SEC Hits Ex-Chinook Director With Novartis Insider Trade Claims

A former director of Chinook Therapeutics Inc. tipped off family and friends who traded stock ahead of an announcement that Novartis AG would acquire the biopharmaceutical company, the SEC said.

Rouzbeh Haghighat shared nonpublic information about the deal with his brother, stepdaughter, and two friends who then purchased stock and options to yield more than $500,000 in profits after the sale took place, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in a complaint filed Friday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. He also allegedly purchased additional Chinook stock ahead of the announcement using a custodial account ...