AstraZeneca employee in MD accused of insider trading

An employee of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is accused of insider trading after allegedly buying stock in a company shortly before it was acquired by his employer.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint Wednesday in Maryland U.S. District Court against Weiguo Zhai, 56, of Potomac, who worked as a senior director for research and development at AstraZeneca from July 2020 until May 2024.

Zhai worked at AstraZeneca’s Gaithersburg office and was a member of the “due diligence team,” evaluating the potential acquisition of Icosavax, a company focused on vaccine development, in November and December of 2023, according to the complaint.

He purchased 1,000 shares of Icosavax on November 27 of that year, the complaint states, at $11.04 per share and, about a week later, purchased another 1,000 for his wife’s investment account at $10.54 per share.

The $800 million acquisition was announced Dec. 12, and Icosavax’s stock price rose by nearly 50%, to over $15 per share. Zhai allegedly sold his and his wife’s shares on Dec. 12 and 13, realizing a “total illicit gain” of $10,006, the complaint states.

Zhai is not yet listed as having a lawyer, court records show. A woman who answered a phone call to a number listed for Zhai said she was his wife and declined to comment on his behalf, but she did not provide her name. 

AstraZeneca declined to comment and would not confirm if Zhai still works there.

His LinkedIn page states that he has worked at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals since 2024 but also says he still works at AstraZeneca.

The SEC is asking for Zhai to “disgorge all ill-gotten gains or unjust enrichment” and to pay civil penalties.

“A reasonable investor would have viewed this information as important to his or her investment decision and as significantly altering the total mix of information available to the public,” the complaint states.

“Zhai owed a duty of trust and confidence to AstraZeneca arising out of the policies adhering to his employment with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and express agreements to maintain the confidentiality of the Icosavax transaction and not to use such information for his personal benefit.”