Hyloris Faces Trade-Secret Claims Over New Heart Arrhythmia Drug

Hyloris Pharmaceuticals SA developed its forthcoming heart arrhythmia drug using information a consultant and his company stole while under contract with AltaThera Pharmaceuticals LLC, a new lawsuit says.

AltaThera alleges that John C. Somberg, an Illinois-based cardiologist and longtime consultant it had hired, was “secretly working together” with Hyloris through his company, Academic Pharmaceuticals Inc., to take AltaThera’s confidential information and use it to bring to market the Belgian company’s forthcoming Dofetilide IV, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Hyloris’ drug will compete with AltaThera’s Sotalol IV, whose ...