Expanded case series includes advanced thymic carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, end-stage liver cirrhosis, and end-stage renal disease
According to patient accounts, multiple critically ill patients with very poor prognoses reported meaningful improvements in functional status, appetite, mobility, and overall condition after taking the Company's product
Jericho, New York, April 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curanex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CURX) ("Curanex" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical development company focused on advancing therapeutic assets for serious diseases with significant unmet medical need, today highlighted five additional patient cases that management believes further support the potential of its lead candidate in cancer cachexia, advanced cancer supportive care and other serious disease settings characterized by profound physical decline, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction and loss of functional capacity.
The five newly highlighted cases follow the Company's previously disclosed case involving "Johnny," a senior dosimetrist at a premier cancer hospital in the Northeast, whose personal experience management believes provided an initial clinically relevant signal supporting the Company's strategic interest in cancer cachexia and supportive oncology. Taken together, management believes the growing body of patient accounts may suggest broader potential relevance of the Company's lead candidate in helping patients maintain or recover appetite, strength, physical condition, mobility, and quality of life in the setting of serious disease.
The newly highlighted cases include:
Advanced Thymic Carcinoma - 52-Year-Old Male Patient
This 52-year-old male patient was receiving care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) for advanced thymic carcinoma with pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hemorrhage, and bilateral lung and pleural metastases. The pleural tumor measured 9.9 × 3.3 cm and was visibly vascularized. His wife recounted that doctors had told them the pain in his left abdomen was so severe it could cause him to faint at any moment - and that if it happened outside the home, he might not make it back. His estimated survival was approximately one month. According to the patient's account, after taking the Company's product for approximately 20 days, all pain disappeared, night sweats resolved, hemoptysis stopped, analgesic injections were no longer needed, and his appetite and sleep improved. Visible reduction of the pleural tumor was also reported. According to the patient's account, his projected survival extended from weeks to more than one year with meaningful improvement in quality of life.
Advanced Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) - 55-Year-Old Female Patient
This 55-year-old female patient was initially evaluated in Flushing, New York, and subsequently referred to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) for treatment of metastatic small cell lung cancer. She had visible tumors in her neck, chest, and abdomen, with the largest neck tumor measuring approximately 1 × 1 cm. Her oncologist had told her family to prepare for her passing, saying she had only weeks to live. She had exhausted chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and investigational therapies. Before taking the Company's product, she was profoundly cachectic, severely weak, and barely able to eat. According to the patient's account, within approximately one month, she gained about 17 pounds (~7.7 kg), her voice returned from weak to strong, and she resumed normal eating and physical activity. After approximately two months, she was walking briskly and jogging lightly, and the previously visible neck tumor was no longer detectable. According to the patient's account, her projected survival extended from weeks to more than three years.
Pancreatic Cancer with Post-Surgical Multi-Organ Complications - 80-Year-Old Male Patient
This 80-year-old male patient developed multi-organ failure following pancreatic cancer resection and was hospitalized for an extended period at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Lower Manhattan. The hospital had notified his family of his critical condition, with expected survival of only days or hours. He was unable to eat, had severe edema in his feet and legs, was severely hypotensive, bedridden, and required nasogastric tube feeding. According to the patient's account, the morning after taking the Company's product, he was able to eat small amounts that same evening; within a week, he could eat normally, and his blood pressure and liver and kidney function had returned to normal. Within two weeks, he had regained sufficient strength to be discharged home. After returning home, he went outside daily in a wheelchair for exercise and fresh air, and his mental state continued to improve. According to the patient's account, his projected survival extended from hours to more than one year with substantial improvement in condition and quality of life.
End-Stage Liver Cirrhosis with Massive Ascites and Hepatorenal Syndrome - 82-Year-Old Male Patient, Chris
Chris, an 82-year-old male patient who had been under the long-term care of physicians at MSKCC, developed end-stage liver cirrhosis with massive ascites, causing his abdomen to swell to the size of a full-term pregnancy. He was extremely weak, unable to get out of bed independently, unable to walk, barely able to eat, and had been unable to urinate spontaneously for over a year, relying on daily drainage of ascitic fluid. After being told no further treatment options were available, he entered hospice care with an estimated life expectancy of one to two months. According to the patient's account, on the fourth day after taking the Company's product, he urinated in large quantities, and his appetite returned. By day eleven, the drainage tube had stopped producing fluid. After one month, he was using a walker and riding a stationary bicycle to exercise his legs, and was eating regularly. After two months, he was walking freely and cooking in the kitchen - and the abdomen had completely returned to normal. After three months, he had the energy to walk normally. According to the patient's account, he subsequently survived for more than one year with improved mobility and quality of life.
