Obesity Drug Developer Corxel US to Go Public in Amanat SPAC Deal: About $377 Million in Gross Proceeds to Fund Phase 3 for Oral GLP-1 Candidate CX11
Corxel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Corxel US), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and Amanat Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: AMAN), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced on October 26 that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Upon completion, Corxel US will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the combined public company, which is expected to operate under a new name and list its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market under a new ticker symbol, each to be announced before closing. Corxel US is based in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, and Amanat in Westfield, New Jersey.
In addition to approximately $75 million held in Amanat's trust account, institutional investors have committed approximately $300 million in a concurrent, oversubscribed private investment in public equity (PIPE), with participation from new and existing investors including RTW Investments, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), SR One, Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, HBM Healthcare Investments, RA Capital Management and others. The business combination and PIPE are expected to provide approximately $377 million in gross proceeds, before transaction costs and assuming no redemptions by Amanat shareholders. The proceeds are expected to support the company through 2029 and fund the planned global Phase 3 development program for its lead candidate CX11 in obesity. The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to Amanat shareholder approval, effectiveness of the registration statement, Nasdaq listing requirements and other customary conditions.
CX11 is an investigational once-daily oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist being developed for obesity, type 2 diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions. In a U.S. Phase 2 obesity trial, CX11 achieved a mean body-weight reduction of up to 11.5% at Week 36 under the efficacy estimand. Gastrointestinal tolerability rates across dosing cohorts ranged from 33% to 34% for nausea, 12% to 16% for vomiting and 4% to 12% for diarrhea; events were generally mild to moderate with no severe cases, and the overall discontinuation rate due to gastrointestinal adverse events was 5.0%. Following an End-of-Phase 2 meeting, Corxel US has aligned with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on key elements of CX11's regulatory path and Phase 3 trial design, and plans to advance CX11 into global pivotal Phase 3 trials. A second candidate, CX12, an oral small-molecule amylin receptor agonist in preclinical development, is targeting an investigational new drug application in the first half of 2027.
Sandy Mou, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Corxel Group, said the transaction marks Corxel US's transition into an independent public company. Kevin Xie, Ph.D., Chief Financial Officer of Corxel US, said CX11's weight loss and favorable tolerability across multiple studies position it as a potentially differentiated, next-generation oral GLP-1 therapy. Pavan Cheruvu, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Amanat, said Corxel US brings an experienced global development team, a late-stage oral GLP-1 program and a defined regulatory path. The companies noted the transaction covers only Corxel US and its obesity-focused business; Corxel HK and its acute ischemic stroke program JX10 are not included and will remain outside the combined company.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 New York 时代广场的 Nasdaq MarketSite 大楼资料图，合并后的公司预计在 Nasdaq 上市。图片：Ajay Suresh，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: File photo of the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York. Image: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
