Witness hearings planned in lawsuit around patents between Plasterk and Amsterdam UMC

The court in The Hague will hear witnesses in the legal aftermath of the ‘patent issue’ around former minister, former professor and cancer researcher Ronald Plasterk. This was apparent on Friday during the directing session of the trial in which the Amsterdam UMC demands the co-investigation of patents and compensation from Plasterk and the Cureevac company that bought the patents.

NRC Last year revealed how Plasterk passed the Amsterdam UMC for its own gain by claiming and selling patents. The questions about Plasterk’s integrity who rose as a result led him to withdrawn as a prime minister from Wilders.

The patent issue revolves around Plasterk’s collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC and the million deal that emerged from it in the years after his departure from politics. Together with scientist Jan Koster of the Amsterdam UMC, Plasterk, who became a professor again after politics, laid the foundation for cancer vaccines. As a private person in 2018, Plasterk requested the patent on those inventions, giving himself the only inventor. The start-up that he started on those patent applications together with business partners, he sold in 2022 for 32 million euros (half of which depends on future results) to the listed pharmaceutical company Curevac.

The Amsterdam UMC believes that Plasterk has withheld information for years and has cheated both the Amsterdam UMC and scientist Jan Koster. The Academic Hospital only came through it NRC-Research behind. « The article raised the question: what exactly happened? » Thus one of the lawyers of the Amsterdam UMC during the session. Then the hospital started Own research « And only when people fell off the eyes in people, » said the lawyer.

According to the Amsterdam UMC, Jan Koster must be recognized retroactively as a (co) inventor, with which the exclusive right of Curevac on the patents and the Amsterdam UMC is co-owner. In addition, the Academic Hospital demands a compensation to be determined by both Curevac and Plasterk.

E-mails

The Amsterdam UMC lawyer argued that Plasterk has now acknowledged that he is not the only inventor. The hospital’s lawyer quoted an e-mail that Plasterk sent to managers of CUREVAC on 23 April last year. Plasterk writes in it (translated from English): « The addition of sexton to the old patent applications is perhaps inevitable because, if allocated, the patents are only of value with the right inventors. »

Plasterk’s lawyer said during the hearing that that e-mail is outdated and that it should be seen in the context of that moment. « In that period everything was said about him in the newspapers, and he was a candidate for premiership, » said the lawyer. Plasterk himself was not present and, according to his lawyer, abstains during the comment procedure.

The mail in question wrote Plasterk one month after the first unveiling of NRCwhen the Amsterdam UMC Plasterk still supported. Plasterk trusted, according to the rest of the mail that is in possession of NRC. Plasterk writes to Curevac, who paid him millions before the patents: « The joint intention of the AMC (old name Amsterdam UMC) and myself is to get out of this without damage to all parties. They are of goodwill. » He puts the blame for the whole issue NRC.

Plasterk writes to the CureVac leading that it NRC-article « only written for me for political reasons. » He adds reassuringly: « The good news is that as long as the AMC and I keep the same line, there is no real news. » It NRC-According to Plasterk, « despite four pages, was taken over by no other serious newspaper or radio/TV ». « If we arrange this together, it will hopefully stay that way, » said Plasterk.

To give evidence

In the lawsuit it is not just about the main question who is an inventor, but also about whether the Amsterdam UMC is due to itself that Plasterk could go its own way. In order to get an answer to that last question, Curevac demanded so much additional information from the Amsterdam UMC in recent months, which the case graduates on endless procedures. « They do everything to frustrate the case as much as possible, » said Amsterdam UMC’s lawyer, « it is just like caterpillar, ».

In addition to information, CureVac also demanded the opportunity to hear witnesses, among others Jan Koster and his former manager and the then director of Hospital. According to Curevac, it is « not only about inventorship, » but also about the way « distance of right » – Plasterk would have acted with the approval of the hospital.

The judge broke the stalemate. Curevac withdrew the avalanche of requests for information, but the witnesses will be heard. The judge called the whole issue « both actual and legal technical complex » and immediately announced that the case will ultimately, after the witness hearings, will not be treated by itself by itself but by a multiple room with three judges.

In four weeks the written decision of the decisions for witness hearings and the referral to a multiple chamber that the judge already announced today. The witness hearings will probably take place in the coming fall.

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