A Larger Inquiry

The insider trader inquiry at the US Food and Drug Administration is expanding, reports the Wall Street Journal. In March, chemist Cheng Yi Liang and his son Andrew, who did not work at FDA, were charged with trading drug company stock in advance of agency decisions. The Department of Justice is now seeking information from another FDA scientist who has not been named, nor charged with anything. "People familiar with the case said authorities now believe Dr. Liang's alleged activities may have involved others, including federal employees," the WSJ reports. "The government is examining whether any of these people helped Dr. Liang, profited from his trades or independently began their own trading based on his information." In addition, In the Pipeline's Derek Lowe notes that the Securities and Exchange Commission has amended its complaint to add another instance of insider trading and to include Liang's father, Zhaozheng, as a relief defendant.