FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 2, 2018

CASE FILED AGAINST NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY FEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, ET AL; ALLEGES MALICIOUS CONDUCT AND MULTIPLE COUNTS OF BREACH OF CONTRACT; UNDERMINING SCIENTIST’S GROUNDBREAKING STRIDES IN ALS RESEARCH

Chicago, IL - Golan Christie Taglia, LLP filed a complaint today in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois alleging breach of contract on behalf of Teepu Siddique, MD, faculty member of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. Siddique, a physican-scientist, is an internationally recognized expert in neuromuscular disease and a pioneering world-renowned neurogenetist who has discovered multiple causative genes for the inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatal disorder with a life expectancy of three to five years. Recently, his research group also discovered a gene for Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Siddique has dedicated nearly 40 years of his life to understanding and curing this disease. His insight as a leading scientist in disorders of neurodegeneration, led to the first application of molecular genetics to ALS. He is credited with identifying the first cause of ALS almost 127 years after it was first diagnosed. Dr. Siddique and his colleagues also developed the first transgenic animal model for any neurogenerative condition (ALS), which remains the most robust model for studying ALS, now the foundation for possibly 1,600 publications.

“Since 2013, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine has been undermining Dr. Siddique’s work, essentially lowering the chances for finding a cure for this devastating disease,” said Steven J. Rosenberg, the attorney representing Dr. Siddique. “Imposing drastic cutbacks in Dr. Siddique’s funding due to alleged budget constraints and otherwise creating a hostile work environment is misguided and irrational and will create an unnecessary gap in the ongoing research to eradicate ALS.”

According to the ALS Association, an average of 15 people per day are newly diagnosed with the disease—more than 5,600 people per year. According to the suit, the defendants’ insidious activities intended to thwart Dr. Siddique’s progress—and thereby that of his critical endeavor—could potentially reduce the worth of his research by hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The cumulative effect of the treatment of Dr. Siddique has been intentional, deliberate, and malicious,” added Rosenberg. “Setting him up for failure in this way is a clear breach of his contract.”

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