CEO and Major Shareholders of Rare Lung Disease New Drug Sell Millions in Shares

Roger Jeffs, CEO of rare pulmonary disease drug developer Liquidia Corp (NASDAQ: LQDA), and major shareholder Paul B. Manning have consecutively sold shares on the open market from mid-May through early June, according to recent SEC filings. Between May 18 and 26, Jeffs executed a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan across multiple accounts, disposing of a total of 150,000 shares. Of those, sales from May 18–20 generated roughly $4.4 million (approximately KRW 6 billion). Even after these transactions, Jeffs still holds over one million common shares as well as a substantial block of unvested restricted stock units. On June 4, Manning sold 189,000 shares—through accounts in his own and his family’s names and via an investment vehicle—raising about $12.1 million (around KRW 17 billion). He nevertheless retains direct and indirect equity stakes valued at about $400 million (over KRW 560 billion).

Separately, on June 8 Liquidia announced that its shares will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 index, effective before the market opens on June 22. Earlier, on May 11, the company reported a strong first quarter of fiscal 2026—driven by robust sales of its pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment YUTREPIA—posting net income of $52.9 million and product revenue of $129.9 million, marking its third consecutive profitable quarter.

Headquartered in North Carolina, Liquidia is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare cardiopulmonary diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Its flagship product, YUTREPIA—a dry-powder inhaled form of treprostinil—received FDA approval in May 2025 and launched commercially in the U.S. in June 2025. The company is now advancing its pulmonary hypertension portfolio around YUTREPIA and its next-generation inhaled treprostinil candidate, L606.