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John Hollenhorst ReportingMichael Smart, BYU Spokesman: "BYU is asking the court to provide recognition for Dr. Simmons' important role in the development of Celebrex, and also for fair compensation."
BYU is going after one of the world's pharmaceutical giants. A lawsuit alleges that Pfizer cheated BYU and a professor out of the credit and money from a breakthrough discovery, and the amount of money involved is astronomical. Twenty Billion Dollars!
According to BYU's lawsuit, that's how much revenue has been generated in recent years by a discovery made at BYU. The drug is Celebrex.
Biochemists at BYU, led by Dr. Dan Simmons, discovered a new enzyme years ago which is responsible for inflammation and pain. The lawsuit says they agreed to a contract with the Monsanto company, which was later taken over by Pfizer.
Michael Smart, BYU Spokesman: "Dr. Simmons and BYU entered into a contract with Monsanto to collaborate on development of a new type of drug. Monsanto took Dr. Simmons' contributions and went on to develop a drug without him, which we believe violates the contract by sharing none of the credit or compensation."
The drug, Celebrex, has been a huge seller because it defeats pain without causing side-effects. Unlike aspirin, it doesn't inflame the stomach and cause ulcers.
Pfizer pulled no punches in a written response to the lawsuit. "Dr. Simmons played no role in the discovery of Celebrex," a company spokesman said, "and the allegations raised by BYU and Dr. Simmons are baseless." Pfizer said, "The facts simply don't support the unfounded claims made in this lawsuit and Pfizer will, of course, mount a vigorous defense."
BYU contends that Monsanto scientists were heading down a different research path entirely that would not have led to Celebrex without Simmons' input. BYU and Dr. Simmons aren't specifying how much money they're going after. They hope a jury will decide what is fair compensation for a spectacularly successful new product.
