Decoy Therapeutics Inc.

NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS

Nature of Business

Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Salarius” or the “Company”), together with its subsidiaries, Salarius Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Flex Innovation Group LLC, and TK Pharma, Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that has been focused on developing effective treatments for patients with cancer with high, unmet medical need. Specifically, Salarius has been concentrated on developing treatments for cancers caused by dysregulated gene expression (i.e., genes which are incorrectly turned on or off). Salarius has two classes of drugs that address gene dysregulation: targeted protein inhibitors and targeted protein degraders. Salarius’ technologies have the potential to work in both liquid and solid tumors. Salarius’ current pipeline consists of two small molecule drugs: (1) SP-3164, a targeted protein degrader, and (2) seclidemstat (“SP-2577”), a targeted protein inhibitor. The Company is located in Houston, Texas. On August 8, 2023, the Company announced that it retained Canaccord Genuity, LLC to lead a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives focusing on maximizing stockholder value, including but not limited to, an acquisition, merger, reverse merger, divestiture of assets, licensing, or other strategic transactions involving the Company. In connection with the evaluation of strategic alternatives and in order to extend Company resources, the Company implemented multiple cost-savings plans to extend the Company’s expected cash runway into the later part of the second quarter of 2025.

On January 10, 2025, Salarius entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Decoy Therapeutics MergerSub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Salarius (“First Merger Sub”), Decoy Therapeutics MergerSub II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Salarius (“Second Merger Sub”), and Decoy. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, and subject to the satisfaction and waiver of certain conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, Salarius will combine with Decoy (the “Merger”) by causing First Merger Sub to be merged with and into Decoy, with Decoy surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Salarius (the “First Merger”). Immediately following the First Merger, Decoy will merge with and into Second Merger Sub, with Second Merger Sub being the surviving entity and continuing under the name “Decoy Therapeutics, LLC” as a wholly owned subsidiary of Salarius. See Note 11, Subsequent Events, for further information.

Going Concern

Salarius has no products approved for commercial sale, has not generated any revenue from product sales to date and has suffered recurring losses from operations since its inception. The lack of revenue from product sales to date and recurring losses from operations since its inception raise substantial doubt as to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying financial statements are prepared using accounting principles generally accepted in the United States applicable to a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts and classification of liabilities should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. Based on Salarius’ expected cash requirements, Salarius believes that there is substantial doubt that its existing cash and cash equivalents, will be sufficient to fund its operations through one year from the financial statements' issuance date. The Company may attempt to obtain additional capital through the sale of equity securities in one or more offerings or through issuances of debt instruments, and may also consider new collaborations or selectively partnering its technology. However, the Company cannot provide any assurance that it will be successful in accomplishing any of its plans.

If the Company is unable to consummate the Merger or obtain additional capital in the very near term, it will be forced to cease operations, liquidate its assets and pursue the winding down and dissolution of the Company.

Reverse Stock Splits

On June 14, 2024, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment to the Company’s restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect a 1-for-8 reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “2024 Reverse Stock Split”) which became effective as of June 14, 2024.

On October 14, 2022, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment to the Company’s restated certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect a 1-for-25 reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “2022 Reverse Stock Split” and together with the 2024 Reverse Stock Split, the “Reverse Stock Splits”) which became effective as of October 14, 2022.

All historical share and per share amounts reflected throughout this report have been adjusted to reflect the Reverse Stock Splits.

NOTE 2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative GAAP as found in the Accounting Standard Codification ("ASC") and Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") of the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB").

The Company considered its going concern disclosure requirements in accordance with ASC 205-40-50.The Company has performed an analysis and concluded substantial doubt exists with respect to the Company being able to continue as a going concern through one year from the date of issuance of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America as defined by the FASB ASC requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly, actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Salarius considers all highly-liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. There wereno impairment charges related to long-lived assets during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Financial Instruments and Credit Risks

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to credit risk include cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash. Cash is deposited in demand accounts in federally insured domestic institutions to minimize risk. Insurance is provided through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Although the balances in these accounts exceed the federally insured limit from time to time, the Company has not incurred losses related to these deposits.

Warrants

The Company determines whether warrants should be classified as a liability or equity. For warrants classified as liabilities, the Company estimates the fair value of the warrants at each reporting period using Level 3 inputs with changes in fair value recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Operations within change in fair value of warrant liability. The estimates in valuation models are based, in part, on subjective assumptions, including but not limited to stock price volatility, the expected life of the warrants, the risk-free interest rate and the fair value of the common stock underlying the warrants, and could differ materially in the future. The Company will continue to adjust the fair value of the warrant liability at the end of each reporting period for changes in fair value from the prior period until the earlier of the exercise or expiration of the applicable warrant. For warrants classified as equity contracts, the Company allocates the transaction proceeds to the warrants and any other free-standing instruments issued in the transaction based on an allowable allocation method.

