Slate uses Fulcrum to vault onto Nasdaq with $245M financing for migraine trials

Biotech Slate uses Fulcrum to vault onto Nasdaq with $245M financing for migraine trials By Nick Paul Taylor Aug 17, 2026 9:30am Slate Medicines Fulcrum Therapeutics migraine reverse merger Slate Medicines is hurtling toward a Nasdaq listing, securing a reverse merger with Fulcrum Therapeutics six months after exiting stealth and ahead of the publication of clinical data on its lead candidate. North Carolina-based Slate emerged in February with $130 million in series A funding and a pipeline led by a migraine candidate licensed from China’s DartsBio Pharmaceuticals. The drug candidate, SLTE-1009, is a monoclonal antibody that binds PACAP and VIP.

Drugmakers including Lundbeck and Eli Lilly have tested anti-PACAP antibodies in humans, although the latter failed a trial and stopped development. Slate believes “dual blockade of PACAP and VIP with a single monoclonal antibody offers the potential for enhanced efficacy relative to PACAP-only targeted therapeutics,” CEO Gregory Oakes said on a call with investors to discuss the Fulcrum merger. That potential has attracted investors, despite the mixed record of anti-PACAP antibodies, the presence of Lundbeck’s more advanced rival and the availability of migraine medicines that target CGRP.

Frazier Life Sciences will lead a $245 million private placement concurrent with the Fulcrum merger. Forbion, RA Capital Management and Foresite Capital—the trio that co-led the series A—are among the other backers. Lundbeck reported phase 2b data in June, adding to the validation of PACAP in migraine and setting the bar for Slate.

Investors now face a wait to learn if Slate can clear the bar. The biotech has clearance to start a phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers in Australia and expects to publish topline safety and pharmacokinetic data in mid-2027. A phase 2 study in migraine patients is pencilled in for the second half of next year.

Slate calculates the private placement, plus existing cash, will give it a runway into 2029. By then, the company aims to have taken its second drug candidate—SLTE-2100—through a phase 2a proof-of-concept trial. SLTE-2100 is a bispecific antibody against CGRP and PACAP/VIP.

CGRP is the target of Amgen’s Aimovig, Teva Pharmaceuticals’ Ajovy, Eli Lilly’s Emgality and Lundbeck’s Vyepti, all of which are used in migraine. The CGRP drugs collectively generated sales of $5 billion in 2025 and could deliver $10 billion in revenue at their peak, Oakes said. While the CGRP class is selling well, Oakes sees scope to improve on the reduction in migraine days achieved by the medicines.

SLTE-1009 could support quarterly dosing. For Fulcrum, the deal provides an exit following the decision to end pociredir development in sickle cell disease. The biotech began exploring strategic alternatives in June in conjunction with the pociredir discontinuation.

Fulcrum has structured the Slate deal to return cash to investors—with the biotech set to use most of its money to pay a dividend—and to give backers a 5% stake in the combined company. Slate Medicines Fulcrum Therapeutics migraine reverse merger Biotech Deals Venture Capital