A US federal judge has approved a $29m payment to Pfizer as part of a long-running dispute tied to the insider trading case involving SAC Capital Management, the former hedge fund run by billionaire investor Steven A Cohen, according to a report by Reuters.
The ruling, issued by US District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan, resolves claims over the distribution of funds remaining from SAC Capital’s $601.8m settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission related to insider trading in pharmaceutical companies Wyeth and Elan.
The case centred on trades executed by former SAC portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, who was later sentenced to nine years in prison for securities fraud and conspiracy. Martoma had received confidential information about an Alzheimer’s drug trial from a neurologist connected to Wyeth ahead of key clinical trial results in 2008.
After earlier compensation payments, $75.2m remained from the original settlement. Judge Marrero initially ruled in 2024 that the entire amount should be transferred to the US Treasury, determining that Wyeth — which was acquired by Pfizer in 2009 — was not a direct victim in the insider trading scheme.
Pfizer appealed the decision, arguing it should receive the remaining funds because the neurologist who tipped Martoma owed a fiduciary duty to Wyeth.
Under the settlement approved this week, Pfizer agreed to drop its appeal in exchange for $29m, while the remaining $46.2m will go to the US Treasury.
Cohen himself was not criminally charged in connection with the case. In 2014, SAC Capital was rebranded as Point72 Asset Management following the insider trading investigation.
