Biovail Sued By Former Bank of America Analyst

Former Bank of American (BAC) Jerry Treppel has filed suit against Canadian pharmaeutical company Biovail Corp (BVF) claiming the company pressured his former employer to fire him.

Treppel was a former analyst with BofA and covered Biovail. The problems started when he released a sell recommendation claiming that Biovail had committed fraud in acquiring a key patent for a hypertensive drug back in 2002.

Of course Biovail was angered and contacted BofA to discuss Treppel's claims, and the fact that he also had a long position in shares of its competitor Andrx (ADRX) also entered the conversation.

Shortly there after Treppel was released from his duties. What did Treppel have to say?

He claims the shares of Andrx were held in an account someone else was managing, and BofA fired him only because it looked like Biovail might hand over a lawsuit of its own.

Sell recommendations are not that common when it comes to coverage of small biotech and technology companies. 'Hold' is usually the popular alternative.

Still, a sell recommendation alone should not have angered Biovail. The fact that Treppel held Andrx shares in personal accounts also does not merrit any reactions, especially one where the company would be motivated to complain to his employer.

However, if Treppel did in fact claim that Biovail had committed fraud then he better have solid proof or he stands to lose a lot more than his job.

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