FDA: The Growing Use of Freedom of Information Act Requests for FDA Data by Life Science Stock Traders

The Wall Street Journal reported on the use of FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests by investment firms with the intent to learn more about companies regulated by FDA. The story covers a wide scope of information requests with a focus on investment firms attempting to learn about possible adverse event reports and issues arising from FDA inspections. Using FOIA requests When SAC Capital Advisors LP was weighing an investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., the hedge-fund firm contacted a source it knew would provide nonpublic information without blinking: the federal government. An investment manager for an SAC affiliate asked the Food and Drug Administration last December for any 'adverse event reports' for Vertex's recently approved cystic-fibrosis drug. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the agency had to hand over the material, which revealed no major problems. The bill: $72.50, cheaper than the price of two Vertex shares. SAC and its affiliate, Sigma Capital Management LLC, snapped up 13,500 Vertex shares in the first quarter and options to buy 25,000 more, securities filings indicate. The stock rose that quarter, then surged 62% on a single day in April when Vertex announced positive results from safety tests on a separate cystic-fibrosis drug designed to be used in combination with the first. Finance professionals have been pulling every lever they can these days to extract information from the government. Many have discovered that the bigges...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs