A Delaware Chancery Court judge has allowed an investor in a Silicon Valley biosciences firm to proceed with a derivative lawsuit claiming that the company’s board had delayed publicly announcing the issuance of a key patent in order to “spring-load” their own stock options.

Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick ruled Thursday that plaintiff Thomas S. Howland Jr. and his Fox Rothschild attorneys had supported claims for breaches of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment against the officers and directors of Anixa Biosciences Inc. stemming from the September 2017 transaction.