Massachusetts General Hospital accused a former researcher of stealing trade secrets for a fat-freezing technology, obtaining a patent for the technology without giving the hospital credit and sharing information on a confidential deal.
According to Bloomberg, Massachusetts General Hospital sued Emilia Javorsky, MD, for sharing confidential information about the technology used in CoolSculpting with Arctic Fox Biomedical, a MedCap Growth Equity-funded startup. The startup is now known as Miraki Innovation.
The complaint, filed May 22, alleges Dr. Javorsky gave the company access to confidential and proprietary documents describing the materials, scientific experiments, data, research, ideas and more from the lab of Richard Rox Anderson, MD, Lancer Endowed Chair of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and on faculty at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Massachusetts General Hospital also alleges Dr. Javorsky divulged confidential information and trade secrets publicly in a profile honoring her among Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" in 2017. Dr. Javorsky's "30 Under 30" profile included secret information about a business venture involving Massachusetts General Hospital and Arctic Fox, and confidential investment figures provided to Arctic Fox.
Dr. Javorsky remains on the Forbes "30 Under 30" list, and her profile now reads: Javorsky's grad school mentor turned the ability to freeze and remove subcutaneous fat into a cosmetic-services business. Now she's trying to do the same on the medical side. Her work has led to a company that is testing a method for freezing fat anywhere in the body, with potential to treat conditions like sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes.