– First Oral Glucan Synthase Inhibitor Ready to Enter Phase II Trials —

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (May 29, 2013) – SCYNEXIS, Inc. announced today that Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has decided to return to SCYNEXIS all development and commercialization rights for the novel antifungal compound, MK-3118, an oral glucan synthase inhibitor being developed for the treatment of systemic fungal diseases. This decision was made following a review and prioritization of Merck’s infectious disease portfolio.

In 2002, SCYNEXIS and Merck announced an exclusive license and research agreement focused on antifungal discovery and development of treatments for invasive fungal infections such as Candida and Aspergillus. MK-3118 is the first compound developed under the agreement to have completed Phase I studies and be ready to enter Phase IIb studies.

“We have enjoyed a successful collaboration with our Merck colleagues and will continue to advance the clinical development of MK-3118, now SCY-078, to help a growing and under-served patient population,” said Yves Ribeill, PhD, president and chief executive officer, SCYNEXIS. “The addition of this anti-fungal platform to our portfolio expands our pipeline and positions SCYNEXIS as a leading anti-infective company.”

“Working together, we have made good progress in advancing MK-3118 to this clinical stage,” said Roger Pomerantz, senior vice president and head, Worldwide Licensing and Knowledge Management, Merck. “Merck continues to advance its infectious disease pipeline and remains committed to delivering medicines in this important therapeutic area.”

Under the terms of the agreement, SCYNEXIS will receive all rights to MK-3118, including a transfer from Merck to SCYNEXIS of the pre-clinical, IND and Phase I data packages. The company plans to progress the clinical development while simultaneously evaluating new partnership opportunities. Merck will be eligible to receive milestones and royalties.

Data on this novel compound have been presented at the 49^th and 50^th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and published in multiple journals including the May 2012 issue of Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters and the November 2012 issue of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

About SCY-078 (formerly MK-3118)

SCY-078/MK-3118 is the first oral glucan synthase inhibitor being developed for the treatment of systemic fungal diseases. SCY-078/MK-3118 is a semi-synthetic derivative of the natural product enfumafungin—a structurally distinct class of glucan synthase inhibitors. Glucan synthase inhibitors have been very effective in treating invasive fungal infections in a hospital setting, but are currently only available as an intravenous dosing option.

About SCYNEXIS

SCYNEXIS delivers innovative solutions to solve the toughest problems in drug discovery and development for our pharmaceutical, global health and life science partners. Our contract research and development services include Integrated Pharmaceutical Solutions, Discovery Research and Integrated Parasitology. We have successfully delivered preclinical and clinical drug candidates to our customers across all major therapeutic indications and have developed our own proprietary cyclophilin inhibitor programs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including HCV, HBV and inflammation.  For more information, visit www.scynexis.com.

SCYNEXIS, Inc.
Amanda Mancuso
Chief of Staff
amanda.mancuso@scynexis.com
Tel: +1-919-544-8663

SCYNEXIS Media Contact:
Rick Rountree
Rountree Communications, Inc.
rick@rickrountree.com
Tel. +1 919-878-1144

AMSTERDAM (April 25, 2013) – Drug discovery and development company SCYNEXIS, Inc. presented 2 studies indicating that oral treatment SCY-635 induces the production of interferon in HCV infected patients at the 48^th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.

In an oral presentation, Dr. Koichi Watashi, Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, reported results of the study, Potentiate Interferon Signaling Through Diminished PKR Phosphorylation in HCV-Infected Cells, at the Translational Research in HCV session on Thursday, April 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The study examined the effect of cyclophilin inhibitors on the interferon (IFN) signaling pathway using an HCV-infected cell culture system. Results of this study suggest that cyclophilin inhibitors release the negative regulation of interferon stimulated genes (ISG) and allow their translation in HCV-infected cells. This mechanism contributes to the anti-HCV activity of cyclophilin inhibitors, in addition to the direct suppression of HCV replication.

The poster presentation, entitled The Cyclophilin Inhibitor SCY-635 Restores the Innate Recognition of HCV by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) from HCV-Infected Subjects, was presented by Peter Probst, SCYNEXIS, in the session on Hepatitis research and will be displayed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m on Saturday, April 27.

The study evaluated the ability of SCY-635 to modulate the innate immune response to HCV of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from study subjects with HCV. The data suggest that SCY-635 induces production of interferon by PBMC in a portion of HCV study subjects but has no stimulatory effect on PBMC from healthy controls. It also suggests that SCY-635 may induce and maintain an adaptive anti-HCV immune response by inhibiting the HCV-induced impairment of dendritic cells.

The full abstract for the oral presentation can be found here and the abstract for the poster presentation can be viewed here.

About HCV and Therapeutic Need
The World Health Organization estimates that about 3% of the world’s population is infected with HCV and that there are more than 170 million chronic carriers who are at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. While the majority of antiviral research remains focused on viral targets such as protease and polymerase enzymes, therapies such as SCY-635 that are based on immunomodulation to counteract viral immune evasion could be of great therapeutic value.

About SCY-635
SCY-635 is a novel oral cyclophilin inhibitor in Phase 2 studies for the treatment of Hepatitis C (HCV) and in preclinical studies for the treatment of Hepatitis B (HBV). Studies to date have demonstrated that SCY-635 is unique in that it plays a dual role as a synergistic Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) and a stimulator of the host immune system (Immune Acting Antiviral or IAA). The addition of SCY-635 to the repertoire of currently approved HCV therapies could breathe new life into the future of the immunotherapeutic options for treating HCV.

About SCYNEXIS
SCYNEXIS delivers innovative solutions to solve the toughest problems in drug discovery and development for our pharmaceutical, global health, animal health and life science partners. Our contract research services include Integrated Pharmaceutical Solutions, Discovery Research and Integrated Parasitology. We have successfully delivered preclinical and clinical drug candidates to our customers across all major therapeutic indications and have developed our own proprietary cyclophilin inhibitor programs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including HCV, HBV and inflammation. Founded in 2000, SCYNEXIS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Visit www.scynexis.com.

SCYNEXIS Media Contacts:
Alissa Maupin
SCYNEXIS
alissa.maupin@scynexis.com
Tel. +1-919-206-7246

Cory Tromblee
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
ctromblee@macbiocom.com
Tel. +1 781-235-3060

CHICAGO (April 24, 2013) – SCYNEXIS, Inc. President and CEO, Yves Ribeill, PhD, will appear on two BIO International Convention panels today to discuss the challenges and opportunities of developing new research breakthroughs for treatment of tropical neglected diseases in developing countries.

Ribeill will discuss the challenges of protecting ownership of technology in one panel and in the other will talk about his drug discovery and development company’s research partnerships for drug therapies in parts of the world where social, economic and infrastructure obstacles abound.

His appearance will be during the largest global event for the biotechnology industry that attracts more than 15,000 attendees to the McCormick Place site from around the world.

Ribeill will appear on the panel IP Strategies for the Developing World on Wednesday, April 24^th from 9 to 10:15 a.m. in Building S404A. The discussion will focus on the challenges of protecting intellectual property of innovators. Ribeill and other panelists will outline strategies that both for-profit and non-profit groups are taking to prepare for the globalization of innovative products while still protecting their inventions.

From 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Ribeill will be on the BioPharma Opportunities in Global Health panel. These panelists will discuss the more than 20 public-private partnerships to address diseases faced by a majority of the world’s population who live in unstable social, economic, political and medical infrastructures. The discussion takes place in Building S401BCD.

SCYNEXIS has been involved with others in development of new therapies for treatment of diseases such as African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, as well screening new drug candidates for malaria. SCYNEXIS has partnered with Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases (DNDi), a not-for profit research and development organization working to deliver new treatments for neglected diseases, and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to make promising compounds available to researchers globally.

