Novartis is pursuing legal action against a former employee from its Egyptian affiliate, who is alleged to have taken thousands of files with him when he joined Takeda. Novartis has now filed a complaint for discovery in Massachusetts Superior Court, seeking access to Takeda’s business records to determine if their confidential information has been misused.
The former employee, Khaled Shams Eldin, who served as operations lead for cell and gene therapy at Novartis’ Egypt branch, is accused of transferring approximately 10,000 files to his personal email shortly before departing from the company in May 2023. Shams Eldin subsequently joined Takeda in Egypt in July 2023 in a role that Novartis contends is similar to his previous position, based on LinkedIn profiles.
Novartis claims that its efforts to address the matter out of court have been met with resistance from Takeda. A spokesperson for Novartis emphasized the company’s commitment to safeguarding proprietary information and confidentiality.
In response, Takeda has communicated to Novartis that it has been actively investigating the situation and denies any interest in Novartis’ confidential data. Now, Novartis is taking further action by seeking a subpoena to access specific Takeda documents necessary to protect its business interests and confidential information. Novartis aims to ascertain whether Shams Eldin disclosed confidential data within Takeda, whether Takeda was aware of the file transfer, whether the information has been used, and whether Takeda has implemented measures to prevent improper use.
The files in question contain sensitive, confidential information, encompassing technical data, financial records, site plans, and materials related to confidential transactions, as detailed in Novartis’ complaint.
Novartis asserts that it initially contacted Takeda about the situation on October 3 but claims that Takeda’s response deviates from industry customs, describing it as uncooperative. However, Takeda has stated on multiple occasions that it is actively investigating the matter.
Allegations of trade secrets theft are not uncommon in the pharmaceutical sector, with previous cases involving companies like AbbVie, Genentech, GSK, and Pfizer. This legal action underscores the industry’s commitment to protecting proprietary information and ensuring fair competition.
