In a bid to end a highly embarrassing episode, the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ceo and a University of Pennsylvania cancer research institute have settled a lawsuit that involved sensational charges of allegedly unscrupulous behavior and underhanded dealings centered on cutting-edge research. The terms are being kept confidential, but a licensing arrangement has been inked between the UPenn institute and a small drugmaker co-founded by the Sloan-Kettering ceo. Here is the background: Late last year, the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at UPenn filed a lawsuit against Craig Thompson, who joined its facility as scientific director in 1999 and undertook various research projects. But rather than honor an agreement that any discoveries belonged to the Institute, the lawsuit claimed Thompson chose to “abscond with the fruits of the Abramson largesse,” which at the time purportedly amounted to $110 million.
