June 29 (UPI) -- A former Pfizer employee is being charged with insider trading for allegedly attempting to profit off the pharmaceutical giant's treatment for COVID-19.
Former statistician Amit Dagar attempted to make financial gains from the company's Paxlovid antiviral drug, before it became publicly known that the treatment had passed an important clinical trial, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.
Dagar's business partner Atul Bhiwapurkar was also charged.
Pfizer announced in November of 2021 that Paxlovid had passed a double-blind clinical trial, which had started in July of that year.
Related
At the time, Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said the "approval demonstrates that Paxlovid has met the agency's rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness and that it remains an important treatment option for people at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including those with prior immunity."
The SEC contends Dagar, 44, learned about the success the day before Bourla's announcement.
Later in the day, he purchased Pfizer call options and then alerted Bhiwapurkar, who did the same.
The trade reportedly earned Dagar approximately $214,395, while Bhiwapurkar pocketed $60,300 illicit profits.
Charges against both men were filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
"As alleged in our complaint, Amit Dagar misused his access to confidential clinical trial results to enrich himself and his friend, Atul Bhiwapurkar," Joseph Sansone, who leads the SEC's Market Abuse Unit said in a statement.
"Dagar and Bhiwapurkar allegedly leveraged this information by trading out-of-the-money call options to generate massive one-day returns. Thanks to our surveillance, the defendants must now face the consequences of their greed."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March formally approved Paxlovid to treat COVID-19 in March.
