Former Pharmaceutical Firm Employee Violates Confidentiality Agreement

Case Overview

This case involves a breach of an employee confidentiality agreement after a senior employee of a biopharmaceutical firm left the company in order to join a competitor. The former employee had knowledge of a particularly important clinical success with an oncology medication of high commercial value. It was alleged that the employee brought trade secrets to her new employer which significantly influenced company strategy through the development of a similar drug. An expert in chemistry was sought to can compare the relevant drugs from both the plaintiff and the defendant and opine on whether or not the defendant’s drug incorporated elements of the plaintiff’s drug in its development process.

Questions to the Chemistry expert and their responses

Please describe your background in chemistry as it relates to new drug development.

I have a Ph.D. in chemistry, and I have studied oncology medications for more than 15 years. I am familiar with their molecular properties, as well as its interactions with small molecules, such as inhibitors. I have published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles and I am a frequent reviewer for funding agencies and peer-reviewed journals. I have presented a series of public lectures about my research work in national and international institutes and conferences. In addition, I have received millions of dollars grants from National Institute of Health to support my research work on oncology medication research. I have a pending grant and a pending patent on the design/development of inhibitors and my most recent work on a new generation of inhibitors. I have an extensive background in chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and biophysical chemistry (on which I have taught a course for several years). Other than my own research work, I am familiar with inhibitors reported in the literature.

Are you capable of analyzing iterations of two similar molecules and opining on whether or not one incorporated elements from the other?

I have an extensive background in chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and biophysical chemistry.

About the expert

This well-credentialed expert earned her BS in Chemistry and her MS in Physical Chemistry in Taiwan before going on to complete a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry at the University of Maryland. She also engaged in a postdoctoral program in photobiology at Harvard Medical School, as well as biophsyics posdoctoral programs at Princeton University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. This expert is a Fellow and member of the American Physical Society and also holds memberships in the American Chemical Society and the Biophysical Society. She has acted as a reviewer for 19+ relevant journals, has received 15+ funded research grants, and has authored over 90 publications. Currently, she works as a Professor for a private medical college located in New York City.