Trio accused of sending Eli Lilly's secrets to rival Chinese drug firm
Three former employees of Eli Lilly sent trade secrets valued at more than US$55 million to a competing Chinese drug company, according to a federal indictment in Indianapolis.
Three former employees of Eli Lilly sent trade secrets valued at more than US$55 million to a competing Chinese drug company, according to a federal indictment in Indianapolis.
It charges Guoqing Cao and Shuyu Li with seven counts of theft and conspiracy to commit theft. The indictment did not name the third man. It is alleged Cao and Li e-mailed sensitive information about nine experimental drug research programmes at Lilly to the third man when he was employed by Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine in China.
US Attorney Joe Hogsett said the alleged theft was a crime against America.
His deputy, Cynthia Ridgeway, told Magistrate Judge Mark Dinsmore during a detention hearing that if the case "could be wrapped up in one word, that word would be traitor".
Dinsmore did not immediately rule on their detention.
Cao and Li were arrested on October 1.