For years Ribeill, has been an advocate for partnerships to identify new therapies for the billion people around the world who face continued exposure to disease that has been largely controlled in developed regions of the globe.

Prior to launching Research Triangle Park, NC-based SCYNEXIS in 2000, Dr. Ribeill held various positions during his career in the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors of Rhone-Poulenc in France and the U.S. including group leader in Discovery Chemistry for Antiviral Research. Ribeill is a past expert-advisor to the French government for drug research investment and member of the Medicines Malaria Venture Expert Scientific Advisory committee at the World Health Organization in Geneva.

During the 2013 BIO International Convention, SCYNEXIS will be exhibiting as part of the North Carolina Pavilion #2617.

About SCYNEXIS
SCYNEXIS delivers innovative solutions to solve the toughest problems in drug discovery and development for our pharmaceutical, global health, animal health and life science partners. Our contract research services include Integrated Pharmaceutical Solutions, Discovery Research and Integrated Parasitology. We have successfully delivered preclinical and clinical drug candidates to our customers across all major therapeutic indications and have developed our own proprietary cyclophilin inhibitor programs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including HCV, HBV and inflammation. Founded in 2000, SCYNEXIS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Visit www.scynexis.com.

SCYNEXIS Media Contacts:
Alissa Maupin
SCYNEXIS
alissa.maupin@scynexis.com
Tel. +1-919-206-7246

Rick Rountree
Rick Rountree Communications, Inc.
rick@rickrountree.com
Tel. +1-919-878-1144

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (April 10, 2013) – SCYNEXIS, Inc. announced today that Immune Design Corp. has selected SCYNEXIS as its chemical development and cGMP production partner for manufacture of Glucopyranosyl Lipid A (GLA).

Immune Design’s GLA is the first clinical stage synthetic TLR4 agonist with the demonstrated ability to enhance vaccine immunogenicity in humans. Clinical and preclinical studies have established that GLA has properties that may make it ideal for use as an adjuvant for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.

By joining forces, the teams have accomplished a major breakthrough, validating a new synthesis for GLA, within a short period of time.

“Partnering with SCYNEXIS, with its efficient and cost-effective chemistry synthesis process, moves us closer to delivering important vaccine products to those in need,” said Carlos Paya, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Immune Design.

“We’re excited that our talented team provided the expertise and inventiveness, in partnership with Immune Design, to deliver this important compound,” said Yves Ribeill, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of SCYNEXIS. “At SCYNEXIS, we always welcome the opportunity to join forces and solve the challenges of complex chemistry projects while creating innovative solutions with our partners.”

SCYNEXIS’ contract research and development services include Integrated Pharmaceutical Solutions, Discovery Research and Integrated Parasitology.

About Immune Design Corporation
Immune Design is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Seattle, Washington, and formed in 2008 to bring together some of the world’s leaders in the field of molecular immunology to develop vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infectious and malignant disease. The company employs advanced and leading edge methods to precisely control the activation and context of antigen presentation by dendritic cells in order to shape the desired adaptive immune response. This goal is accomplished through the application of two proprietary technology platforms that activate the immune system by distinct mechanisms. Additional information can be found on the company’s website at www.immunedesign.com.

About SCYNEXIS
SCYNEXIS delivers innovative solutions to solve the toughest problems in drug discovery and development for our pharmaceutical, global health and life science partners. We have successfully delivered preclinical and clinical drug candidates to our customers across all major therapeutic indications and have developed our own proprietary cyclophilin inhibitor programs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including HCV, HBV and inflammation. Founded in 2000, SCYNEXIS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Visit www.scynexis.com.

Immune Design Media Contact:
Paul Rickey
media@immunedesign.com
Tel. + 1-206-826-7904

SCYNEXIS Media Contacts:
Alissa Maupin
SCYNEXIS
alissa.maupin@scynexis.com
Tel. +1-919-206-7246

Rick Rountree
Rick Rountree Communications, Inc.
rick@rickrountree.com
Tel. +1-919-878-1144