Scientist adds to suspicions

Missed court date on Serenex secrets

A scientist accused of stealing trade secrets from a Durham drug company may have fled the country for good, according to a lawyer in the case.

"I have no problem at all drawing that inference," said Jonathan Sasser of Ellis & Winters in Cary. Sasser represents Serenex in its lawsuit against Yunsheng Huang, a former contract scientist for the company, which is developing experimental cancer treatments.

Huang, an Apex resident who has denied any wrongdoing, failed to show up for a deposition scheduled for Aug. 3. His lawyer, Walter Schmidlin, says Huang is in China attending to his critically ill mother and will return in October.

But Sasser said he is convinced that Huang isn't coming back. He points to documents filed with the court that show Huang transferred the title of his two cars -- including a 2007 Hyundai Sonata that he had owned for a month -- to his wife, Hongben Chen, along with his share of their Apex home.

Schmidlin says he informed Sasser in advance that his client would be unable to make the deposition because of the family emergency. As for the property, Schmidlin said it is his understanding that Huang and his wife have separated and are settling their finances. "Depositions get postponed and canceled all the time," Schmidlin said.

In June, Serenex sued Huang for allegedly engaging in "international industrial espionage" and funneling trade secrets to two Chinese companies. The two companies and Tongxiang Zhang of China, who runs the businesses, also are defendants in the case.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages for violating state law that protects trade secrets, as well as triple damages under the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Secrets Act.

The suit raises the possibility that a theft could hurt the company's ability to negotiate deals with larger pharmaceutical companies, a key to success for a small company like Serenex.

Corporate espionage is a growing problem for companies whose fortunes are tied to their intellectual property, especially amid increasing global competition. One fear is that foreign companies could introduce their own, cheaper version of products.

Serenex, which has 30 workers, is testing two experimental cancer drugs in humans and has raised $81 million in financing since it was founded in 2001.

Schmidlin contends that Serenex's case is circumstantial and that, if there was a leak of sensitive information, Huang wasn't the source.

In light of Huang's no-show, Serenex obtained a consent order that calls for Huang to appear for a deposition on Oct. 22. "No postponement of this deposition will be granted," the order states.

Schmidlin said he expects Huang to return in October, but he can't say for certain that he will be back by Oct. 22.

"We hope so," he said. "It is difficult for him to make arrangements to care for his mother and also to make arrangements to come back to the U.S."

Sasser said that if Huang fails to show up for the deposition in October, Serenex will seek a judgment against him -- and possibly the other defendants -- in court, arguing that Huang's absence is a de facto admission of guilt. International law would make such a judgment enforceable overseas, Sasser added. Huang is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the People's Republic of China.