A U.S. District Court jury in Delaware awarded Biohaven Ltd. and Yale University a combined $4 million judgment against RA Capital Management GP, LLC and Avilar Therapeutics, Inc. for trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.
The judgment, entered on Monday, reflects the jury’s findings that the defendants willfully and maliciously misused confidential information related to Yale’s MODA targeted protein degradation platform. The award includes $2 million to Yale for breach of contract, $1 million to Yale for trade secret misappropriation, and $1 million to Biohaven for the same cause of action.
The dispute centers on a 2019 confidentiality agreement under which RA Capital evaluated a potential investment in the MODA technology, developed by Yale professor Dr. David Spiegel. Negotiations between Dr. Spiegel and RA Capital concluded without an agreement in August 2019. Biohaven and Yale later alleged that the defendants used confidential technical details shared during the process to advance a competing drug development program.
Biohaven licensed the MODA platform from Yale in 2018 after Dr. Spiegel presented the technology at Yale’s Lifesciences Pitchfest. The lawsuit was filed in March 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. A jury trial began on July 20, 2023, with a verdict delivered on July 24. Judge Jennifer L. Hall formalized the judgment on Monday.
The judgment remains subject to potential post-trial motions from the parties, according to court filings.
