Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TSX:TKM) has filed a civil action in BC Supreme Court against AlCana Technologies Inc.
AlCana was formed by former Tekmira employees. The Canadian suit is part of a larger legal battle over intellectual property rights that includes a claim against Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the U.S.
Tekmira alleges AlCana employees downloaded thousands of documents containing Tekmira’s confidential information and trade secrets.
Tekmira discovered the alleged document theft while producing documents for its case against Alnylam and AlCana in the Massachusetts Superior Court. Tekmira has collaborated with Alnylam in the past and continues to have licensing agreements with the company.
In its action, Tekmira, a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, alleges that more than 10,000 documents containing confidential information were downloaded from the company’s electronic document management system and used by AlCana to produce proprietary biotechnology belonging to Tekmira.
The biotech firm is seeking an injunction ordering the defendants to surrender all confidential information belonging to the company and an injunction prohibiting the defendants from using or disclosing that information. Tekmira is also seeking general and punitive damages.
Tekmira specializes in a delivery system for RNAi therapies, which treats diseases by “silencing” or turning off certain genes.
For more on Tekmira’s legal battle with Alnylam, check out next week’s issue of Business in Vancouver.
Jennifer Harrison
@JHarrisonBIV