On November 13, 2025, Salarius Pharmaceuticals and Decoy Therapeutics completed an all‑stock merger that created a new public company named Decoy Therapeutics. The transaction gives Decoy investors 86 % ownership of the combined entity while Salarius shareholders retain 14 %.
The merger was supported by a $7 million public offering that closed on November 12, 2025. After the transaction, the combined company reported a pro‑forma cash balance of $14 million, a figure that reflects the infusion of capital from the offering and the cash on hand of both companies prior to the deal. The cash position, while modest, provides a runway for early‑stage development and a buffer against the liquidity constraints that Salarius faced before the merger.
Leadership of the new company is led by CEO Frederick Pierce and Chief Scientific Officer Barbara Hibner, both of whom previously headed Decoy. CFO Mark Rosenblum, formerly of Salarius, will continue to oversee the combined company’s financial operations. The leadership shift signals a clear intent to prioritize Decoy’s IMP3ACT platform and its associated pipeline over Salarius’s legacy cancer programs.
Strategically, the merger marks a pivot from Salarius’s cancer‑focused pipeline to Decoy’s AI‑driven peptide conjugate platform. IMP3ACT uses machine learning and high‑speed synthesis to design and manufacture peptide‑drug conjugates, enabling rapid progression from discovery to clinical testing. The combined company will advance a lead pan‑coronavirus antiviral expected to file an IND within 12 months, along with respiratory antiviral and gastrointestinal cancer programs that leverage the same platform.
Financially, the $14 million pro‑forma cash balance is limited relative to the capital intensity of drug development. Salarius had a negative equity position and liquidity constraints before the merger, and the new company will likely need additional financing or partnerships to support the next phases of its pipeline. The merger also satisfies Nasdaq’s compliance requirements, as Salarius had previously received extensions to regain listing standards.
The transaction positions the new Decoy Therapeutics to accelerate development of its platform‑driven candidates while leveraging the capital and market presence of a public company. The shift in focus, leadership, and financial structure reflects a strategic realignment toward high‑potential, AI‑enabled therapeutics that could generate significant value if the pipeline milestones are met.
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