GSK scientist pleads guilty to trade secret theft
Former GlaxoGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) scientists conspired to steal trade secrets to benefit the Chinese firm, Renopharma, according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
In an announcement, the DoJ confirmed yesterday, January 3, that an ex-GSK scientist, Lucy Xi, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to steal trade secrets from the company.
A DoJ investigation found that Xi and another former GSK scientist Yu Xue worked with a trio of conspirators, Tian Xue, Tao Li and Yan Mei to establish Renopharma as a repository of information stolen from GSK. According to the agency, Renopharma received funding and support from the Chinese government.
Xue had already pleaded guilty for her role in this conspiracy in 2018.
Xi was employed as a scientist at a GSK facility in Pennsylvania, which worked on developing biopharmaceutical products. These products typically cost in excess of $1 billion to research and develop, according to the DoJ.
Xi sent her husband, Mei, a GSK document which contained confidential and trade secret data and information. The document provided a summary of GSK research into monoclonal antibodies at that time. In the body of the e-mail, Xi wrote, “You need to understand it very well. It will help you in your future business [RENOPHARMA].”
“This defendant illegally stole trade secrets to benefit her husband’s company, which was financed by the Chinese government,” said US Attorney Jennifer Williams.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is being prosecuted by assistant US attorneys Robert Livermore and Jeanette Kang.
“The lifeblood of companies like GSK is its IP, and when that property is stolen and transferred to a foreign country, it threatens thousands of American jobs and jeopardises the strategic benefits brought about through research and development. Such criminal behavior must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” added Williams.
“Pharmaceutical firms such as GSK invest staggering amounts of time and money to develop new medications and bring them to market,” said Jacqueline Maguire, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia division.
“When individuals steal valuable trade secrets concerning one of these drugs, it’s a threat both to that firm and beyond. After all, innovation like this propels the US economy. The FBI is committed to enforcing laws that protect the nation’s businesses from such theft. We will not permit American research and development to be scavenged for the benefit of other companies or countries,” she concluded.
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