Taiwanese biotech built on ‘foundation of lies’, says DoJ

US prosecutors have charged the founders of Taiwanese biosimilar manufacturer JHL Biotech with stealing  Genentech trade secrets.

According to the  US Department of Justice (DoJ), Racho Jordanov and Rose Lin stole thousands of proprietary documents detailing Genentech’s “standard operating procedures” (SOP) for use by JHL Biotech. The pair have pleaded not guilty.

The Taiwanese firm saved “thousands of dollars” from use of the stolen SOPs, the DoJ alleged. Lin and Jordanov obtained the documents with the help of a husband and wife team of scientists working at Genentech. Xanthe and Allen Lam both pled guilty to the theft of trade secrets yesterday, July 7.

JHL used the files to “cut corners, reduce costs, solve problems, save time, and otherwise accelerate product development timelines,” prosecutors claimed, resulting in a “$1 billion Taiwanese unicorn built on a foundation of lies”.

The company also earned $101 million from a strategic partnership with Sanofi in 2016, with Jordanov having falsely represented that the company had not infringed any third-party IP, the DoJ statement added.

“The indictment alleges defendants used confidential documents and trade secrets stolen from Genentech to build a competitor and enrich themselves,” said acting US attorney Stephanie Hinds.

“This kind of complex IP theft and fraud not only harms victims, it threatens the IP of an industry with strategic importance to the US,” Hinds said.

Jordanov and Lin face charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and wire fraud, international money laundering, conspiracy to obstruct justice, theft of trade secrets (Jordanov only), and false statements (Lin only).

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.