Karyopharm Seeks Bankruptcy Protection, Paving the Way for Potential Merger With Ayrmid Backed by $55 Million in Financing
Key Facts
Karyopharm Therapeutics filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 protection on November 2, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, announcing a restructuring support agreement with its lenders, bondholders and other stakeholders. The agreement provides for Ayrmid to merge with the company after its reorganization, but the deal has not closed. Karyopharm said Ayrmid would be the lead bidder in a court-supervised sale process, and it is seeking approval for procedures that would allow competing bids for its assets. The company also announced commitments for up to $55 million in financing from its existing secured lenders, with availability subject to court approval. It expects the financing, together with cash generated by its operations, to support the business and financial obligations coming due after the filing.
The company says it will continue operating in the ordinary course during the bankruptcy proceedings, focusing on its multiple myeloma and myelofibrosis programs. It is currently marketing XPOVIO for multiple myeloma in the United States, while the drug has received approvals in more than 50 countries and territories outside the U.S. under the names XPOVIO or NEXPOVIO. The company said these activities are among the areas of work it intends to continue during the process. Continued operations under the plan, however, depend on DIP financing, which requires court approval, and on cash generated by operations. The company did not describe the agreement as a guarantee that it would continue operating; it said the funding sources are expected to support the business going forward and its financial obligations.
The filing followed clear pressure on liquidity and debt. On September 10, 2026, the company failed to make a principal installment of approximately $15.8 million, while outstanding term-loan principal stood at about $129.0 million on that date. It also disclosed approximately $2.8 million in bond interest that came due on June 30, 2026, and remained unpaid. On October 22, the parties extended the lenders’ forbearance period through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 1. The protection filing came the day after that period expired, moving the restructuring into a court-supervised process.
In its quarterly report, the company had disclosed $65.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments as of June 30, 2026, but expected its resources to fund its operating plans only through September, and warned of substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. In the first half of 2026, total revenue was $68.498 million, compared with $67.944 million in the same period of 2025. Net XPOVIO revenue rose to $59.939 million from $50.735 million. But the second-quarter net loss widened to $67.023 million, compared with $37.252 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The figures put the bankruptcy filing in the context of a company that recorded growth in product revenue alongside losses and mounting financing pressure.
The financial strain coincided with the failure of a major clinical trial. On July 30, 2026, Karyopharm announced that the Phase 3 XPORT-EC-042 trial of selinexor as maintenance treatment for endometrial cancer had not met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival. Follow-up data in a cohort of 236 patients showed median progression-free survival of 12.75 months with selinexor, compared with 7.43 months with placebo, with a one-sided p-value of 0.0791. The company said the results showed a trend in favor of treatment in that cohort, after announcing that the primary endpoint had not been met. The result adds context to the restructuring, while the company’s stated operational focus remains on its multiple myeloma and myelofibrosis programs.
Karyopharm expects to complete the proposed merger in the first quarter of 2027 through a Chapter 11 plan, subject to the terms set out in the plan. Before then, the sale process must proceed under court supervision, including allowing for competing bids, and DIP financing requires court approval. The company listed the impact of the proceedings on common and preferred shareholders among the risks, along with the expected delisting of its common shares from the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Shareholders’ position therefore remains tied to the outcome of the reorganization plan and sale process, not solely to the Ayrmid agreement. The expected closing date remains conditional on completing those steps.