January 27, 2006

Professor Sued for Revealing Data

By KATHERINE S. MANGAN

A biotechnology company has sued a professor formerly of the University of Connecticut, asserting that he had violated a confidentiality agreement and disclosed trade secrets while discussing his work on a compound that could prevent bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics.

The professor, Thomas K. Wood, is embroiled in a patent dispute with the company, Sequoia Sciences Inc., over who should be listed as inventors of the compound, a "biofilm inhibitor." While at the University