End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) with Pleural Effusion, Hydronephrosis and Neuropathic Pain - 76-Year-Old Male Patient
This 76-year-old male patient with end-stage renal disease had been receiving thrice-weekly hemodialysis at North Flushing Dialysis Center. He was physically weak and could only walk slowly with a cane, suffering from severe bilateral leg pain, severe pleural effusion, hydronephrosis, and complete loss of spontaneous urination. According to the patient's account, spontaneous urination returned within approximately one week of taking the Company's product. Follow-up imaging subsequently confirmed complete resolution of both pleural effusion and hydronephrosis, bilateral leg pain fully resolved, and his physical strength recovered significantly. His mental state and overall condition continued to improve, and he was able to walk more than 10,000 steps per day independently, without any assistive device. Management believes this case is noteworthy because it reflects severe systemic decline involving inflammation, metabolic disruption, fluid accumulation, and loss of physical function - features that overlap substantially with broader wasting syndromes.
Management noted that across these five cases, spanning very different disease backgrounds, a consistent set of themes emerged: severe weakness, loss of appetite, impaired mobility, profound physical deterioration, metabolic instability, and loss of independent function. In several cases, according to patient accounts, improvements in overall physical condition helped patients regain the ability to eat, walk, sleep, and live more normally. Management believes these observations are particularly relevant in the context of cancer cachexia and supportive oncology, where maintaining physical condition and functional status can be highly meaningful for both quality of life and the ability to continue receiving care.
"What stands out to us is not simply the severity of these cases, but that across very different disease settings, we are repeatedly hearing from patients about the return of appetite, the rebuilding of strength, the ability to walk again, and the return to ordinary daily life," said Jun Liu, Chief Executive Officer of Curanex. "We believe this growing body of patient experience may support the possibility that our lead candidate has broader relevance in one of the most difficult areas of medicine: helping seriously ill patients maintain or rebuild the physical resilience they need to endure disease. If future research supports these observations, we believe the implications for cancer cachexia, supportive oncology, and other serious diseases involving systemic decline could be medically important and commercially significant."
As previously announced, Curanex has expanded its strategic development focus to include cancer cachexia, which management believes represents one of the largest unmet needs in supportive oncology. The Company believes this market opportunity is supported by the seriousness of the condition, the absence of approved therapies in the United States specifically for cancer cachexia, and the potential value of any candidate capable of helping patients maintain body weight, appetite, strength, mobility, or the ability to continue receiving care. The Company also believes these patient observations are consistent with its broader strategic interest in diseases involving inflammation, metabolic disruption, and physical decline.
Curanex cautions that the above reports reflect only individual patient accounts, are observational in nature, and do not establish safety or efficacy or predict similar outcomes in other patients. The Company believes, however, that the consistency of certain observations across multiple severe cases may help inform future development priorities in cancer cachexia, advanced cancer supportive care, and other serious disease settings.
About Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a pharmaceutical development company headquartered in Jericho, New York. The Company is focused on advancing therapeutic assets for serious diseases with significant unmet medical need. Its lead asset, Phyto-N, is currently being developed for ulcerative colitis and is being advanced through preclinical and IND-enabling activities in support of a planned IND submission in the fourth quarter of 2026. The Company is also evaluating broader pipeline opportunities intended to expand its long-term therapeutic platform.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors to read "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 30, 2026 (Inline Viewer: CURANEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC 10-K 2025-12-31) and risk factors contained in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") to gain understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results differ materially from the anticipated results and projections about future events contained in this press release.
Contact:
Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc
Tel: (212) 671-1020 / (718) 673-6078
Email: ir@curanexpharma.com
