Biotech Employee Charged With Leaking Inside Information On Trials, Buyout

A senior biotech company executive and two others were charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Michael Fefferman, senior director of information technology at Ardea Biosciences, tipped his brother-in-law Chad Wiegand with information on two trials, a licensing agreement and the firm's eventual acquisition by AstraZeneca, the SEC said. Wiegand, a stockbroker, purchased Ardea stock in various accounts, and tipped his fellow broker Akis Eracleous, the SEC said. Fefferman, Wiegand, and Eracleous have agreed to settlements that are subject to court approval, the SEC said, and Wiegand and Eracleous have agreed to be barred from the industry and have also been criminally charged. Financial penalties haven't been determined. One of Eracleous customers agreed to return the $219,175 in profits and interest, the SEC added.