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# Acurx Pharmaceuticals receives FDA conditional acceptance for ibezapolstat brand name CIFBEZY
- URL: https://www.pennystocks.news/acxp-acurx-pharmaceuticals-receives-fda-conditional-acceptan/
- Published: 2026-08-17T23:42:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-25T01:39:05.000Z
- Description: Acurx Pharmaceuticals closed at $1.6500 on August 17, up 18.28% from a previous close of $1.3950, on dollar volume of $1,796,725 across 4,593 trades. The move came after the company released two announcements: FDA conditional acceptance of the proposed brand name for its lead
- Author: PennyStocksNews Team
- Tags: nasdaq, ticker-acxp

Acurx Pharmaceuticals closed at **$1.6500 on August 17, up 18.28%** from a previous close of $1.3950, on dollar volume of $1,796,725 across 4,593 trades. The move came after the company released two announcements: FDA conditional acceptance of the proposed brand name for its lead antibiotic candidate, and second-quarter financial results showing a widening operating loss.

The FDA conditionally accepted **the proprietary name CIFBEZY** (pronounced "sif-BEZ-ee") for ibezapolstat, the company's antibiotic candidate targeting *Clostridioides difficile* infection (CDI), a bacterial infection of the gut. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also allowed a trademark application for the same name. According to the company, final FDA approval of the brand name will be sought only at the time of a New Drug Application (NDA) filing, which itself requires successful completion of Phase 3 clinical trials.

Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NASDAQ: ACXP 

Ibezapolstat is described by Acurx as a DNA polymerase IIIC inhibitor — a class of antibiotic that works by blocking a bacterial enzyme involved in DNA replication. The company says the drug is Phase 3 ready, subject to financing, and **patient enrollment in a recurrent CDI trial is expected to begin** in the coming months.

On the financial side, Acurx reported a **net loss of $2.3 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026**, compared with a net loss of $2.2 million in the same period of 2025\. Research and development expenses rose to $1.1 million from $0.5 million in the prior-year quarter, with the company attributing the increase to higher manufacturing and consulting costs tied to the recurrent CDI trial program. General and administrative expenses fell to $1.2 million from $1.7 million, due in part to lower professional fees and legal costs.

The company ended the second quarter with **cash of $10.7 million**, up from $7.6 million at December 31, 2025\. During the quarter it raised approximately $2.5 million gross through a registered direct offering of 825,085 shares at $3.03 per share, and a further $0.8 million under an equity line of credit. A concurrent private placement added warrants to purchase up to 1,650,170 shares at an exercise price of $2.78 per share, exercisable immediately and expiring 24 months after the effective date of the related registration statement.

Common shares outstanding stood at **4,683,253 at June 30, 2026**, compared with 2,348,113 at December 31, 2025\. The free float on the day of the move was 3,797,912 shares, equal to 88.4% of shares outstanding. Short volume on August 17 was 459,862 shares, representing 56.53% of reported volume for the session.