JPMorgan Chase sold off more than half of its shares in local specialty drug developer Cumberland Pharmaceuticals during the second half of 2012.

The sales came after the New York bank holding company told investors a year ago it had cut its stake in West End-based Cumberland to 6.1 percent from 9.1 percent at the end of 2010. JPMorgan now owns about 378,000 shares, or 1.9 percent of the company's outstanding stock, down from more than 566,000 on Sept. 30 and almost 940,000 midway through last year. According to research firm Morningstar, Boston-based Frontier Capital Management is now Cumberland's largest shareholder with a stake of about 6.6 percent.

JPMorgan's moves last year to trim its exposure to Cumberland came as the local company endured a difficult time, posting so-so earnings and battling several challengers to a newly awarded patent. Late in the year, CEO A.J. Kazimi filed papers to raise up to $100 million — the company has not yet gone to market under that shelf — and laid off a third of his sales force. Shares of the company (Ticker: CPIX) are down more than 20 percent from a year ago and closed Tuesday trading at $4.49.