Beam Therapeutics filed suit alleging a former scientist stole its base editing intellectual property and helped co-found a Chinese company, YolTech, which later contributed to an AATD program licensed into Serapha Bio. The allegations name Zi Jun “Emma” Wang, YolTech CEO Yuxuan “Jensen” Wu, and both companies as defendants. Beam claims it accessed Beam’s electronic laboratory notebooks and used proprietary technology to develop the program. The lawsuit arrives amid intensifying US-China tensions around biopharma IP, with investors and large pharma increasingly navigating supply-and-sourcing risks alongside collaboration opportunities. YolTech and Serapha are expected to respond to the claims; Serapha previously characterized the technology as not infringing Beam’s rights. For the broader sector, the complaint signals persistent concern over trade secret protection for advanced editing modalities.