Utah scientist charged with stealing drug recipes

[AsahinaKimi]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A scientist has been charged with stealing secret recipes from a Utah chemistry company and turning them over to his brother-in-law in India, in what federal authorities say is a crime rarely reported by U.S. companies fearing they will be devalued.

It's the first time authorities have filed industrial espionage charges in Utah, said Karl Schmae, a special agent with the FBI's Salt Lake City office.

Mohapatra, 42, worked for Frontier Scientific Inc., a North Logan company that supplies chemicals for research and drug discovery, said its chief executive, Tim Miller. Miller said Frontier is the only company in the world that can make large, pure quantities of an organic chemical that has several applications, from an ingredient in new drugs to solar cells and batteries. The chemical goes by the name 2,2'-dipyrromethane.

"Our knowledge in making these chemicals is really our value," Miller said. "It's a compound mostly unique to us. We developed the recipe for large quantities" that can be worth millions of dollars per kilogram.

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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/odd/news/20111207p2g00m0dm081000c.html

[provis99]

1. I once stole my Aunt Sharon's mint julep recipe.

It was so good, it should've been a crime!

[Speck Tater]

2. This is a place-holder.

When somebody down thread comes up with a really clever reply, I'd edit this place holder to make it look like I thought of the idea first and they stole it from me.