Nature – It is as predictable as a heartbeat: when crucial medical results are at hand, cardiologist Jean-Luc Vachiery knows that the hedge-fund managers will come calling. Vachiery, who tests experimental therapies for a rare condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension at the Free University of Brussels, is privy to confidential information about clinical trials that could be valuable if used — illegally — to guide investments.
As such, his conversations with the financial sector can be tense. “They tell you, ‘don’t say anything that’s confidential’,” says Vachiery. “And then they ask you for confidential information.”
