On Friday, July 24, Susman Godfrey secured a jury verdict on behalf of Yale University that venture capital firm RA Capital Management GP and Avilar Therapeutics willfully and maliciously misappropriated Yale’s trade secret. The jury verdict followed a five-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The trade secret relates to MODA technology; a pioneering science developed at Yale by Dr. David Spiegel and his laboratory that captures and degrades disease-causing proteins via the liver. Yale brought this case along with Biohaven Therapeutics, which licenses the technology from Yale.
RA Capital received confidential trade secret information about the MODA technology from Yale after signing a confidential disclosure agreement and expressing interest in partnering with Yale. RA Capital instead set up a competing company.
Along with finding willful and malicious trade secret misappropriation, the jury found that RA Capital’s use of Yale’s trade secret breached the confidential disclosure agreement.
The jury awarded Yale $2 million in damages for RA Capital’s breach of the confidentiality agreement and an additional $2 million for the trade secret misappropriation.
“We feel gratified the jury recognized the importance of protecting the confidential scientific advancements that universities like Yale work so hard to develop,” said Nick Spear and Kalpana Srinivasan, counsel for Yale University.
Yale was represented at trial by Susman Godfrey partners Kalpana Srinivasan, Nick Spear, Amanda Bonn, and Nick Carullo, associate Jerry Klaristenfeld, counsel Evie Spanos, and Brian Farnan and Michael Farnan of Farnan LLP.
Susman Godfrey tried the case alongside Roger Crane and Vince Galluzzo of K&L Gates, who represented co-plaintiff Biohaven Therapeutics.
The case is Biohaven Therapeutics and Yale University v. Avilar Therapeutics Inc., case no. 1:23-cv-00328 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
