The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently launched a formal investigation into possible insider trading at the Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology firm Biogen Idec. In March, Thomas Bucknum, the company's chief counsel, resigned following reports that he had sold stock in the firm just as potential safety problems with the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri were coming to light. When those safety problems were made public in February, the drug was withdrawn from the market and Biogen's stock plummeted more than 40% in a single day.
Other company officials reportedly sold stock before the public announcement, and charges could be forthcoming. The scandal has been disturbing to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, in part because it echoes the debacle that rocked ImClone Systems not long ago. Sam Waksal, ImClone's former CEO, is currently serving an 87-month prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2002 to securities fraud, bank fraud, and other charges related ...
