Trana Discovery, Inc. v. Southern Research Institute

RICHARDSON, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Trana Discovery, Inc. has developed a technology that it believes can help find new drugs to treat HIV. It collaborated with Defendant-Appellee Southern Research Institute, a contract research organization, to put its technology to work by testing chemical compounds for signs that they inhibited the reproduction of HIV. When the testing yielded inconsistent results, Trana sued Southern for fraud and negligent misrepresentation.

In Trana's view, Southern made two actionable misrepresentations in its research reports. First, Southern allegedly failed…