For at least a quarter century, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pursued claims of unlawful insider trading where the information at issue was material to the stock price of the sponsor of a clinical trial. In recent years, almost half of these cases were also prosecuted criminally, some resulting in prison sentences. Because the cases arise out of work in a medical academic setting, those charged may not have understood the broad reach of the law, including the misappropriation theory. Training and prophylactic measures may be deficient. The trading based on inside information about clinical trials is similar … Read more