--- title: "Axsome derivative suit dismissed in Delaware" url: "https://aibio.space/news/axsome-derivative-suit-dismissed-delaware-new-york-case-awaits-ruling/" publisher: "aibio.space (Biotech Investor Relations News)" date: "2026-08-10" section: "Legal" tickers: "NASDAQ:AXSM" source: "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000119312526342360/axsm-20260630.htm" summary: "Stockholders sued Axsome's directors and officers in New York and Delaware over AXS-07 statements. Delaware dismissed with prejudice on July 9, 2026. The N" --- By the aibio.space news desk. Sources - [Axsome Therapeutics 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000119312526342360/axsm-20260630.htm) - [Axsome Therapeutics 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000119312526064267/axsm-20251231.htm) - [Axsome Therapeutics 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000095017022002568/axsm-20211231.htm) [AXSM](https://aibio.space/companies/axsome-therapeutics/) 2026-08-10 # Axsome derivative suit dismissed in Delaware; New York case awaits ruling on motion Tickers [AXSM](https://aibio.space/companies/axsome-therapeutics/) Stockholders sued Axsome's directors and officers in New York and Delaware over AXS-07 statements. Delaware dismissed with prejudice on July 9, 2026. The New York motion to dismiss is fully briefed. ## Key facts - **Company**: Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM) - **News type**: Legal - **Primary source**: [Axsome Therapeutics 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000119312526342360/axsm-20260630.htm) *Marble steps and columns of a supreme court building. CC0, via rawpixel. The picture shows the field, not the companies named.* Axsome Therapeutics (Nasdaq: [AXSM](https://aibio.space/companies/axsome-therapeutics/)) said in its [10-Q filed August 10, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000119312526342360/axsm-20260630.htm) that a Delaware court dismissed a stockholder derivative suit against its directors and officers with prejudice on July 9, 2026. A similar consolidated suit in federal court in New York is still waiting for a ruling on a motion to dismiss. Axsome is the nominal defendant in both. Herriot Tabuteau, its chief executive officer and chairman, is named in every case caption. The New York plaintiffs are Daniel Engel, who filed Engel v. Herriot Tabuteau, et al. on July 21, 2022, and Kyle Guterba, who filed Guterba v. Tabuteau, et al. on January 27, 2023, both in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Delaware plaintiffs are John Wickstrom, who filed in the Court of Chancery on September 23, 2025, and John Gildea, who filed there on September 29, 2025. The 10-Q gives no case numbers for these suits. ## The case The complaints rest on the same allegations as a securities class action over Axsome's AXS-07 product, which the 10-Q calls resolved. Axsome's [10-K filed February 23, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000119312526064267/axsm-20251231.htm) says that class action, Gru v. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc., was filed on May 13, 2022 in the Southern District of New York. It alleged false statements about the company's chemistry, manufacturing and controls practices and its NDA for AXS-07, now Symbravo. On March 31, 2025 the court dismissed the claims against three current and former officers and let the claims against the company and two current officers proceed. On October 27, 2025 the court preliminarily approved settlement terms, and it held a final approval hearing on February 10, 2026. In New York, the derivative plaintiffs assert breach of fiduciary duty against all defendants and a claim for contribution under Sections 10(b) and 21D of the Exchange Act. In Delaware, they assert breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and corporate waste. Both groups seek unspecified damages, fees, interest and costs, plus corporate governance changes. ## Defendants The 10-Q does not list the individual defendants. It says the New York complaints name the company's then-current directors and certain current and former officers, and that the Delaware complaints name its current directors and certain current and former officers. Tabuteau is the only individual named in the captions. An annual report filed months before the first suit, Axsome's [10-K filed March 1, 2022](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579428/000095017022002568/axsm-20211231.htm), was signed by four directors: Tabuteau, Roger Jeffs, Ph.D., Mark Coleman, M.D., and Mark Saad. The 10-K filed in February 2026 was signed by five: those four and Susan Mahony, Ph.D., M.B.A. The filings do not say that each of these directors is a defendant, and they do not name the officers who are. ## Where it stands The New York cases were consolidated on February 28, 2023 and stayed while the class action went forward. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on November 25, 2025, and defendants moved to dismiss it on February 13, 2026. The motion is fully briefed, and the parties await the court's decision. In Delaware, the court consolidated the cases on November 6, 2025 and made the Wickstrom complaint the operative one. Defendants moved to dismiss on February 2, 2026. On July 9, 2026 the court granted the motion and dismissed the complaint with prejudice. The 10-Q does not say whether the plaintiffs appealed. ## Why it matters to shareholders The filings list Axsome as a nominal defendant, so the individual directors and officers are the targets of the claims. The 10-Q says that as of June 30, 2026 there were no potential material losses from claims or legal proceedings that the company determined were both probable and reasonably estimable. It also says Axsome does not believe that any of its pending legal matters, individually or together, will have a material adverse effect on its financial position. That statement covers the patent cases too, which are reported separately. [Report an error](https://aibio.space/reputation/#correction) ## Companies in this story AXSM Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. 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Cite as: aibio.space, "Axsome derivative suit dismissed in Delaware", 2026-08-10, https://aibio.space/news/axsome-derivative-suit-dismissed-delaware-new-york-case-awaits-ruling/