Court awards Biohaven and Yale $4M in trade secret case

A federal court has entered judgment in favor of Biohaven Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN) and Yale University in a trade secret misappropriation case against RA Capital Management GP, LLC and Avilar Therapeutics, Inc., formalizing a combined $4 million award.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall of the District of Delaware entered the judgment on Aug. 24, 2026, following a jury verdict returned on July 24, 2026. The jury found that RA Capital and Avilar willfully and maliciously misappropriated a Yale trade secret related to its "MODA" targeted protein degradation platform. The jury also found that RA Capital separately breached a 2019 confidentiality agreement with Yale.

The $4 million award is divided as follows: $2 million to Yale for RA Capital's breach of contract, and $1 million each to Yale and Biohaven for trade secret misappropriation.

According to the press release, the case stems from events beginning in 2018, when Yale professor Dr. David Spiegel presented the MODA platform at Yale's Lifesciences Pitchfest. RA Capital entered into a confidentiality agreement with Yale in April 2019 to evaluate a potential investment in the technology. Negotiations between the parties ended without an agreement in August 2019.

Biohaven and Yale alleged that RA Capital, along with Avilar Therapeutics — a company RA Capital helped establish later in 2019 — used confidential information from those discussions to build a competing drug development program. Biohaven had licensed the MODA platform from Yale. The lawsuit was filed in March 2023.

Biohaven was represented by K&L Gates LLP and Morris James LLP. Yale was represented by Susman Godfrey LLP and Farnan LLP.

The judgment remains subject to post-trial motions that the parties may file following the entry of judgment.

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