Sam Waksal Helped Martha Stewart Do That Whole Insider Trader Thing — Where Is He Now?
"And I'm sorry that these events had to take place for me to learn that. But, at least I've learned it."
Published Oct. 31 2024, 7:29 p.m. ET
On Christmas day in 2001, Sam Waksal learned that the FDA was rejecting ImClone Systems' application for the cancer drug Erbitux. As the founder and CEO of the biotech company, Waksal was panicking. He knew that once this went public, their stock would plummet. He immediately informed family and a few friends that they should start selling off their ImClone Systems stock.
One of those friends was Martha Stewart, who ended up spending five months in a federal prison followed by house arrest, for insider trading. According to Forbes, in June 2003 Waksal was sentenced to 87 months in prison and was ordered to pay a $3 million fine.
He was out in 2009, the same year "ImClone was sold to Eli Lilly for $6.5 billion and five years after Erbitux eventually gained FDA approval," per CNBC. So, where is he now? Here's what we know.
Where is Sam Waksal now? He's still working in the biotech industry.
Upon his release from prison, Waksal immediately began raising money for a new biotech company called Kadmon Pharmaceuticals. In conversation with the New York Times in October 2010, Waksal said this would be a "fully integrated biopharmaceutical company from the get-go." This time he had experience to draw from, unlike his first go around at ImClone which took 20 years to get its first drug to market. He was a reformed man with high hopes.
In September 2014, Waksal told the New York Times he planned on taking Kadmon Pharmaceuticals public, even though that meant stepping down as its CEO. Per his sentence, Waksal is "banned from serving as an officer or director of a public company."
He was allowed to remain a shareholder. In 2020, Waksal founded Graviton Bioscience, which pioneers "safe innovative and novel therapies for patients with fibrotic, autoimmune, and CNS diseases."
A few years later in 2023, Waksal teamed up with an old friend to take a look at one of life's greatest mysteries: the human brain. "We’ve got a collaboration that was made in heaven," said Waksal about Jeremy Levin, CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, a company developing medicines for severe neurological diseases."
The two interviewed each other for STAT News, and it was shockingly breezy and fun. They decided to get together and focus on early-stage treatments for rare brain disorders.
Levin is in awe of his friend, who has brought seven separate drugs to market.
"This is a unique and unparalleled achievement in the industry for one person. It just doesn’t happen," he said excitedly. The two spent most of the interview lavishing praise upon each other while feeling hopeful about the future. It's the kind of joint venture that makes one feel hopeful for the future of humanity.
What is Sam Waksal's net worth?
Obviously we couldn't leave without looking into what we assume is an impressive net worth. It's a little difficult to pin down because he only deals in private companies. What we do know is in 2016, he walked away from Kadmon Pharmaceuticals with a $25 million severance deal.
As far as his legal issues go, Waksal has certainly taken himself to task. Before going to prison, he spoke with CBS News about the mistakes he made. "I think I was arrogant enough at the time to believe that I could cut corners, not care about details that were going on and not think about consequences," he said. "And I'm sorry that these events had to take place for me to learn that. But, at least I've learned it."