The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit to freeze the assets of several Bioverativ investors the agency believes illegally profited from a recent deal with Sanofi.
Earlier this month, Sanofi announced that it is buying a Bioverativ spin-off for $11.6 billion — a deal that would add two marketed hemophilia drugs to the company’s portfolio.
According to the SEC, several investors engaged in “highly suspicious, timely, and lucrative purchases and sales of options in Bioverativ stock” in the weeks leading up to the deal. All told, the SEC says the defendants raked in $5 million in profits.
The SEC said it hopes to repatriate the assets gained by the investors, who have until the end of the month to submit a defense arguing why they shouldn’t be subject to a preliminary injunction or fines.
Read the full Reuters report.