11:42 AM EST, 11/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with US Department of Health and Human Services' comments in the fifth and sixth paragraphs.)

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.

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 an 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.

US Department of Health and Human Services Press Secretary Emily Hilliard told MT Newswires via email on Monday that Tidmarsh resigned on Sunday morning after he was placed on "administrative leave after the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of the Inspector General were notified of serious concerns about his personal conduct."

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "expects the highest ethical standards from all individuals serving under his leadership and remains committed to full transparency," Hilliard added.

Aurinia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by MT Newswires.

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