NEW HAVEN, CT – Yale University and Dr. John Krystal have agreed to a settlement of $1,507,743.67 to resolve allegations that they failed to disclose patents and share royalties with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The settlement addresses conduct spanning from March 2006 to February 2023 involving patents related to intranasal ketamine for the treatment of depression and suicidal ideation.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton emphasized the importance of full disclosure from universities and their faculty when inventions are funded by government resources. U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri from the VA Office of Inspector General also expressed commitment to ensuring taxpayer-funded research benefits the public sector.
At the time the patents were filed, Dr. Krystal held part-time positions at both Yale University and the VA. The VA and Yale had an agreement to disclose any “Joint Inventions” to each other. This included inventions or discoveries that might be patentable and involved at least one employee from each institution.
Starting in March 2006, Dr. Krystal, along with four co-inventors, filed for patents acknowledging VA funding support. The patents were later assigned to Yale, which began receiving royalties in 2015. However, neither Dr. Krystal nor Yale shared these royalties with the VA or disclosed the patents until 2017.
The settlement concludes the allegations that Yale and Dr. Krystal failed to fulfill their disclosure and sharing obligations to the VA from March 2006 to December 2017. It also addresses claims that they were unjustly enriched by not sharing royalties after the patents were disclosed.
As part of the agreement, Dr. Krystal will not share in the settlement paid to the VA, despite rights he would have as a VA employee inventor. Additionally, Yale and the VA entered a separate agreement to share future royalties and assign the patents to the VA.