The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission added another set of charges against what it has called an insider trading ring led by Steven Fishoff, which has been alleged to have used information about a nonpublic licensing agreement between pharmaceutical companies to make illegal trades worth $1.5 million.

The latest charges allege that Winson Tang, a vice president at Sangamo BioSciences, tipped off a friend and business associate, Deshan Govender, about a coming licensing agreement between Sangamo and Biogen Idec. The deal would result in a collaboration to develop therapies for the treatment of certain illness.