SEC fines Clovis Oncology Inc., executives $20.8 million for lying about cancer drug effectiveness

[nitpicker]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sec-fines-clovis-oncology-inc-executives-208-million-for-lying-about-cancer-drug-effectiveness-2018-09-18

SEC fines Clovis Oncology Inc., executives $20.8 million for lying about cancer drug effectiveness

Published: Sept 18, 2018 2:09 p.m. ET

Francine
McKenna

Reporter

Clovis Oncology Inc., CLVS, +0.06%will pay $20 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled investors about the effectiveness of the company's developmental lung cancer drug, rociletinib, or Roci, according to an SEC press release. Its CEO Patrick Mahaffy, and Erle Mast, the company's former CFO, also settled charges. Over a four-month period starting in July 2015, the company and Mahaffy used its investor presentations, press releases, and SEC filings to inaccurately state that the drug was effective 60% of the time, meaning that in 60% of patients Roci caused targeted tumors to shrink, despite knowing actual results were much lower. Clovis raised approximately $298 million in a public stock offering in July 2015, but its stock price dropped by 70% in November 2015 after disclosing the true effectiveness rate, 28%.
(snip)

[nitpicker]

1. Link to the SEC PR

https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-199

[justhanginon]

2. Why does no one ever go to jail for these crimes? I know

20 million dollars is a sizable fine but what would really give these scumbags pause for thought would be a little well deserved time in the slammer. I realize that in our country corporate bigwigs are a privileged class but fair is fair. We peons go to jail for shoplifting a loaf of bread, so to speak, and these people pay a fine for fraud that involves millions of dollars which is probably a tax writeoff and go about their merry way.