aibioSCYNEXIS acquires Poxel's PXL-770 for $8,000,000 upfront and up to $188,000,000 in milestones
Tickers SCYX
Under an asset purchase agreement dated March 30, 2026, SCYNEXIS acquired Poxel's AMP kinase activator assets, including PXL-770, now SCY-770, and received a worldwide license.
Key facts
- Company
- SCYNEXIS, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCYX)
- News type
- Mergers
- Primary source
- SCYNEXIS INC Form 8-K filed March 31, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
SCYNEXIS, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCYX) acquired the AMP kinase activator program of Poxel SA, a French corporation, under an asset purchase agreement dated March 30, 2026, according to a Form 8-K filed March 31, 2026. The deal includes the compound PXL-770 and carries a one-time upfront payment of $8,000,000, plus milestone payments of up to $188,000,000 in total.
What SCYNEXIS acquired
The company acquired all of Poxel's right, title and interest in its direct AMP kinase activator research and development program assets. These include patents, know-how, regulatory filings, inventory, records, assumed contracts and other assets specifically related to compounds that directly activate AMP kinase. SCYNEXIS also assumed liabilities from Poxel related to the assets that arise after the effective date of the agreement.
Poxel also granted SCYNEXIS an exclusive, sublicensable, perpetual and irrevocable, worldwide license under certain licensed intellectual property it controls, covering the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of compounds and products related to the program.
The press release says PXL-770 is now called SCY-770. It describes SCY-770 as an oral AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator that the company is developing for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, or ADPKD, a genetic disease in which fluid-filled cysts grow in the kidneys. SCYNEXIS says the drug has been evaluated in eight clinical trials and has received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA.
The payments
SCYNEXIS will pay Poxel the $8,000,000 upfront payment within thirty (30) days after the effective date of the agreement. It also owes milestone payments on the first achievement of each event for products containing an acquired compound. The 8-K lists them:
Initiation of the first Phase 2 clinical trial triggers $2,000,000. Initiation of the first Phase 3 trial, or first approval of a marketing authorization application in the United States, whichever comes first, triggers $6,000,000. First commercial sale in the United States triggers $25,000,000.
Four payments depend on calendar year net sales. Net sales of $250,000,000 or more trigger $5,000,000. Net sales of $500,000,000 or more trigger $25,000,000. Net sales of $1,000,000,000 or more trigger $50,000,000. Net sales of $1,500,000,000 or more trigger $75,000,000.
The press release summarizes the same terms as up to $8 million in development milestones and up to $180 million in commercial milestones, of which $125 million is triggered by annual net sales at or above $1 billion. The 8-K says the milestones are owed upon the first achievement of each event.
Other terms
The agreement contains customary indemnification provisions, and disputes go to binding arbitration administered by the International Chamber of Commerce. SCYNEXIS intends to file the agreement as an exhibit to its next Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Development plans and the company
SCYNEXIS says a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of SCY-770 in ADPKD patients is anticipated to begin in Q4 2026, with an early efficacy readout anticipated in the second half of 2027. The release gives no efficacy results for SCY-770 so far, and the 'favorable safety profile' it cites is the company's own description. Most of the potential milestone money depends on net sales thresholds, and the first Phase 2 trial has not started.
In its Form 10-K filed March 4, 2026, SCYNEXIS described itself as dedicated to advancing innovative solutions for severe rare diseases, with a lead program in difficult-to-treat and drug-resistant fungal infections. Its antifungal ibrexafungerp was approved by the FDA as BREXAFEMME and was licensed to GSK in May 2023. The press release says SCYNEXIS has the potential to receive up to $146 million in annual net sales milestones plus net royalties from GSK, and that it will continue to pursue non-dilutive funding opportunities.
Financial position
SCYNEXIS is paying for a rare kidney disease program from a modest base. The 10-K filed March 4, 2026 reported a net loss of $8.6 million for 2025, against $21.3 million for 2024, and cash used in operations of $5.3 million for 2025, against $24.0 million. At the end of 2024, cash and cash equivalents were $16.1 million. The 8-K and release name no financial advisor, bank or counsel, and no financing for the deal. David Angulo, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, signed the 8-K.