Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – An ex-chief financial officer. Immunomedics Federal authorities announced Thursday that Inc was charged with insider trading after he tipped his girlfriend in advance of the positive results from a clinical trial for a breast cancer drug.

U.S. Department of Justice stated that Usama Malik gave likely non-public information to Lauren Wood, former Immunomedics Communications chief. Lauren Wood learned on April 2, 2020 from the Food and Drug Administration that Trodelvy’s trial would be halted because of evidence it worked.

Wood, who was a former employee of the company, but had moved in with Malik four months before, is alleged to have bought around 7,000 Immunomedics stocks that night for $64,400 and then sold them three month later for a profit of $213 618. This occurred after the stock’s price quadrupled.

Authorities claim that Wood doubled Wood’s money by exercising Immunomedics options stock options and paid $65,000 to Malik for it. Malik, on the other hand, gave $21,400 in illegal profit to three of his family members.

Malik, 47, was charged with securities fraud. Wood, 33, is facing a maximum of 20 years in prison.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil proceedings against the defendants. They referred to Wood as Malik’s former girlfriend.

Wood and Malik lawyers did not respond immediately to inquiries for comment.

Gilead Sciences Inc Immunomedics, which was acquired by (NASDAQ) in October 2020 for $20.6 billion. Malik was appointed chief executive officer of Fore Biotherapeutics, a privately held company four months later.

“Effective immediately, Usama Malik is no longer a director or chief executive officer of Fore Biotherapeutics,” the Philadelphia-based company said in a statement on Thursday.

Fore stated that it was informed on Wednesday of the allegations and said they did not relate to the company.