AbbVie lawsuit alleges that partner Genmab “misappropriated” trade secrets

CAR-T Digest - August 2020

24 Mar 2025: AbbVie lawsuit alleges that partner Genmab “misappropriated” trade secrets

AbbVie has sued Genmab, alleging that the company misappropriated trade secrets related to antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology, which were allegedly used in ProfoundBio’s investigational ADCs
The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. District Court, claims that ProfoundBio’s founder, Tae Han, encouraged the theft of AbbVie’s proprietary ADC technology before Genmab acquired the company in May 2024
Genmab strongly denies the allegations and intends to defend itself, stating that AbbVie is not enforcing any patents and has not developed products using the alleged trade secrets
This lawsuit is part of a broader trend of AbbVie suing competitors over trade secret theft, with previous cases against BeiGene and Adcentrx Therapeutics involving former AbbVie employees
Despite the legal battle, Genmab confirmed that the lawsuit will not impact its partnership with AbbVie on Epkinly, an FDA-approved lymphoma treatment