aibioExicure's class action and derivative suits end with court-approved settlements
Tickers XCUR
Exicure's securities class action and its shareholder derivative suits are over, according to a quarterly report filed August 14, 2026. The class action settled for $5.625 million, funded by insurers, and the derivative suits were dismissed in June 2026 after court approval.
Key facts
- Company
- Exicure, Inc. (NASDAQ: XCUR)
- News type
- Legal
- Primary source
- Exicure 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
Exicure, Inc. (Nasdaq: XCUR) said in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q, filed August 14, 2026, that its securities class action and the shareholder derivative suits that followed it have ended. The filing says the defendants were "certain of its current and former officers and directors." Earlier Exicure filings name them: the class action was against Exicure, David A. Giljohann, Brian C. Bock and later Grant Corbett, and the derivative suits named Giljohann, Bock, Jeffrey L. Cleland, Elizabeth Garofalo, Bosun Hau, Bali Muralidhar, Andrew Sassine, Matthias Schroff, James Sulat and Timothy Walbert, with Exicure as nominal defendant.
The class action, Colwell v. Exicure, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-06637, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The court entered final judgment approving a settlement on January 13, 2025. On June 2, 2026, the same court granted final approval of a global settlement of the derivative suits and dismissed the Illinois derivative suits with prejudice. A Delaware federal court dismissed the third suit on June 15, 2026.
Defendants
Corbett was added in the second amended complaint. Exicure's 2021 annual report describes Giljohann as the former chief technology officer and previously chief executive officer, and Bock as the former chief executive officer and a director.
Among the derivative defendants, Schroff became president and chief executive officer on February 4, 2022. The 2021 annual report says Sassine, Walbert and Hau resigned from the board.
The class action
Mark Colwell filed the putative class action on December 13, 2021. The 2021 annual report said the complaint alleged that Giljohann and Bock made materially false or misleading statements about the company's clinical programs, hurting investors who bought securities between January 7, 2021 and December 10, 2021.
In a 2023 quarterly report, Exicure said the court named James Mathew lead plaintiff and Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP lead counsel on March 20, 2023. The second amended complaint, filed May 26, 2023, alleged false statements about experiments on the drug XCUR-FXN and claimed violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5.
The derivative suits
Three derivative suits followed. Kapil Puri sued on March 1, 2022 (Case No. 1:22-cv-01083) and Yixin Sim on March 8, 2022 (Case No. 1:22-cv-01217), both in Illinois. Stourbridge Investments LLC sued on April 25, 2022, in Delaware (Case No. 1:22-cv-00526). They alleged the defendants caused false statements in the 2021 proxy statement and breached fiduciary duties. On March 18, 2022, James McNabb, through counsel, sent a written demand that the board investigate and act against officers and directors.
The money
The class action settlement included a $5.625 million payment, funded by Exicure's insurers. The insurers reserved rights over the unsatisfied part of the retention, and Exicure was liable for a $2.5 million self-insured retention. Exicure accrued about $1.1 million for it at September 30, 2024. On July 29, 2025, it agreed to remit $1 million to the insurer and paid it on August 13, 2025.
The derivative parties signed a formal settlement agreement on March 18, 2026. The 2025 annual report says the Illinois court granted preliminary approval on March 19, 2026 and set a June 2 hearing. The filings do not give the derivative settlement terms.
Other claims
A former employee sued the company and several former executives in New Jersey federal court on October 3, 2023, alleging breach of contract and unpaid wages. The parties settled for $425,000 on July 15, 2026.
Dren Bio Management, Inc. filed an unlawful detainer complaint against Exicure's subsidiary GPCR USA in San Mateo County Superior Court on March 9, 2026. It sought possession of the Redwood City premises and about $0.7 million in unpaid rent, plus damages and attorney's fees. Exicure vacated the premises on April 15, 2026, and says it cannot reasonably estimate any loss beyond the amounts it has accrued.
The 10-Q does not say what Exicure paid in legal fees over the course of the litigation.