Drug development company SCYNEXIS, Inc.said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the its treatment for invasive Candida infections, including candidemia. SCYNEXIS stock closed up 1.7 percent Tuesday.

The orphan drug designation of SCY-078 provides seven years of market exclusivity. The Company was previously granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designation, which provides an additional five years of exclusivity. Together, these designations provide SCYNEXIS with a potential twelve years of market exclusivity in the U.S. following FDA approval.

“We are pleased with FDA’s decision to grant SCY-078 orphan drug designation which speaks to the urgent need for a new class of antifungal agents to treat this rare and life-threatening condition, particularly as resistance to current treatments continues to rise,” said Marco Taglietti, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of SCYNEXIS.

“This latest achievement is another key milestone for SCYNEXIS and we look forward to announcing top line data from our two ongoing Phase 2 studies of SCY-078’s oral formulation for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and invasive candidiasis in June and July 2016, respectively.”

Orphan drug status can be granted to a drug treating a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 US individuals. If SCYNEXIS complies with certain FDA requirements, the designation provides several benefits and incentives, including tax credits related to qualified clinical trial expenses and an exemption from FDA application fees.

SCYNEXIS (Nasdaq:SCYX) stock closed at $2.89, up 1.7 percent Tuesday and was set to open at over $3 a share.