Salarius Pharmaceuticals and Decoy Therapeutics Complete Merger

Core Insights - The strategic merger between Salarius Pharmaceuticals and Decoy Therapeutics aims to enhance the development of innovative peptide conjugate therapeutics through the IMPACT™ platform, which simplifies drug development and manufacturing processes [1][2] - The combined company has a pro forma cash position of $14 million following the merger and a recent public offering [1] Company Overview - The new entity will be named Decoy Therapeutics, with leadership including co-founders Frederick "Rick" Pierce as CEO and Barbara Hibner as Chief Scientific Officer, along with other key executives from Decoy [4] - The merger was formalized through a series of agreements, culminating in the completion of the merger on November 12, 2025, making Decoy a wholly owned subsidiary of Salarius [5] Financial and Strategic Position - Decoy has previously secured financing from institutional investors and non-dilutive capital sources, including the Massachusetts Life Sciences Seed Fund and the Google AI startup program [2] - The company anticipates multiple value-creating inflection points in the coming year, focusing on unmet medical needs in respiratory infectious diseases and gastrointestinal oncology [2] Product Development Pipeline - Over the next 12 months, Decoy plans to advance its lead asset, a pan-coronavirus antiviral, towards filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA, alongside other antiviral programs targeting flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus [3] Share Structure and Governance - In connection with the merger, the company issued shares of Series A and Series B Preferred Stock to former Decoy stockholders and debtholders, with a total of 4,814,106 common shares underlying these preferred shares [6] - A special stockholder meeting will be called to approve the conversion of the preferred stock into common stock [7]