Research Chemist at Global Pharmaceutical Company Pleads Guilty to Theft of Trade Secrets
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 17, 2012 |
TRENTON, NJ—A former research chemist with global pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis (“sanofi”) admitted today to stealing sanofi’s trade secrets and making them available for sale through Abby Pharmatech, Inc. (“Abby”), the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese chemicals company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Yuan Li, 29, of Somerset, N.J., a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to an information charging her with one count of theft of trade secrets. Li entered her guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Sanofi is a global health care company with U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, N.J. Among other things, sanofi is engaged in the development, manufacture, and marketing of health care products, including the prescription drugs Allegra, Plavix, Copaxone, and Ambien.
Li worked as a research scientist at sanofi’s Bridgewater headquarters from August 2006 through June 2011, where she directly assisted in the development of a number of compounds that sanofi viewed as potential building blocks for future drugs. These compounds were sanofi’s trade secrets, and had not been disclosed outside of sanofi in any manner, including by means of a patent application.
While employed at sanofi, Li was also a 50 percent partner in Abby, which is engaged in the sale and distribution of pharmaceuticals.
Li admitted that between October 2008 and June 2011, she accessed an internal sanofi database and downloaded information related to a number of sanofi compounds, including their chemical structures, onto her sanofi-issued laptop computer. She also admitted she then transferred the information to her personal home computer by sending it to her personal e-mail address or via a USB thumb drive.
Li acknowledged that she made the stolen compounds available for sale on Abby’s website.
The charge to which Li pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for April 23, 2012.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gurbir S. Grewal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.