Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

GSK plc / SCYNEXIS, Inc.

2023 · Licensing/Option · $593M · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Mar 30, 2023 BioPharma Dive Bullish

GSK will pay up to $593 million for commercialization and further development rights to SCYNEXIS' Brexafemme, a first-in-class oral antifungal. The transaction…

Mar 30, 2023 SCYNEXIS Bullish

SCYNEXIS announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with GSK for the commercialization and further development of Brexafemme…

Oct 15, 2025 SCYNEXIS Neutral

Oct 15, 2025: GSK + SCYNEXIS resolve MARIO disagreement. MARIO Phase 3 invasive candidiasis study to be wound down/terminated; $22M payment + $2.3M wind-down…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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GSK obtained an exclusive, royalty-bearing global license (ex-Greater China/Hong Kong/Taiwan) to commercialize and further develop Brexafemme (ibrexafungerp), a first-in-class oral triterpenoid antifungal, announced March 30, 2023 and closed May 12, 2023. SCYNEXIS received $90M upfront and was eligible for up to $503M in development, regulatory and commercial milestones (incl. $245.5M tied to invasive candidiasis and $242.5M in sales milestones) plus tiered high-single-digit to high-teens royalties. The deal's economics deteriorated after a September 2023 voluntary Brexafemme recall (beta-lactam cross-contamination) and a ~19-month FDA clinical hold on the Phase 3 MARIO invasive candidiasis trial. On October 15, 2025 GSK and SCYNEXIS resolved a dispute over restarting MARIO: the study was wound down and terminated and the invasive candidiasis program discontinued, with GSK paying SCYNEXIS a $22M resolution payment plus $2.3M for wind-down activities and no further MARIO-related milestones. The license otherwise remains in effect; GSK is focused on relaunching Brexafemme for vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and recurrent VVC, with the NDA transfer to GSK targeted for end-2025 and FDA relaunch discussions anticipated in 2026 — meaning the deal's most valuable disclosed milestone tranche is now unachievable.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
GSK plc / SCYNEXIS, Inc. (this deal)2023$593M
GSK plc / SmithKline Beecham2000$12.0B79
GSK plc / Pfizer Inc.2018$0.0M77
GSK plc / Novartis AG2014$16.0B76
GSK plc / Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd.2023$1.7B74
GSK plc / Nuvalent, Inc.2026$10.6B70
GSK plc / Sierra Oncology Inc.2022$1.9B70

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