Major finding provides mechanistic explanation for ibezapolstat's (IBZ) selectivity in that the predicted bactericidal interaction between IBZ and its target DNA pol IIIC is conserved across most of the Bacillota phylum, including C. difficile, while certain beneficial taxa are naturally resistant to IBZ, allowing regrowth of resistant microbes known to confer health benefits This study used in silico methods to better interpret the narrower than expected ibezapolstat (IBZ) spectrum of activity observed in human trials, which included increased proportion of certain key gut microbiota of the Bacillota phylum IBZ susceptibility of human commensal (nonpathogenic) microbiota was predicted using genomic analysis and a phylogenetic tree construction of the IBZ target enzyme, pol IIIC Preparation continues to advance IBZ into international Ph3 clinical trials for treatment of CDI IBZ has previously been granted FDA QIDP and Fast-Track Designation and has received SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) designation by the EMA STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACXP) ('Acurx' or the 'Company') is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of small molecule antibiotics for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, with its lead antibiotic candidate, ibezapolstat (IBZ), preparing to advance to international Phase 3 clinical trials to treat patients with C. difficile Infection (CDI). The Company today announced the results of a study and its publication in the Journal of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapeutics entitled: 'The Microbiome-restorative Potential of Ibezapolstat for the Treatment of Clostridioides difficile Infection is Predicted Through Variant PolC-type DNA Polymerase III in Lachnospiraceae and Oscillospiraceae'. The primary researcher and author is Jacob K. McPherson, PharmD, a PhD Pharmacology Candidate at the University of Houston. This study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.