Name: Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Q4 2024 Earnings Call
Start: 2025-01-17T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Summary

Q4 2024 reflected a pre-revenue, cost-controlled quarter: no product revenue, Q4 net loss of ~$1.46M (FY 2024 $5.58M minus 9M 2024 $4.11M), and period-end cash of ~$2.43M .
Cash runway guidance was refined from “first half of 2025” to “later part of the second quarter of 2025,” aided by 2024 OpEx reduction and year-end cash of $2.4M .
Financing capacity was bolstered by a December 2024 purchase agreement (up to $10M, subject to conditions), followed by a January 2025 definitive merger agreement with Decoy Therapeutics to pivot toward AI-driven peptide conjugate therapeutics; both are the primary forward catalysts .
Q4-specific earnings call materials and Street consensus estimates were unavailable; investors should anchor on SEC-filed financials and announced strategic actions .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

Cost discipline: 2024 operating expenses fell sharply YoY to $5.73M vs. $12.89M in 2023; R&D dropped to $0.77M (from $7.17M) as the company focused resources, extending runway into Q2 2025 .
Strategic pivot: management signed a definitive agreement to merge Decoy Therapeutics into a Salarius subsidiary, positioning the combined company to accelerate AI/ML-enabled peptide conjugate drug development; “We believe Decoy’s IMP3ACT platform… offers both near- and long-term value for our shareholders” — David Arthur, CEO .
Financing optionality: a December 2024 purchase agreement created capacity to raise up to $10M (subject to an effective S-1 and other conditions), supporting working capital flexibility .

Limited liquidity at year-end: cash and equivalents of ~$2.43M highlight financing dependency and going-concern risk without timely capital or strategic closing .
Clinical execution headwinds: MD Anderson’s investigator-initiated MDS/CMML trial remains on partial clinical hold following a serious grade-4 AE in July 2024; Salarius closed its Ewing sarcoma study to conserve cash .
No Q4 earnings call transcript and no analyst consensus data available; the absence of formal estimate benchmarks limits “beat/miss” framing and may dampen near-term investor engagement .

Metric	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$0.00 (pre-revenue)	$0.00 (pre-revenue)	$0.00 (pre-revenue)
Net Loss ($USD Millions)	$1.424	$0.972	$1.464 (FY 2024 $5.576 − 9M 2024 $4.112 )
Loss per Share ($, basic/diluted)	$2.37	$0.76	N/A (not disclosed)
Total Operating Expenses ($USD Millions)	$1.468	$1.006	$1.489 (FY 2024 $5.734 − 9M 2024 $4.246 )
Cash & Equivalents (period end, $USD Millions)	$3.273	$3.284	$2.435

KPIs and Operating Detail

KPI	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
R&D Expense ($USD Millions)	$0.214	$0.137	$0.175 (FY 2024 $0.770 − 9M 2024 $0.595 )
G&A Expense ($USD Millions)	$1.253	$0.869	$1.313 (FY 2024 $4.964 − 9M 2024 $3.651 )
Interest Income ($USD Millions)	$0.043	$0.034	$0.025 (FY 2024 $0.159 − 9M 2024 $0.134 )
Weighted Avg Shares (basic/diluted)	0.600M (restated)	1.282M (restated)	N/A (not disclosed)

Notes: Salarius is pre-revenue; margins and segment data are not applicable in the period .

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Cash Runway	Operating horizon	“Into the first half of 2025” (Q2/Q3 filings)	“Through the later part of the second quarter of 2025” (FY release)	Slightly extended
Strategic Path	2025	Review of strategic alternatives ongoing	Definitive merger agreement with Decoy Therapeutics signed (Jan 2025)	Raised strategic visibility
Financing Capacity	2025 window	ATM activity noted in Q2/Q3	$10M purchase agreement capacity (subject to effective S-1 and conditions)	Enhanced optionality

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)	Current Period (Q4 2024)	Trend
Strategic alternatives / M&A	Active review; cost controls implemented	Definitive agreement to merge Decoy; combined co. to be named Decoy Therapeutics	Escalated to transaction
Clinical programs (seclidemstat)	MDACC trial active; partial hold after grade-4 AE (July 2024)	MDACC trial supported; updates expected later in 2025	Maintained with constraints
Ewing sarcoma program	Salarius closed Phase 1/2 to conserve cash	No new Ewing spend; focus on MDACC and strategic options	Deprioritized
Financing / Liquidity	ATM proceeds; equity exercises; low cash	$10M purchase agreement signed; YE cash $2.43M	Incremental financing capacity
Nasdaq listing risk	Monitoring listing standards; potential “public shell” risk communicated	Regained compliance episodes noted in prior filings; continued monitoring	Ongoing compliance watch

Note: No Q4 earnings call transcript was available in our document set .

“We are pleased with the progress we are making with Decoy on the business combination… [Decoy’s] IMP3ACT platform… offers both near- and long-term value for our shareholders.” — David Arthur, President & CEO .
“Peptide conjugates have become one of the most important drug classes… our IMP3ACT platform can rapidly design new peptide conjugate drugs by applying ML and AI tools.” — Rick Pierce, Decoy CEO .
On FY 2024 results: net loss $5.6M (vs. $12.5M in 2023) with reduced R&D; cash $2.4M at 12/31/24; runway “through the later part of the second quarter of 2025” .

Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) for Q4 2024 and prior quarters was unavailable in our request window; therefore, no “beat/miss” vs. consensus can be assessed. Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable due to request limitations.*

Liquidity remains tight (YE cash ~$2.43M), but financing optionality improved with a $10M purchase agreement; execution depends on S-1 effectiveness and market conditions .
Operating discipline is evident: OpEx dropped materially in 2024, supporting runway into late Q2 2025; ongoing prudence is critical until merger close and financing proceeds are secured .
The Decoy merger is the dominant strategic catalyst, pivoting the story to AI/ML-enabled peptide conjugates with multiple preclinical programs; monitor closing conditions and post-close governance/ownership (Decoy ~86% post-conversion) .
Clinical risk persists: MDACC trial partial hold and the Ewing program wind-down cap near-term clinical data flow; look for MDACC updates later in 2025 .
Listing/compliance risks must be monitored given “public shell” references and equity thresholds; financing/transaction progress may mitigate these concerns over time .
Near-term trading likely hinges on merger milestones (S-1 effectiveness, shareholder votes), financing executions, and any MDACC readouts; medium-term thesis depends on successful integration and advancement of Decoy’s pipeline .