Biotech Firm Sues Ex-University of Connecticut Professor

By Grace E. Merritt, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Jan. 16–A biotech company is suing a former UConn professor, accusing him of disclosing trade secrets connected to research he did for it on a compound that prevents a slimy, protective film from forming over bacteria.

Sequoia Sciences Inc. of San Diego alleges that Thomas K. Wood, a professor of chemical engineering, disclosed confidential information about the compound at conferences in violation of an agreement it had with the University of Connecticut.

For the research, Wood and his students tested the compound to determine its effectiveness as a “biofilm inhibitor” that prevents the formation of a shield or film over bacteria. The film hinders antibiotics and the body’s immune system from fighting the bacteria.

Wood left UConn in the fall to join the faculty at the Texas A&M University system.

Sequoia says it owns the biofilm inhibitors that Wood tested through the contract with UConn. The company alleges that Wood disclosed secret information about the inhibitor during conferences this summer in Atlanta and San Francisco.

“We fear irreparable harm,” said Sequoia’s lawyer, Robert Rispoli, of Clayman, Tapper & Baram in Bloomfield.

Both parties have agreed to an order maintaining the existing confidentiality agreement until March 6 while the company determines whether additional patent applications should be filed.

Wood’s lawyer, Texas Assistant Attorney General Robert Henneke, is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that U.S. District Court in Connecticut was the wrong place to file it since Wood lives in Texas, Sequoia is in California and the conferences were in Atlanta and San Francisco.

Henneke argues in pleadings that Sequoia made the initial research agreement with UConn, not Wood, so Wood is protected from the lawsuit.

He says that Wood inadvertently disclosed the information at the San Francisco conference in a footnote he overlooked that was left un-redacted.

He also downplays the alleged disclosure, pointing out that related information was essentially disclosed in a publication that Sequoia had already approved.

Sequoia also claims that Wood has conducted additional research on the inhibitor, but has not presented the research results and data to Sequoia as required by the research agreement Sequoia had with UConn.

Henneke argues that Wood is permitted to continue the research and that Sequoia has been given everything it is entitled to under the agreement.

—–

To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.courant.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.