Clovis settling SEC complaint for $20M

The SEC said Clovis Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS) will pay more than $20 million in penalties to settle charges that it misled investors about the efficacy of discontinued lung cancer candidate rociletinib.

According to SEC's complaint, Clovis said in May 2015 that rociletinib caused tumors to shrink in 60% of patients. Subsequently, SEC said CEO Patrick Mahaffy and former CFO Erle Mast learned the product actually showed efficacy in 42% of patients but continued to reference the latter figure, including in solicitation materials for a $298 million follow-on in July 2015. The company’s stock fell about 70% in November 2015 after it disclosed the updated outcome...