Shooting down a statute of limitations defense, a federal judge in Pennsylvania determined a breach of contract lawsuit against the University of Pennsylvania can move forward, amid allegations the university violated its patent policy with one of its employees.

In an Oct. 8 opinion, U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania partially denied a motion to dismiss Susan M. Faust's breach of contract lawsuit against the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and its gene therapy program director, Dr. James Wilson, accusing the defendants of licensing her patents to entities like Biogen, Regenxbio, Azenta Life Sciences, Gemma Biotherapeutics, and Franklin Biolabs, without notifying or compensating her. In Faust v. The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Murphy determined the court wasn't required to dismiss the case pursuant to the defendants' statute of limitations argument, as questions of fact remained regarding the parties' relationship and obligations.