Former Morris Co. Pharma Executive Charged In Insider Trading Scheme

MORRIS PLAINS, NJ — The former head of corporate communications of a $21 billion biopharmaceutical company based in Morris Plains was indicted yesterday for her role in an insider trading scheme, federal authorities said.

Lauren S. Wood, 33, of Washington, D.C., was indicted on June 22 and charged with securities fraud, officials said.

Usama Malik, the former company CFO who now lives in Washington, D.C., was previously indicted on three counts on May 10: insider trading, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Read more: Former NJ Pharma Exec, His Girlfriend Charged With Insider Trading

While federal prosecutors did not name the pharmaceutical company in the indictment, records show that both worked for the now-defunct biotechnology company Immunomedics, which was headquartered in Morris Plains.

The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

According to federal prosecutors, Malik was the CFO of Immunomedics from 2018 to October 2020, and on April 6, 2020, the company publicly announced for the first time that its breast cancer drug – an antibody-based drug designed to treat certain breast cancer patients with very limited treatment options beyond chemotherapy – had proven effective in pre-market clinical trials.

Immunomedics was then purchased by Gilead Sciences for $21 billion in October 2020.

Read more: Fraud Charges For Ex-Heads Of Morris Co. Pharma Corp.

Malik, as CFO, was among the first — if not the only — employees to be given non-public information about the drug. Malik forwarded the information to Wood, his girlfriend at the time, within minutes of receiving it.

Within hours of receiving the insider information from Malik, Wood placed an order for approximately 7,000 shares of the company's stock, despite the fact that the company's stock had been downgraded by financial experts during the same time period.

The stock price increased after the company announced that its cancer drug had proven effective in pre-market clinical trials. Wood's investment more than doubled after she sold her shares, resulting in gross profits of $213,618.

Woods was charged with securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Her sentencing date is set for Nov. 21, 2022.