SEC v. Amit Dagar; and Atul Bhiwapurkar, No. LR-26210, Southern District of New York (Jan. 6, 2025) — Press Release

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26210 / January 6, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Amit Dagar and Atul Bhiwapurkar, No. 1:23-cv-5564 (S.D.N.Y. filed June 29, 2023) SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Former Pfizer Statistician Amit Dagar and His Friend and Business Partner Atul Bhiwapurkar Who Both Traded Ahead of COVID-19 Treatment Announcement On December 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Amit Dagar of Hillsborough, New Jersey, and Atul Bhiwapurkar of Milpitas, California. As alleged in the SEC’s complaint filed on June 29, 2023, Dagar, a former Pfizer Inc. employee, and his close friend and business partner, Bhiwapurkar, traded in advance of the company’s November 5, 2021, announcement that a randomized, double-blind study of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was successful. Following that announcement in which Pfizer’s CEO referred to the news as a “game-changer” in the global efforts to “halt the devastation” of the pandemic, the company’s stock price increased by nearly 11 percent, the largest single-day price move in the stock since 2009. The complaint alleges that on the day before the Paxlovid announcement, Dagar learned material, nonpublic information about the success of the trial. The complaint alleges that Dagar’s and Bhiwapurkar’s trading generated approximately $214,395 and $60,300 respectively in illicit profits. The case originated from the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns. Dagar and Bhiwapurkar consented to final judgments in the SEC’s case after a jury convicted Dagar, and Bhiwapurkar pleaded guilty, in a parallel criminal case, United States v. Dagar et al., No. 1-23-CR-00319-ALC (S.D.N.Y.). The court’s final judgments of Dagar and Bhiwapurkar permanently enjoined each from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The court’s final judgment of Dagar also ordered him to pay disgorgement of $214,395 plus prejudgment interest of $41,908 and deemed Dagar’s obligation to pay those amounts satisfied by the order of forfeiture in the parallel criminal case. The court’s final judgment of Bhiwapurkar ordered him to pay disgorgement of $60,300, deemed satisfied by the order of forfeiture in the parallel criminal case, and a civil penalty of $60,300. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Market Abuse Unit staff, with the assistance of Patrick McCluskey of the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, and was supervised by Paul Kim and Joseph Sansone, Chief of the Market Abuse Unit. The SEC's litigation was led by Charlie Divine under the supervision of James Connor and Christopher Bruckmann. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26210 / January 6, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Amit Dagar and Atul Bhiwapurkar, No. 1:23-cv-5564 (S.D.N.Y. filed June 29, 2023) SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Former Pfizer Statistician Amit Dagar and His Friend and Business Partner Atul Bhiwapurkar Who Both Traded Ahead of COVID-19 Treatment Announcement On December 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Amit Dagar of Hillsborough, New Jersey, and Atul Bhiwapurkar of Milpitas, California. As alleged in the SEC’s complaint filed on June 29, 2023, Dagar, a former Pfizer Inc. employee, and his close friend and business partner, Bhiwapurkar, traded in advance of the company’s November 5, 2021, announcement that a randomized, double-blind study of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was successful. Following that announcement in which Pfizer’s CEO referred to the news as a “game-changer” in the global efforts to “halt the devastation” of the pandemic, the company’s stock price increased by nearly 11 percent, the largest single-day price move in the stock since 2009. The complaint alleges that on the day before the Paxlovid announcement, Dagar learned material, nonpublic information about the success of the trial. The complaint alleges that Dagar’s and Bhiwapurkar’s trading generated approximately $214,395 and $60,300 respectively in illicit profits. The case originated from the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns. Dagar and Bhiwapurkar consented to final judgments in the SEC’s case after a jury convicted Dagar, and Bhiwapurkar pleaded guilty, in a parallel criminal case, United States v. Dagar et al., No. 1-23-CR-00319-ALC (S.D.N.Y.). The court’s final judgments of Dagar and Bhiwapurkar permanently enjoined each from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The court’s final judgment of Dagar also ordered him to pay disgorgement of $214,395 plus prejudgment interest of $41,908 and deemed Dagar’s obligation to pay those amounts satisfied by the order of forfeiture in the parallel criminal case. The court’s final judgment of Bhiwapurkar ordered him to pay disgorgement of $60,300, deemed satisfied by the order of forfeiture in the parallel criminal case, and a civil penalty of $60,300. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Market Abuse Unit staff, with the assistance of Patrick McCluskey of the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, and was supervised by Paul Kim and Joseph Sansone, Chief of the Market Abuse Unit. The SEC's litigation was led by Charlie Divine under the supervision of James Connor and Christopher Bruckmann. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.