SEC levies no fine against Kiromic BioPharma after material omissions self-disclosure

Kiromic BioPharma will pay no fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after self-reporting that it failed to disclose material information about two cancer drugs to investors.

Houston-based Kiromic raised $40 million in a July 2021 public offering to fund clinical trials for two cancer drugs, but failed to alert investors that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had placed holds on clinical trials two weeks before the offering, the SEC said Tuesday in a press release. The company failed to report the FDA holds in two SEC filings, and failed to correct statements made by executives in roadshow calls with investors, according to the agency.

The allegations came to light after two anonymous complaints were filed on the company’s whistleblower hotline in August 2021, the SEC said.