Two childhood friends face criminal charges for swapping tips over at least six years years about pharmaceutical company mergers.

David Hobson, a former Oppenheimer & Co. investment adviser who worked in Providence, Rhode Island, was charged with insider trading for allegedly receiving tips from his friend, Michael Maciocio, according to an indictment and a related civil case by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Maciocio, a former employee at Pfizer Inc., has pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.

The indictment, unsealed Friday in Manhattan federal court, didn’t name Hobson’s or Maciocio’s employers. A person familiar with the matter said Hobson had previously worked at Oppenheimer and the Royal Bank of Canada, while Maciocio had worked for Pfizer.

According to court papers, Maciocio was a master planner in a New York-based pharmaceutical company’s Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Supply Chain Group. There, he learned about plans for drug manufacturing to determine the identity of potential targets, the U.S. said. The alleged scheme ran from May 2008 to 2014.

Trading Tips

Hobson allegedly made about $100,000 by trading on tips about several drug companies, including a deal involving the acquisition of Medivation Inc., a company developing a commercial drug for treating Alzheimer’s disease. He allegedly made $40,000 based on inside information about the acquisition of Ardea Biosciences Inc., a company which was developing a drug to treat gout, and another $30,000 trading on Furiex Pharmaceuticals LLC, the indictment says.

“Oppenheimer became aware of this issue some time ago and has cooperated
extensively with government authorities in connection with a former employee
who was the subject of the Indictment announced today,” a company spokeswoman, Alexandra Gambale, said by e-mail. “Oppenheimer will continue to do so in the future.”

Asked about Maciocio, Pfizer said in a statement, “The charges in this case relate to the conduct of a former employee. Pfizer takes these allegations seriously and is cooperating fully with the authorities. After identifying the potential improper conduct, Pfizer determined the employee’s actions breached the Company’s policies on business conduct and terminated his employment.”

A spokesman for the Royal Bank of Canada didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.