Fulcrum Therapeutics to merge with Slate Medicines in reverse merger with $245M financing

Fulcrum Therapeutics and Slate Medicines announced an all-stock reverse merger on August 17, 2026, to form a combined company operating under the Slate Medicines name. Led by Slate CEO Gregory Oakes, the entity will focus on developing SLTE-1009, a dual PACAP/VIP-targeting antibody for migraine prevention. The transaction is supported by a concurrent $245 million private placement led by Frazier Life Sciences, which alongside existing cash is projected to fund operations into 2029.

Slate-Fulcrum reverse merger

• ▪The combined company will operate under the name Slate Medicines, trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SLTE, and be led by Slate Medicines CEO Gregory Oakes.
• ▪The merger between Fulcrum Therapeutics and Slate Medicines is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to approval by shareholders of both companies.
• ▪Under the merger agreement, pre-merger Slate Medicines investors will own approximately 95% of the combined company, while pre-merger Fulcrum Therapeutics shareholders will own approximately 5%.
• ▪Fulcrum Therapeutics and Slate Medicines announced an all-stock reverse merger agreement on August 17, 2026, to combine their businesses.

Fulcrum pociredir discontinuation

• ▪Fulcrum Therapeutics discontinued development of its lead sickle cell disease drug candidate, pociredir, in June 2026 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about cancer risks.
• ▪Following the discontinuation of pociredir, Fulcrum Therapeutics announced it was seeking strategic alternatives and reduced its workforce by 85%, leaving nine remaining employees.

SLTE-1009 PACAP/VIP antibody development

• ▪Slate Medicines' lead experimental drug, SLTE-1009, is a monoclonal antibody designed to block both PACAP and vasoactive intestinal peptide to prevent migraines.
• ▪SLTE-1009 was engineered with half-life extension to enable subcutaneous dosing, with the potential to allow for quarterly administration.
• ▪Slate Medicines plans to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of SLTE-1009 in healthy volunteers in Australia, with preliminary data expected in mid-2027.

Migraine drug market competition

• ▪While existing approved migraine antibody drugs target the CGRP protein, Slate Medicines is targeting the PACAP and vasoactive intestinal peptide proteins.
• ▪Lundbeck is developing bocunebart, an intravenously infused PACAP-blocking antibody that showed a statistically significant reduction in headache days in Phase 2b clinical trials.
• ▪Vedana Therapeutics launched in June 2026 with $46 million in Series A financing to develop long-acting subcutaneous antibodies targeting the PACAP protein.

$245 million financing commitment

• ▪Investors participating in Slate Medicines' $245 million private placement include RA Capital Management, Forbion, Foresite Capital, Deep Track Capital, OrbiMed, RTW Investments, and Mingxin Capital.
• ▪Concurrent with the merger, Slate Medicines secured commitments for a $245 million private placement financing led by Frazier Life Sciences.

Operational runway into 2029

• ▪The combined company's funding will support advancing SLTE-1009 through mid-stage development in migraine and developing other pipeline assets, including the preclinical bispecific antibody SLTE-2100.
• ▪Slate Medicines stated that the $245 million private placement and existing cash are expected to fund the combined company's operations into 2029.

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