Former Merck employee Zachary Zwerko was charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud by passing insider information about potential acquisitions and mergers in the pharmaceutical industry. The government alleged that Zwerko, a former senior finance analyst in Merck’s financial evaluation and analysis group, passed non-public information regarding Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Ardea Biosciences, and ViroPharma to a trader at an unnamed bank from 2012 to 2014. In 2016, the court ordered Zwerko to pay disgorgement of $57,000 (offset by the criminal forfeiture judgment imposed against him in a parallel proceeding).