MUMBAI: US biopharmaceutical company
HDT Bio
Corp has filed a $950-million suit against Pune-based Emcure in a Washington federal court, accusing the Indian company of “stealing” trade secrets for a new Covid vaccine.
HDT Bio said the Pune firm had stolen its innovative vaccine technology, which it had licensed to Emcure’s subsidiary Gennova for manufacture and distribution in India.
The US company added that its innovative vaccine uses a proprietary delivery platform, Lipid InOrganic Nanoparticle (LION) formulation to deliver immune-stimulating
RNA
fragments to targeted cells.
It may be mentioned here that
HDT
Bio had signed an agreement with Gennova Biopharmaceuticals in July 2020 for jointly developing a potential Covid vaccine, using the messenger or mRNA technology.
When contacted, an Emcure spokesperson told TOI: “The licence agreement, which is the subject matter of the suit, is between Gennova Biopharmaceuticals and HDT. Emcure
Pharma
has no connection whatsoever with the matter. Emcure has been legally advised that no suit lies against it; and it has been wrongly joined as a party. The company is initiating steps to have the claims dismissed”.
A Gennova spokesperson stated: “We state that there is no legal merit in the suit. We assert that there is no contravention of breach on any contractual obligations or provisions of law. We shall defend such frivolous litigation vigorously”.
A business journalist with around two decades of experience track...
Read MoreA business journalist with around two decades of experience tracking key consumer-focussed sectors like consumer durables, retail, consumer goods, aviation, automobiles and advertising, as well as economic ministries of the Union government. Now, writes primarily on pharmaceuticals and healthcare, and on issues of consumer interest. Besides also looks at trends that are shaping consumer behaviour and the broad consumer landscape. \nYou can follow Rupali on Twitter@Rupalijee.
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