Second guilty plea in trade secrets conspiracy to steal cancer research from GlaxoSmithKline and sell it in China

A second scientist pleaded guilty Friday to taking part in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets — in the form of cancer drug research — from the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. Tao Li admitted to one felony count in a federal indictment that alleged he received proprietary information from a biochemist inside GSK, and set up a company called Renopharma to market and sell the science in China. Li faces up to 10 years in prison, and his sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4. Defendant Yu Xue, who worked at GSK's Upper Merion lab, entered a guilty plea in the case last month.