PHARMA EMPLOYEE'S INSIDER TRADING NETS $260K PROFIT, JAIL TIME!

SEC v. Dishant Gupta — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26364, dated July 30, 2025.

A former pharmaceutical employee, Dishant Gupta, has been ordered to pay over $296,000 in disgorgement and interest for insider trading. Gupta illegally bought stock in his employer's acquisition target based on confidential information, profiting approximately $260,000. In addition to the financial penalties, he is permanently barred from violating insider trading laws and prohibited from serving as an officer or director of public companies.

In Plain English

Imagine you work for a company that's planning to buy another company. Before anyone else knows, you find out about this secret deal. You then use this secret information to buy stock in the company being bought, hoping its price will go up. When the news becomes public, the price does go up, and you sell your stock for a profit. This is illegal because you used secret information that others didn't have. A court has now ordered Dishant Gupta to pay back his illegal profits, plus extra money for the trouble caused, and has banned him from insider trading and from being a boss at a public company.

Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

1. Learned Confidential Information Dishant Gupta, while employed by Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, learned that his employer was planning to acquire Epizyme, Inc. This information was material and non-public, meaning it was not yet known to the general investing public.
2. Purchased Stock Based on MNPI Aware of this impending acquisition, Gupta purchased shares of Epizyme, Inc. He did this while possessing material non-public information (MNPI) about the deal, which was a breach of his duty to his employer and the source of the information.
3. Acquisition Announced The acquisition of Epizyme, Inc. by Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals was eventually publicly announced. This announcement would typically cause the stock price of the acquired company to rise.
4. Sold Shares for Profit Following the public announcement, Gupta sold his Epizyme shares. He realized approximately $260,000 in illicit profits from this trade, which was directly facilitated by his illegal use of MNPI.

The Enforcement Action

On July 29, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered a final consent judgment against Dishant Gupta. The judgment permanently enjoins Gupta from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. It also prohibits him from serving as an officer or director of a public company. Gupta was ordered to pay disgorgement of $260,078 and prejudgment interest of $36,801, totaling $296,879. This amount is offset by $260,078 forfeited in a parallel criminal proceeding where Gupta pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two months in prison.

Named in this action: Dishant Gupta.

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