Feds Bring Hammer Down On Biotech Firm Vaxart

Feds Bring Hammer Down On Biotech Firm Vaxart

California biotech company Vaxart is under federal investigation and is being sued by a number of investors.

According to CNN, Vaxart was served with a grand jury subpoena in July from the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

It's under fire for exaggerating its involvement in the US government's Operation Warp Speed program for developing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

Vaxart issued a June press release saying 'Vaxart's Covid-19 Vaccine Selected for the US Government's Operation Warp Speed.'

The news pumped Vaxart's stock price from $3 to $17.

Hedge fund Armistice Capital, which partly controlled Vaxart, sold its shares, profiting more than $200m.

A few weeks before it announced its supposed inclusion in the Operation Warp Speed program, Vaxart granted amendments to its warrants agreements.

That allowed Armistice to sell almost all of their stock, which they did once the stock price skyrocketed.

In July, the HHS said it had neither entered into a funding agreement nor negotiations with Vaxart.