2 Found Guilty in Plot to Sell Drug Formulas
Two researchers have been convicted of plotting to sell stolen pharmaceutical formulas valued at more than $1 billion in what authorities described as U.S. history’s largest industrial espionage case.
The two were found guilty in federal court Friday of trying to sell patented trade secrets on the anti-viral and promising anti-cancer drug interferon and Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug described as the leading animal health product in the world.
Bernard Mayles, 52, had spirited the secrets from the companies he worked for, including the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., and then passed them on to Mario Miscio, 63, Assistant U.S. Atty. Kevin McKenna said.
Mayles and Miscio planned to sell the secrets to an undercover FBI agent posing as an international businessman who offered the pair millions of dollars for the formula. The agent said he wanted to market the drugs in Eastern Europe.
Ivermectin has been used to treat parasite-induced river blindness in humans in rain forests, as well as in treating animals suffering from parasitic diseases.
The drug interferon has been used to treat hepatitis and has shown some effectiveness in treating certain forms of cancer.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
