The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged Mukesh Asudani, a former Senior Vice President of Human Resources at an unnamed publicly traded pharmaceutical company (“Pharma Company A”), with insider trading ahead of Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s October 11, 2021 announcement that it would acquire Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. According to the complaint, Asudani, who at the time lived in India and attended Pharma Company A’s internal meetings remotely, learned that Pharma Company A was competing to acquire Adamas. On October 4, 2021, after learning this material nonpublic information, Asudani allegedly sold all of his Pharma Company A stock and used the proceeds, along with nearly all of the remaining cash in his brokerage account, to buy Adamas shares. This allegedly occurred on the same day that Pharma Company A’s board discussed the deal, and the company submitted its best and final offer. The SEC also alleged that Asudani used two other brokerage accounts to buy Adamas stock that day: one held by his son and one held by a family friend. After the acquisition was announced, Adamas’s share price rose approximately 75 percent, and the three account holders allegedly realized combined profits of approximately $78,751.
In its complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 30, 2026, the SEC alleged that Asudani violated the antifraud and tender offer provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, specifically Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction barring Asudani from future violations, an order requiring him to pay disgorgement with prejudgment interest and a civil penalty, and an officer-and-director bar prohibiting him from serving as an officer or director of a public company. A pretrial conference is currently scheduled for January 6, 2027.
SEC Litigation Release | SEC Complaint | Docket – Minute Entry (Pretrial Conference)