Five charged with scheme to steal GSK secrets

Five people have been charged in the US with scheming to steal trade secrets from the drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline with the intention of selling them in China, reports BBC.
The five include two former GlaxoSmithKline researchers.
The charges were announced by the US Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia late on Wednesday.
It lists charges of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud.
The stolen information, which contained details of drugs for cancer and other serious diseases “potentially could be sold for millions of dollars to rival pharmaceutical companies”.
The documents said the information would also be useful for a start-up pharmaceutical company.
The alleged conspirators established three corporations in China, all under the name Renopharma, to sell the stolen information, the complaint said.
The documents filed say the intention was to use that to reproduce Glaxo products and drugs in development.
One of the five, Yu Xue, was a senior-level manager and biotechnology expert at a Glaxo research facility in Pennsylvania with access to a wide array of secret information.
She was fired earlier this month.
Her lawyer said she denied the charges and would contest them “vigorously in court”.
The others named were Tian Xue, Yu Xue’s twin sister, Lucy Xi, a Glaxo scientist who left the company in November, Tao Li, and Yan Mei.
GSK said in a statement that it did not believe the breach has had any material impact on the company’s business or R&D activity.

Five charged with scheme to steal GSK secrets

Five people have been charged in the US withscheming to steal trade secrets from the drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline with the intention of selling them in China, reports BBC. The five include two former GlaxoSmithKline researchers. The charges were announced by the US Attorneys Office in Philadelphia late on Wednesday. It lists charges of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud. The stolen information, which contained details ofdrugs for cancer and other serious diseases potentially could be sold for millions of dollars to rival pharmaceutical companies. The documents said the information would also be useful for a start-up pharmaceutical company. The alleged conspirators established three corporations in China, all under the name Renopharma, to sell the stolen information, the complaint said. The documents filed say the intention was to use that to reproduce Glaxo products and drugs in development. One of the five, Yu Xue, was a senior-level managerand biotechnology expert at a Glaxo researchfacility in Pennsylvania with access to a wide array of secret information. She was fired earlier this month. Her lawyer said she denied the charges and would contest them vigorously in court. The others named were Tian Xue, Yu Xues twin sister, Lucy Xi, a Glaxo scientist who left the company in November, Tao Li, and Yan Mei. GSK said in a statement that it did not believe the breach has had any material impact on the companys business or RD activity.