Penn cancer research institute sues former director over IP breach

The CEO of Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Research Center is the focus of a $1 billion lawsuit filed by a cancer research institute at the University of Pennsylvania for allegedly stealing the innovative cancer treatment he developed while serving as a director there.

Dr. Craig Thompson was the scientific director of the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute from 1999 to October last year, when he “terminated his employment,” according to the complaint.

The complaint, filed in federal court in New York, alleges that Thompson, who oversaw and managed the institute’s cancer cell biology program, fraudulently misrepresented the nature and results of his work on cancer metabolism research at the institute to avoid meeting disclosure requirements. It also alleges that Thompson stole the institute’s intellectual property on cancer metabolism and used it as the basis to form a for-profit company that later became Agios Pharmaceuticals, without informing the university.

Agios and Celgene (NYSE: CELG) are also named as defendants in the lawsuit filed last month. Agios and Celgene formed a strategic collaboration in 2010 to work on cancer metabolism, the complaint said. Thompson is listed on Agios’ website as one of three co-founders of the company.

In an e-mail sent through his lawyer Thompson said: “The allegations in this lawsuit are unfounded and without merit. It is unfortunate that the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute has chosen to go down this path.” according to a PharmaLive article.