Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
On May 1, 2020, a complaint was filed against us in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by PeriphaGen Inc., which also named our chief executive officer and chief operating officer, Krish Krishnan and Suma Krishnan, respectively. The complaint alleges breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, which secrets the plaintiff asserts were used to develop our product candidates, including the vector backbones, and our STAR-D platform. We answered the complaint on June 26, 2020 by denying the allegations and brought a counterclaim asking the court to declare that we did not misappropriate PeriphaGen’s trade secrets or confidential information, and to further declare that we are the rightful and sole owner of our product candidates and STAR-D platform. In addition, we filed a third-party complaint against two principals of PeriphaGen, James Wechuck and David Krisky, alleging breach of contract and seeking contribution and indemnification from them in the event PeriphaGen is awarded damages. On July 29, 2020, PeriphaGen filed its response to our answer and counterclaim, denying the allegations in the counterclaim. On the same day, Messrs. Wechuck and Krisky filed a motion to dismiss the third-party complaint on various grounds, and we have opposed the motion. On December 1, 2020, the court ruled on Messrs. Wechuck and Krisky's motion to dismiss our third-party complaint. The court allowed that our claims on contribution and indemnification based on PeriphaGen's state law claims for unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets to go forward. Our breach of contract claim will also go forward in full.
While we are unable to provide any assurances as to the ultimate outcome of the case, we believe the allegations in the complaint are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against them. We are currently unable to estimate the costs and timing of any litigation, including any potential damages if PeriphaGen were to prevail on its claims.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PART II
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