The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday announced insider trading charges against Ramkumar Rayapureddy, the chief information officer of generic drugmaker Viatris ( NASDAQ: VTRS ).
The SEC and DOJ alleged that from 2017 through 2019 - at which time VTRS was known as Mylan - Rayapureddy disclosed non-public information about the company to his former colleague Dayakar Mallu.
The information included FDA drug approvals, financial results and Mylan's impending merger with Pfizer ( PFE ) unit Upjohn that created Viatris ( VTRS ) in November 2020.
"We take the government's allegations made today against Ramkumar Rayapureddy very seriously and will continue to review the matter in the same fashion," a Viatris ( VTRS ) spokesperson told Seeking Alpha in an emailed statement.
"Ramkumar Rayapureddy is on a leave of absence from the company," the statement added.
The SEC in September last year charged Dayakar Mallu with insider trading due to his association with Rayapureddy. Reuters had reported that Mallu had pleaded guilty to the charges.
"Rayapureddy is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and three counts of securities fraud," the DOJ said in its statement on Thursday, adding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was also looking into the case.
"The SEC's complaint charges Rayapureddy with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder," the U.S. market regulator said in its statement .
"We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities, and we expect to have no further comment on this matter," the VTRS spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day, Viatris ( VTRS ) won a patent-related court decision on AstraZeneca's asthma treatment Symbicort.
VTRS stock earlier closed +4.7% at $11.34.
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DOJ, SEC charge Viatris executive with insider trading; co says he is on leave of absence