Fifth Circuit vacates class certification in Filana Therapeutics securities suit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the order granting class certification in a securities class action against Filana Therapeutics, Inc. (FLNA), the company reported in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 20, 2026. The appellate decision reversed the ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, which had previously certified the class for the lawsuit pending against the company and certain named officers and employees.

Filana Therapeutics stated that further proceedings regarding class certification will now proceed on remand in the Texas District Court pursuant to the Fifth Circuit's order. The company noted that it successfully appealed the lower court's decision, a process that began when the Fifth Circuit agreed in October 2025 to hear the defendants' interlocutory appeal challenging the original certification order.

The original class certification covered all purchasers or acquirers of Filana's securities between September 14, 2020, and October 12, 2023. The Fifth Circuit concluded that the Texas District Court applied the wrong legal standard when it approved this group of investors. According to the filing, the appellate court accepted the company's position that the district court failed to evaluate evidence of market inefficiency. Additionally, the Fifth Circuit found that the lower court improperly rejected, without proper consideration, the defendants' argument that certain meme-stock dynamics impacted Filana's securities during that period.

The Fifth Circuit explicitly stated it made no judgment on whether Filana's securities traded in an efficient or inefficient market. The ruling focuses solely on the procedural error in applying the legal standard for class certification. The Form 8-K was signed by Eric J. Schoen, Chief Financial Officer of Filana Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas.