PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Gongda Xue, 52, formerly a resident of Allschwil, Switzerland, a legal permanent resident of Switzerland and citizen of China, was convicted after trial of charges related to his participation in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) pertaining to biopharmaceutical products under development from January 2010 to January 2016.
During the offense conduct, Gongda Xue worked as a scientist at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (“FMI”) in Switzerland, which is affiliated with Novartis. His sister, Yu Xue, worked as a scientist at GSK in Pennsylvania. Both the defendant and his sister conducted cancer research as part of their employment at these companies. Their research was sensitive and confidential. Consequently, GSK and FMI required Yu Xue and Gongda Xue respectively to sign confidentiality agreements as part of their employment. While the defendant performed basic research for publication in journals, the defendant’s sister performed research relating to GSK’s anti-cancer drugs under development. Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant knew that GSK’s research could prove incredibly valuable, and that it was proprietary and confidential.
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