Earlier today French doctor Yves Benhamou was charged with passing on some hot info about Hepatitis C to an unnamed hedge fund, which didn’t seem to make any money off of the tip but avoided losing $30 million by a timely sale of six million shares of drug maker Human Genome Sciences. The fund was not named, but according to Matthew Goldstein at Reuters, it’s FrontPoint Partners, which has suspended a trader named Dr. Chip.

FrontPoint Partners oversees roughly $7 billion in assets, including in healthcare funds. It has offices in Greenwich, Connecticut; New York; and London. The fund’s healthcare-focused group was formed in 2003 when Chip Skowron, Jason Bonadio and Ajay Bhalla joined the firm from rival hedge fund firm SAC Capital Management.

According to the firm, they are “cooperating fully with this investigation” and “have placed Dr. Chip Skowron on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Sources: FrontPoint Hedge Fund Got Illegal Tips [Reuters]

Comments (16)

  1. Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2010 at 8:56 PM

    That’s a shame. It would have been awesome to hear Eisman rip those HGS nerds a new one on the next conference call.

  2. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2010 at 8:58 PM

    No wonder Stevie didn’t rip HGS’s management a new one in the investor conference. Hipocrit.

  3. Posted by Don | November 2, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    Frankly, the only accomplishment that this management team can truly point to is the survival of this Company, which I don’t mean to minimize, but otherwise, this management team has overseen are failed drug trials and a massive destruction of human life. I demand a response.

  4. Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    ugh, I know :(

  5. Posted by Guest B | November 2, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    What does Conan O’Brien have to do with any of this?

  6. Posted by Dyslexic | November 2, 2010 at 9:10 PM

    That Jason Bonobo is one sharp dresser.

  7. Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2010 at 9:23 PM

    SAC:Insider Trading :: Goldman:front-running

  8. Posted by Homosaurus | November 2, 2010 at 9:26 PM

    Just the tip?

  9. Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2010 at 9:50 PM

    illegal tips? is that code for unclipped cock? those french are dirty

  10. Posted by just sayin | November 3, 2010 at 2:25 AM

    Eisman has nothing to do with the fund being investigated. Eisman manages the Frontpoint Financials Fund. Chip is co-PM of the Frontpoint Healthcare Fund. Two completely separate funds in different locations.

  11. Posted by Guest | November 3, 2010 at 4:58 AM

    he’s a top manager at the firm. you’re an idiot– just sayin.

  12. Posted by Correction | November 3, 2010 at 10:46 AM

    Steve Eisman has nothing to do with this. Dealbreaker is the only website that is getting this wrong. Chip is a co-PM for Frontpoint’s Healthcare funds. FPP is not a fund, it’s a grouping of completely different funds that share the same operational platform. Try to get it right in your follow-up Dealbreaker

  13. Posted by Festerbottom, Chazzy | November 3, 2010 at 12:08 PM

    So, everyone in Greenwich really IS named Chip?

    Dr. Chas. Festerbottom, PHD, MFA, BSD

  14. Posted by Guest | November 3, 2010 at 1:31 PM

    do you see him mentioned in this post? try to get it right in your follow up comment, Correction.

  15. Posted by Guest | November 3, 2010 at 1:34 PM

    “Dealbreaker is the only website that is getting this wrong”

    um, reuters, the wsj, dealbook have all mentioned eisman. try again.

  16. Posted by Mr. McKnuckles | November 3, 2010 at 4:52 PM

    Earlier this year the had the first drug approved for Lupus in several decades.

    (Or are you riffing on Steve’s comments on the CC? If so, sorry for being pedantic)

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