Cancer
is
a
big
part
of
Ipsen’s
growth
strategy,
evident
in
a
series
of
business
deals
struck
by
the
company
in
recent
years
to
expand
its
oncology
portfolio
and
drug
pipeline.
An
Ipsen
worker
who
allegedly
profited
from
stock
transactions
based
on
non-public
knowledge
of
his
employer’s
$247
million
buyout
of
a
cancer
drug
developer
has
now
been
charged
with
insider
trading.
The
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
on
Tuesday
filed
a
complaint
against
Ipsen
employee
Dishant
Gupta.
Gupta
has
agreed
to
plead
guilty,
according
to
a
separate
court
filing.
The
monetary
penalty
has
yet
to
be
decided.
The
U.S.
Attorney’s
Office
for
the
District
of
Massachusetts
has
also
filed
criminal
charges
against
Gupta
for
his
alleged
conduct.
Paris-based
Ipsen
maintains
U.S.
operations
in
Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
In
early
2022,
Ipsen
started
talking
with
Epizyme
about
acquiring
that
Cambridge-based
company’s
drug,
Tazverik,
according
to
the
SEC
complaint.
Tazverik
won
FDA
approval
in
2020
for
the
treatment
of
follicular
lymphoma.
Negotiations
between
Ipsen
and
Epizyme
progressed
from
a
potential
acquisition
of
the
cancer
drug
to
a
buyout
of
the
entire
biotech
company.
The
Epizyme
acquisition
was
announced
on
June
27,
2022.
Gupta
lives
in
New
Jersey
and
often
worked
from
home,
the
SEC
said
in
the
complaint.
He
is
director
of
data
strategy
and
operations,
a
role
that
involves
the
marketing
and
strategic
pricing
of
products.
Through
this
position,
Gupta
allegedly
learned
about
the
market
potential
and
marketing
strategy
for
a
drug
that
appeared
to
be
Tazverik.
In
the
months
leading
up
to
the
acquisition
announcement,
the
SEC
said
Gupta
ran
numerous
internet
searches
using
the
phrases
“Epizyme
buyout”
and
“Epizyme
takeover.”
Nine
days
before
the
deal
was
announced,
Gupta
searched
the
phrase
“Ipsen
acquired
Epizyme,”
according
to
the
complaint.
While
the
companies
negotiated
the
transaction,
Gupta
allegedly
accumulated
Epizyme
shares.
From
April
to
June
of
2022,
the
complaint
notes
that
Gupta
purchased
Epizyme
stock
on
27
different
days.
“While
Gupta
built
a
position
in
Epizyme
throughout
this
period,
he
was
most
aggressive
in
the
weeks
leading
up
to
the
announcement,”
the
SEC
said
in
the
complaint.
“Specifically,
between
June
16,
2022,
and
June
24,
2022,
Gupta
purchased
approximately
200,000
shares,
spending
nearly
$160,000.”
The
acquisition
announcement
came
in
the
early
morning
hours
of
June
27,
timed
to
happen
ahead
of
the
stock
market
open
in
Europe.
By
9:30
am
Eastern
time,
Gupta
had
sold
all
of
his
Epizyme
shares
for
a
profit
of
$260,078.27,
the
SEC
said.
The
SEC
complaint,
filed
in
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
District
of
Massachusetts,
is
case
number
24-cv-12316.
According
to
a
court
filing,
Gupta
has
entered
a
written
agreement
to
plead
guilty
to
one
count
of
securities
fraud.
He
must
give
up
the
money
he
gained
illegally
and
also
pay
a
civil
fine.
Per
terms
of
the
plea,
Gupta
is
barred
from
serving
as
an
executive
or
director
of
any
publicly
traded
company.
The
terms
of
this
settlement
are
still
subject
to
court
approval.
Oncology
products
are
the
biggest
driver
of
revenue
for
Ipsen,
accounting
for
more
than
€2.3
billion
of
the
company’s
€3.1
billion
in
2023
sales.
Besides
the
deal
that
brought
the
company
Tazverik,
Ipsen
had
acquired
the
approved
Merrimack
Pharmaceuticals
pancreatic
cancer
drug,
Onivyde.
the
company
has
also
struck
deals
for
programs
still
in
development.
In
July,
Ipsen
reached
an
agreement
for
global
rights
to
a
Phase
1-ready
antibody
drug
conjugate
(ADC)
from
Foreseen
Biotechnology.
That
deal
followed
the
April
acquisition
of
global
rights
to
an
ADC
from
Sutro
Biopharma.
Ipsen’s
oncology
interest
extends
to
other
types
of
drugs.
In
2022,
months
after
the
Epizyme
acquisition,
Ipsen
began
a
partnership
with
Marengo
Therapeutics
focused
on
the
R&D
of
T
cell
receptor
therapies
for
cancer.
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