SEC就2021年Kindred Biosciences并购内幕交易案提交个人被告和解判决

Trijya Vakil and Neeraj Visen
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26629 / September 4, 2026
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Trijya Vakil and Neeraj Visen, No. 7:25-cv-05697 (S.D.N.Y. filed July 10, 2025)
SEC Files Settlements with Former Animal Health Company Senior Director and Tippee in Alleged Insider Trading Scheme
On September 3, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed consents and proposed final judgments as to defendants Trijya Vakil and Neeraj Visen in a previously filed action alleging trading in stock of Kindred Biosciences, Inc. based on material nonpublic information about the impending acquisition of Kindred by Vakil’s employer.
According to the SEC’s complaint, filed on July 10, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Vakil, then Senior Director, Product Innovation at Elanco Animal Health, Inc., learned about the upcoming Kindred acquisition in April 2021, when she took part in Elanco’s due diligence for the transaction. The SEC alleged that Vakil purchased 500 shares of Kindred stock on the basis of material nonpublic information regarding the acquisition, and when Kindred’s stock price rose by approximately 46% following the acquisition announcement, Vakil obtained ill-gotten gains of $2,447.50. The SEC further alleged that Vakil tipped her friend, Neeraj Visen, about the upcoming Kindred acquisition, including telling him on June 15, 2021 that the acquisition would be announced within a day or two. According to the SEC’s complaint, Visen then purchased 38,000 shares of Kindred stock, and when the stock price rose after the announcement, Visen obtained ill-gotten gains of $109,437.
Vakil and Visen consented to the entry of final judgments, subject to court approval, that would order each of them to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $54,718. On August 6, 2025, the Court entered consent judgments that permanently enjoined each of them from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and prohibited them from acting as officers or directors of a public company.
Vakil and Visen each pleaded guilty to criminal charges in parallel actions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Derek M. Schoenmann, Jawad B. Muaddi, and Assunta Vivolo of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit, Jordan Baker of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, and supervised by Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph G. Sansone. The SEC’s litigation is being led by Mr. Schoenmann and Mr. Muaddi and supervised by Alexander M. Vasilescu. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.