Amgen's ChemoCentryx securities class action settlement gets preliminary approval

A federal court has granted preliminary approval to a class-wide settlement of the securities litigation over ChemoCentryx, Inc., the company Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) bought in 2022. Amgen reported in its 10-Q filed August 5, 2026 that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered the order on June 12, 2026. Objections and opt-ins are due September 21, 2026, and a final approval hearing is set for October 29, 2026. The 10-Q does not state the settlement amount.

The case is Homyk v. ChemoCentryx, Inc., No. 4:21-cv-03343-JST, according to ChemoCentryx's 10-K filed March 1, 2022. Two putative class actions were filed on May 5 and June 8, 2021 and later consolidated. They name ChemoCentryx and its Chief Executive Officer as defendants. That 10-K was signed by Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director.

The case

The plaintiffs allege violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act over statements about the New Drug Application for TAVNEOS and the underlying Phase 3 clinical trial. They seek damages, interest and attorneys' fees. On March 6, 2024, the court certified a class of everyone who bought ChemoCentryx common stock between November 26, 2019 and May 6, 2021. The opt-out deadline was January 14, 2025, according to Amgen's 10-K filed February 13, 2026.

Defendants

The class action names ChemoCentryx and its Chief Executive Officer. ChemoCentryx's 10-K names the officer only by title. Amgen's 10-K calls Dr. Schall ChemoCentryx's former Chief Executive Officer when it describes the opt-out cases below. Neither filing names him as a class action defendant.

Two opt-out cases name ChemoCentryx and Dr. Schall. RA Capital Healthcare Fund, LP filed them on May 2, 2024, one in California Superior Court in Ventura County and one in the Northern District of California. The state court stayed its case on July 2, 2024. The federal court stayed its case on June 13, 2025 without reaching the merits of the defendants' motion to dismiss.

Where it stands

On August 15, 2025, the court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment in its entirety and denied the lead plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment. The lead plaintiff appealed to the Ninth Circuit on September 12, 2025 and filed its opening brief on January 5, 2026. On January 27, 2026, the parties told the appeals court they had agreed to settle on a class-wide basis, subject to district court approval.

The lead plaintiff filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval on March 13, 2026, according to Amgen's 10-Q for the first quarter. A revised stipulation of settlement followed on May 15, 2026, and preliminary approval on June 12, 2026. The 10-Q does not say what happens to the RA Capital cases.

Why it matters to shareholders

The 10-Q gives no amount for the settlement and does not say whether insurance or an accrual covers it. Amgen says, in general, that an adverse outcome in pending matters could have a material adverse effect on its results, financial position or cash flows.

TAVNEOS is also the subject of other proceedings. On April 27, 2026, the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research issued a proposal to withdraw approval of TAVNEOS after a March 2026 safety communication about serious liver injury. Amgen reports a carrying value of $2.4 billion for TAVNEOS intangible assets as of June 30, 2026. ChemoCentryx is also the plaintiff in patent suits over TAVNEOS, against Zydus and against Annora, Hetero USA and Hetero Labs, which the District of New Jersey consolidated for all purposes on May 21, 2026.

Related matters

ChemoCentryx's 2022 10-K also reported a derivative suit, Napoli v. Schall, No. 3:22-cv-00499, filed January 25, 2022 in the Northern District of California against the company, its board and certain officers. Amgen's recent filings do not mention it.

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