11:00 AM EST, 11/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Aurinia Pharmaceuticals ( AUPH ) has filed a lawsuit against US Food and Drug Administration drug division chief George Tidmarsh, accusing Tidmarsh of defaming one of its drugs, among other allegations, according to media reports Sunday.

Tidmarsh has resigned from his position at the FDA, the media reports said.

Aurinia filed the lawsuit in federal court in Maryland late Sunday detailing the company's allegations against the FDA official.

The WSJ reported that Tidmarsh in September posted on LinkedIn that Aurinia's kidney drug voclosporin had "not been shown to provide a direct clinical benefit for patients." Aurinia's shares then fell 20% in a few hours, according to the report.

Tidmarsh told the New York Times in an interview on Sunday that a FDA review against him was opened in retaliation to worries he raised recently about the legal basis of a new program for the rapid approval of some new drugs.

FDA spokeswoman Emily Hilliard told the NYT that Tidmarsh offered his resignation and it was accepted.

Aurinia and the FDA didn't immediately respond to requests for comment by MT Newswires.

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