Bioventus continues to only hire and promote the best of the best-
dishonest is dishonest.
Law360, New York (November 25, 2013, 2:10 PM ET) -- Medical device company Scion BioMedical Inc. launched a lawsuit Thursday in Florida federal court, accusing one of its board members of misusing confidential information from a new product Scion was developing, to file a patent for her own company.
The suit alleges that Allison London Brown, who was recruited to work as Scion’s chief strategy and operating officer, misappropriated trade secrets related to the company's development of the “Clo-SurPlus P.A.D.,” a device manufactured from a unique chitosan, or fat-binding fiber, used for managing bleeding wounds such as vascular-access sites.
The complaint, filed against Brown and her company Aegis Women’s Health Technologies, Inc., claims breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with advantageous business relationship and fraud in the inducement.
“Brown abused her position and breached her fiduciary duty by, among other things, deliberately, without justification and dishonestly, usurping for Aegis a Scion business relationship, potentially misappropriating confidential information belonging to Scion, and upon information and belief, filing a patent application on behalf of her own company Aegis that may include chitosan-based technology,” the complaint alleges.
The complaint says that after Brown was recruited to serve on Scion’s board of directors in January 2012, she and the company discussed ways they could collaborate to develop new products for Scion. Early the following year, Brown informed Scion that she had started Aegis Women’s Health Technologies Inc., a medical device company that focuses on solving the problem of recurring urinary tract infections, according to the suit.
Brown told Scion that her company’s technology was “vastly different” from Scion’s and that she would keep the business of the two companies separate, the complaint says. Scion and Brown then talked about having Brown work full time for the company as a chief strategy and operating officer, which would occur after Brown spent spent six months as a consultant and contractor for the company performing various duties, according to the complaint.
According to the suit, Scion sent Brown a sample of chitosan, valued at about $15,000, in March 2013 after Brown requested it to conduct research and develop a chitosan-based gel. Scion expected Brown to share her research and development with it, the company said.
But Scion said Brown potentially misappropriated the company’s trade secrets and used its confidential information to develop her own chitosan-based gel in her patent application filed with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. According to the complaint, Scion is the only company in the United States and one of only a few in the world that is able to manufacture biomedical-grade chitosan. Scion’s methods of creating its chitosan, which it has been using to develop new products, are proprietary trade secrets, the company said.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
Scion BioMedical Inc. is represented by William R. Trueba and Francesca Russo of Espinosa Trueba PL.
Counsel information for defendants was not immediately available.
The case is Scion BioMedical Inc. v. Allison London Brown, case number not immediately available, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
--Editing by Richard McVay.
