In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Philadelphia, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Jim Self, a pharmaceutical executive, and Stephen Goldfield, a hedge fund manager, with insider trading in connection with the 2007 acquisiton of MedImmune by AstraZeneca. Ultimately, Goldfield made nearly $14 million on his trades, according to the lawsuit.

The men allegedly met while attending the Executive MBA program at the Wharton School of Business in the mid-1990’s and, in March 2007, Self exec passed along confidential info about MedImmune. At the time, investment bankers were shopping the biotech to 22 drugmakers and Self had been assigned to evaluate a potential acquisition, according to the lawsuit. In fact, Self was “involved in practically all of the meetings” for due diligence and submitting a bid, the SEC alleges.

The lawsuit doesn’t stipulate where Self worked at the time, but the Merck web site lists Self as a global leader for business development in the vaccines division (see page 3). At the time, MedImmune was known for its FluMist vaccine. Self, whose LinkedIn page notes that he attended Wharton, did not respond to messages seeking comment. A Merck spokeswoman confirms this is the same Self and that he continues to work for the drugmaker, but had no further comment.

The agency lawsuit goes on to say that Self, who lives in Doylestown, Pa., and Goldfield have remained friends over the years, socialized regularly and were involved in various ventures. In fact, it was at Self’s home in March 2007 that he allegedly shared a confidential deal sheet with Goldfield, according to the lawsuit. How did Self benefit, though? The SEC alleges he raised his statute in Goldfield’s eyes by passing along the info.

UPDATE: Self settled the case by agreeing to pay a $50,000 fine, based on his financial abilities, and Goldfield paid $600,000, along with disgorgement (see this).