key role in developing its marketing strategy.
CSL's lawsuit claims Dr. Chiao was recruited by Pharming to help it dominate the market for hereditary angioedema drugs, which are used to treat a disease that causes pain and swelling. CSL also sought an injunction to prevent Dr. Chiao from starting work at Pharming.
A federal judge issued an order Oct. 8 preventing Dr. Chiao from being involved in any HAE research and ordered him to return to CSL all stolen documents. It also instructed Pharming not to use any confidential information it may have received.
Pharming issued a statement Oct. 16 saying it "did not induce or encourage Dr. Chiao to breach any rules or contract terms or in any way to remove any data from his former employer."
Pharming also claims it didn't see any proprietary information from CSL.
Dr. Chiao has been suspended from Pharming pending the outcome of an upcoming court hearing to resolve the issue.
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