RNAi Litigation

‘Hell hath no fury like a lipid scientist scorned’ and ‘Hell hath no fury like a corporate partner scorned’

[from Tekmira and Protiva’s response to AlCana’s counterclaims filed August 4, 2011]

Para 24: “Tekmira admits that the Supplemental Agreement included a detailed research plan that described the work that was contemplated to be conducted among AICana, Alnylam, and UBC, and that the SRA was attached to the Supplemental Agreement as an exhibit. Tekmira admits that the workplan attached to the SRA disclosed that the parties would be designing and synthesizing over 100 novel lipids and identified the AICana scientists who would be working on the research collaboration.”

Para 30: “Tekmira admits SRA was attached to the Supplemental Agreement as an exhibit, and that the workplan attached to the SRA disclosed that the parties would be designing and synthesizing over 100 novel lipids and identified the AICana scientists who would be working on the research collaboration.”

Para 40: “Tekmira admits SRA was attached to the Supplemental Agreement as an exhibit, and that the workplan attached to the SRA disclosed that the parties would be designing and synthesizing over 100 novel lipids.”

Para 75: “As alleged by AICana, the SRA was attached to the Supplemental Agreement as an exhibit, and that the workplan attached to the SRA represents that AlCana would be designing and synthesizing novel lipids, not lipids or other research based on and/or derived from Tekmira information and technology. In response to Tekmira’s concerns about the improper use of Tekmira information, AICana and Alnylam represented to Tekmira that AICana would explore new structures, not structures that contain, were based on, and/or derived from Tekmira information.”

Para 77: “Tekmira relied on these representations and omissions in agreeing to the Supplemental Agreement. AlCana’s contemporaneous representations are consistent with its 15 counterclaim allegation that Tekmira was under the impression that scientists who had previously worked for Tekmira in developing LNPs would be conducting further research in collaboration with Alnylam looking for ‘new novel LNPs’.”

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