LSD therapy biotech Definium sued for alleged trade secret theft

By Blake Brittain

Feb 2 (Reuters) - A clinical-trial provider sued psychedelic therapy developer Definium Therapeutics DFTX.O on Monday in Delaware federal court, claiming it stole trade secrets related to LSD trials to share with a upstart rival.

Signant Health said in the lawsuit that Definium hired EMA Wellness, which is backed by a Definium executive, to run clinical trials for its LSD treatment and shared confidential Signant information with EMA to "shore up EMA’s nascent capabilities and mask EMA’s inability to perform."

A Definium spokesperson said the company disagrees with the claims and will respond through the legal process. Spokespeople for EMA, which is not a defendant, did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Signant's attorneys declined to comment.

New York-based Definium, formerly known as MindMed, is developing an LSD therapy to treat severe depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders. Definium hired Signant to assist with its Phase 2 clinical LSD trials in 2021.

Definium chose EMA to work on its Phase 3 trials in 2024. The lawsuit said the executive running Definium's procurement process and Phase 3 trial, Todd Solomon, holds a financial stake in EMA and was "secretly working to ensure EMA would win — regardless of merit."

The lawsuit also said that EMA has been working to "knock-off" Signant's clinical trial platform by hiring former Signant employees, and that Definium and Solomon aided EMA by sharing Signant trade secrets with the company.

Signant requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and a court order blocking Definium from misusing its trade secrets.

The case is Signant Health Holding Corp v. Definium Therapeutics Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:26-cv-00114.

For Signant: Patrick Curran, Jared Newton, Eric Wolkoff and Nathan Hamstra of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; James Boudreau and Joseph Mahady of Reed Smith

For Definium: Not yet available