Lauren Wood, former corporate communications head at biopharmaceutical company Immunomedics, pleaded guilty this month to her role in an insider trading scheme, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a statement.
Wood’s ex-boyfriend, then-CFO of Nasdaq-listed Immunomedics, Usama Malik, provided Wood with information about the company’s new breast cancer drug, telling her the treatment had proven effective in pre-market clinical trials before the public announcement on April 6, 2020, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
Wood purchased 7,000 Immunomedics shares, despite financial experts’ bearish stock-market valuation at the time. She sold the stock three months later for a $213,618 profit, more than doubling her investment, after the announcement of the company’s effective cancer drug, according to the DOJ.
Gilead Sciences acquired Immunimedics later in 2020 for $21 billion.
Wood faces up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for November 21. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed a civil complaint.
Malik pleaded not guilty on May 19 to insider trading, securities fraud and conspiracy charges, according to Reuters. He is currently free on bail.
This article originally appeared on PRWeek US.
