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.
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.