A former Pfizer employee, Amit Dagar, and his friend, Atul Bhiwapurkar, have been charged with insider trading related to Pfizer's successful trial for its Covid antiviral drug, Paxlovid.
Dagar, who was a senior statistical program lead for the trial, learned the outcome and purchased short-term Pfizer options before telling Bhiwapurkar, who also purchased similar call options.
They then shared the information with another individual, who also traded on it.
The three made over $350,000 in profits when Pfizer's shares rose 11% on the news.
Dagar has been charged with four counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, while Bhiwapurkar has been charged with two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Both were arrested and face a maximum prison sentence of 20 and 5 years, respectively.
They then shared the information with another individual, who also traded on it.
The three made over $350,000 in profits when Pfizer's shares rose 11% on the news.
Dagar has been charged with four counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, while Bhiwapurkar has been charged with two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Both were arrested and face a maximum prison sentence of 20 and 5 years, respectively.