FibroGen Board Beats Lawsuit Over Failed AstraZeneca Partnership

FibroGen Inc.'s senior leaders prevailed in litigation blaming them for the fallout of its failed effort to develop an anemia drug through a partnership with AstraZeneca Plc.

A Delaware judge Wednesday dismissed claims that the board turned a blind eye to doctored clinical data, false statements by management, and a scheme by two executives to sell stock at inflated prices. The company’s broad liability shield limits fiduciary breach claims against the board to those involving bad faith, and there’s no reason to think its members deliberately ignored red flags, the judge said.

The “simple truth” is that the Food ...