Corxel Pharmaceuticals to Go Public Via SPAC, Raising $300M for Oral GLP-1 Obesity Drug

Corxel Pharmaceuticals announced Monday it will go public by merging with SPAC Amanat Acquisition Corp., alongside a $300 million private investment. The proceeds will fund late-stage testing of CX11, an oral GLP-1 pill licensed from China's Vincentage Pharma. In a U.S. Phase 2 trial, CX11 helped participants lose up to 11.5% of body weight after 36 weeks with "favorable" gastrointestinal tolerability, Corxel said in June. Positive late-stage data from a Chinese trial run by Vincentage followed in May, and an international Phase 3 study could begin as soon as the first quarter of 2027. The combined company will also advance a preclinical amylin-directed obesity prospect. A third drug licensed from Biogen for acute ischemic stroke will remain in a private parent entity. Corxel, formerly Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals, will name a new U.S.-based CEO in coming months. The deal follows a $287 million Series D round raised less than a year ago.