The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that an indictment has been unsealed charging a former U.S. citizen with engaging in an insider trading scheme involving the stock of a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company.
Dale Chappell, 54, formerly the chief scientific officer and a member of the board of directors at Humanigen, was charged with one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme and four counts of securities fraud for insider trading, the DOJ said.
The department reported that between June and August 2021, Chappell avoided more than $38 million in losses by selling millions of shares of Humanigen stock.
During this time, Chappell was in possession of material nonpublic information about Humanigen’s application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EUA) of Lenzilumab, a drug intended to treat COVID-19, the DOJ confirmed.
The indictment alleges that in March 2021, Humanigen announced its plans to seek EUA for Lenzilumab, the department said.