Acurx Pharmaceuticals reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, while cash increased to $10.7 million from $7.6 million at the end of 2025 after the company raised about $2.5 million in a registered direct offering and another $0.8 million through its Equity Line of Credit. The late-stage biopharmaceutical company said the added funding, together with remaining capacity under the credit line, gives it resources to run an exploratory clinical trial in recurrent C. difficile infection. Operationally, Acurx highlighted July discussions with the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) on using a single Phase 3 study as a pivotal trial for a New Drug Application, with details of what it described as a favorable outcome disclosed on August 3. The company also cited August FDA conditional acceptance and USPTO trademark allowance for the proprietary name of ibezapolstat for treatment and reduction of recurrence of C. difficile infection, as well as new patent grants in Japan and Mexico covering DNA pol IIIC inhibitors. The company said research presented in 2026 supported ibezapolstat and related DNA pol IIIC inhibitors, a class that blocks bacterial DNA replication. Data presented at ESCMID Global in April showed orally absorbed candidates in preclinical development preserved the gut microbiome while showing systemic antibacterial activity, including potentially therapeutic plasma levels and reduced MRSA tissue burden. Data presented in July at the Anaerobe Society of the Americas showed that after ibezapolstat treatment, beneficial gut microorganisms had an opportunity to repopulate in a way that may help prevent recurrence, and that ibezapolstat and fidaxomicin outperformed vancomycin in biofilm models, with ibezapolstat significantly more effective at killing C. difficile than vancomycin and fidaxomicin. Acurx also said it extended its scientific partnership with Leiden University Medical Center to advance DNA polymerase IIIC inhibitors, building on a November 2025 Health-Holland grant. The work is intended to deepen mechanistic research, support development of agents active against resistant Gram-positive pathogens, and generate what the company said would be the first 3D structure of Pol C from MRSA in complex with an Acurx inhibitor. For the quarter, research and development expense rose to $1.1 million from $0.5 million, mainly because of higher manufacturing and consulting costs tied to the new recurrent CDI trial program, while general and administrative expense fell to $1.2 million from $1.7 million. For the first six months of 2026, net loss narrowed to $3.9 million from $4.4 million a year earlier.