STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., March 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACXP) ("Acurx" or the "Company"), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of small molecule antibiotics for difficult‑to‑treat bacterial infections, today announced that the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has granted a new patent which covers DNA Polymerase IIIC inhibitors including compositions‑of‑matter, methods of use, and pharmaceutical compositions, which further strengthen Acurx's intellectual property portfolio and represents the most recent addition to its expanding series of granted patents in the U.S. and abroad. To date, Acurx has secured four U.S. patents, along with granted patents in Israel, Japan, India, Australia and Korea, all of which protect key aspects of the Company's ACX‑375C program targeting DNA Polymerase IIIC. Additional country‑level patent applications remain under review.

Robert J. DeLuccia, Executive Chairman of Acurx, stated: "Achieving this new patent extends our patent estate protection as we further develop our innovative, AI-supported drug discovery platform. We believe Acurx's preclinical pipeline of systemically-absorbed compounds has the potential to create a transformational shift in the treatment paradigm of serious and potentially life-threatening infections such as acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections (ABSSSI, including MRSA), Community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP), hospital and/or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP), bacteremia with or without sepsis and/or infectious endocarditis, bone/joint infections, prosthetic joint infections and inhalational anthrax, caused by B. anthracis, a Bioterrorism Category A Threat-Level pathogen. Recently presented microbiome selectivity data on representative novel compounds provide initial evidence that microbiome selectivity, when compared to the comparator antibiotic, linezolid, may be a class effect."

He further stated: "Our lead DNA pol IIIC inhibitor, ibezapolstat, is ready to advance to international, Phase 3, pivotal registration trials in the US and EU for oral treatment of acute C. difficile Infection. We're also starting up a ground-breaking clinical trial with ibezapolstat in patients with multiply-recurrent CDI (rCDI) that has the potential to shift the treatment paradigm for acute CDI and rCDI from two agents to one."

About Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Acurx Pharmaceuticals is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new class of small molecule antibiotics for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections. The Company's approach is to develop antibiotic candidates with a Gram-positive selective spectrum (GPSS®) that blocks the active site of the Gram-positive specific bacterial enzyme DNA polymerase IIIC (pol IIIC), inhibiting DNA replication and leading to Gram-positive bacterial cell death. Its R&D pipeline includes antibiotic product candidates that target Gram-positive bacteria, including Clostridioides difficile, methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE), drug- resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (DRSP) and B. anthracis (anthrax; a Bioterrorism Category A Threat-Level pathogen). Acurx's lead product candidate, ibezapolstat, for the treatment of C. difficile Infection is Phase 3 ready with plans in progress to begin international clinical trials as soon as possible. The Company's preclinical pipeline includes development of an oral product candidate for treatment of ABSSSI (Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections), upon which a development program for treatment of inhaled anthrax is being planned in parallel.

To learn more about Acurx Pharmaceuticals and its product pipeline, please visit www.acurxpharma.com

Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about our future expectations, plans and prospects, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, prospects, plans and objectives, and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: whether ibezapolstat will benefit from the QIDP designation; whether ibezapolstat will advance through the clinical trial process on a timely basis; whether the results of the clinical trials of ibezapolstat will warrant the submission of applications for marketing approval, and if so, whether ibezapolstat will receive approval from the FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies where approval is sought; whether, if ibezapolstat obtains approval, it will be successfully distributed and marketed; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and in the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Acurx disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as may be required by law.

Investor Contact:
Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
David P. Luci, President & CEO
Tel: 917-533-1469
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.