TL;DR
- Hong (John) Wang, a New Jersey biostatistician, consulted for Massachusetts-based C4 Therapeutics on clinical trial data for a multiple myeloma and lymphoma drug.
- While performing that work, he allegedly learned of positive trial results before they were made public on December 12, 2023.
- Wang bought 160,430 C4 shares across four accounts between November 20 and December 12, 2023, including a block purchased hours before the announcement.
- C4’s stock rose about 114% over the following two trading days, netting Wang roughly $489,739.
- Both the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed parallel civil and criminal charges on the same day.
Wang worked as a biostatistical consultant for C4 Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, from June 2023 through June 2024.
His contract required him to analyze clinical trial data for the company’s flagship drug candidate, then known as CFT7455, targeting multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That work gave him direct access to unpublished trial results months before C4 planned to disclose them to the market.
Contractual and Training Safeguards
According to the SEC’s complaint, C4 had taken clear steps to prevent exactly this kind of misuse. Wang’s consulting agreement barred him from using confidential information for any purpose outside his assigned duties, and he acknowledged in writing that such information could contain material nonpublic information (MNPI) subject to federal and state trading restrictions.
The SEC further alleges Wang completed multiple company trainings on insider trading, including one that specifically listed “positive or negative results of a clinical trial” as a textbook example of MNPI — a detail regulators highlighted to underscore that Wang could not credibly claim ignorance of the rules he was accused of breaking.
The Trades
The SEC alleges that between November 20 and December 12, 2023, while aware of the undisclosed positive results, Wang purchased C4 shares through four separate brokerage accounts: two in his own name, one jointly held with his wife, and one in the name of his consulting firm, Precision Clinical Consulting LLC.
Notably, the complaint states that none of these accounts had ever previously traded C4 securities — a pattern regulators often cite as circumstantial evidence that a purchase was information-driven rather than part of an existing investment strategy. Of the 160,430 total shares purchased, 76,740 were bought just hours before C4 publicly announced its trial results.
The Payoff
When C4 announced the positive results on December 12, 2023, its stock price jumped approximately 114% over the following two trading days. The SEC calculates Wang’s realized and unrealized gains from the position at $489,739.
Parallel Civil and Criminal Charges
On January 14, 2026, the SEC filed a civil complaint against Wang and Precision Clinical Consulting in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The agency is seeking disgorgement, prejudgment interest, injunctive relief, and civil penalties against both Wang and his firm.
The same day, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced three counts of criminal securities fraud against Wang, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. Prosecutors are also seeking criminal forfeiture of the alleged proceeds held across Wang’s four investment accounts.
Why It Matters
The case is one of several the SEC and DOJ have brought in quick succession targeting outside consultants — rather than full-time employees — with access to sensitive clinical trial data. Legal commentators have noted that biostatisticians, contract researchers, and other third-party specialists occupy a growing blind spot in pharmaceutical insider trading enforcement: they are often bound by the same confidentiality and trading restrictions as employees, but may not receive the same day-to-day compliance oversight.
The Wang case, coming in tandem with other early-2026 life sciences enforcement actions, has been cited by law firms advising biopharma clients as a signal that regulators intend to extend scrutiny further down the contractor chain in clinical trial-adjacent roles.