AcelRX Board, Execs Face Investor Suit Over Pain Drug Marketing

AcelRX Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s directors and top executives are facing a new shareholder suit for breaching their fiduciary duty over allegedly misleading advertising about a pain treatment drug.

Under the defendants’ leadership, AcelRX downplayed opioid drug DSUVIA’s risks and made misleading claims about its effectiveness, according to the derivative suit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company is already facing a proposed securities class action and at least one other derivative shareholder complaint over the same allegations.

Banner ads and other promotional materials emphasized DSUVIA’s benefits, but the risks were ...