Federal Appeals Court Upholds Sentence for Former GSK Researcher

A federal appeals court has upheld an 8-month prison sentence given to a former GSK researcher Yu Xue who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal the company’s trade secrets.

The U.S. government had sought to extend the sentence to 10 years. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said the government had failed to prove the defendant’s intent to inflict monetary harm on GSK and said the 8-month sentence should stand.

The case centered around stolen information related to HER3 monoclonal antibodies, which Xue was researching for treatment of certain forms of cancer while at GSK. Xue denied any plans to create a HER3 product.