PHILADELPHIA, June 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announced today that it has settled the litigation brought against the hospital and four employees by deCODE Genetics, Inc.
"We are very pleased that we have been able to resolve this litigation favorably and put it behind us," said Steven M. Altschuler, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Children's Hospital. "We are particularly pleased that Dr. Hakonarson, Dr. Grant, Mr. Skraban and Mr. Bradfield will continue to devote themselves full-time to the mission of the Center for Applied Genomics -- discovering the genetic basis of common pediatric diseases -- without the distraction of litigation."
Children's Hospital launched the Center for Applied Genomics in July 2006 with the goal of identifying the genes responsible for common childhood diseases, and then translating that knowledge into customized treatments for those diseases. Employing advanced automated technologies, the Center is the world's largest program for pediatric genotyping -- the process of identifying genetic variations and linking them to specific diseases.
Since its founding, the Center has generated genotypes on over 20,000 individuals with a goal of analyzing DNA from 100,000 children in the next three years. Among its current projects, the Center's investigators are focused on identifying genes involved in pediatric asthma, allergy, obesity, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, juvenile diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, hypertension, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma. The Center recently contributed 4,000 control samples from healthy individuals to a large industry-sponsored database open to genetics researchers.
While Dr. Altschuler noted that the terms of the settlement are confidential, he stated that all four individual defendants, as well as Children's Hospital, have obtained complete releases from deCODE. The four had been deCODE employees and deCODE had argued in court that they had misappropriated trade secrets and had signed non-compete agreements, and therefore should be prevented from working at the Center. Notwithstanding these allegations, the four will continue working for the Center in the same positions and with the same responsibilities that they have been carrying out for the past year.
Dr. Altschuler also noted that the case has been dismissed in its entirety, with all requests for injunctive relief and damages withdrawn.
About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.
Contact: Peggy Flynn Phone: (267) 426-6080 flynnp@email.chop.edu
Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital ofCONTACT: Peggy Flynn of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,+1-267-426-6080, flynnp@email.chop.edu
Web site: http://www.chop.edu/
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