Clinical Trial Accruals

The Company’s preclinical and clinical trials are performed by third party contract research organizations (CROs) and/or clinical investigators, and clinical supplies are manufactured by contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs). Invoicing from these third parties may be monthly based upon services performed or based upon milestones achieved. The Company accrues these expenses based upon its assessment of the status of each clinical trial and the work completed, and upon information obtained from the CROs and CMOs. The Company’s estimates are dependent upon the timeliness and accuracy of data provided by the CROs and CMOs regarding the status and cost of the studies, and may not match the actual services performed by the organizations. This could result in adjustments to the Company’s research and development expenses in future periods. To date the Company has had no significant adjustments.

Grants Receivable and Revenue Recognition

Salarius’ source of revenue has been from a grant received from CPRIT. Grant revenue is recognized when qualifying costs are incurred and there is reasonable assurance that conditions of the grant have been met. Cash received from grants in advance of incurring qualifying costs is recorded as deferred revenue and recognized as revenue when qualifying costs are incurred. The Company records revenue and a corresponding grants receivable when qualifying costs are incurred before the grants are received. The Company's CPRIT grant expired during 2023 and no additional amounts are expected to be recognized or received.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs consist of expenses incurred in performing research and development activities, including pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. Research and development costs include salaries and personnel-related costs, consulting fees, fees paid for contract research services, the costs of laboratory equipment and facilities, license fees and other external costs. Research and development costs are expensed when incurred.

Equity-Based Compensation

Salarius measures equity-based compensation based on the grant date fair value of the awards and recognizes the associated expense in the financial statements over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally the vesting period.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option valuation model to estimate the fair value of the stock-based compensation and incentive units. Assumptions utilized in these models include expected volatility calculated based on implied volatility from traded stocks of peer companies, dividend yield and risk-free interest rate. Additionally, forfeitures are accounted for in compensation cost as they occur.

Segment Information

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise for which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or CODM, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. The CODM is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. The Company views its operations as and manages its business in one operating segment, focused on the discovery and development therapeutics for patients with cancer with high, unmet medical need. The Company operates inone geographic segment. Segment information is further described in Note 10, “Segment Reporting”.

Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Since the Company was in a loss position for all periods presented, diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per share for all periods, as the inclusion of all potential common shares outstanding is anti-dilutive.

The number of anti-dilutive shares, consisting of common shares underlying (i) common stock options, (ii) stock purchase warrants, (iii) unvested restricted stock and (iv) rights entitling holders to receive warrants to purchase the Company's common shares, which have been excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share, was 592,524 and 1,366,892 shares as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are recorded in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes ("ASC 740"), which provides for deferred taxes using an asset and liability approach. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting and the tax reporting basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The Company provides a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets unless, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. The Company has evaluated available evidence and concluded that the Company may not realize the benefit of its deferred tax assets; therefore, a valuation allowance has been established for the full amount of the deferred tax assets.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740. When uncertain tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit will more likely than not be realized. The determination as to whether the tax benefit will more likely than not be realized is based upon the technical merits of the tax position as well as consideration of the available facts and circumstances. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not have any significant uncertain tax positions and no interest or penalties have been charged. The Company's practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. The Company is subject to routine audits by taxing jurisdictions.

Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which is intended to improve the transparency of income tax disclosures by requiring consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information in the effective tax rate reconciliation and income taxes paid by jurisdiction. The ASU is effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company will adopt ASU No. 2023-09 prospectively in its fiscal year 2025.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (“ASU No. 2024-03”), which requires disaggregated disclosure of certain costs and expenses, including purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, amortization and depletion, within relevant income statement captions. ASU No. 2024-03 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027 on a retrospective or prospective basis, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2024-03 will have on its financial statement disclosures.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standard

In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2023-07, “Segment Reporting - Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures,” which requires disclosure of incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis and also requires companies with a single reportable segment to provide all disclosures required by this ASU and all existing segment disclosures in Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) 280, “Segment Reporting.” The requirements of the ASU are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets including trade receivables held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Subsequent to the issuance of ASU 2016-13, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses. This ASU does not change the core principle of the guidance in ASU 2016-13, instead these amendments are intended to clarify and improve operability of certain topics included within the credit losses guidance. The FASB also subsequently issued ASU No. 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Financial Instruments (Topic 825), which did not change the core principle of the guidance in ASU 2016-13, but clarified that expected recoveries of amounts previously written off and expected to be written off should be included in the valuation account and should not exceed amounts previously written off and expected to be written off. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019 for public business entities, excluding smaller reporting companies. Early adoption is permitted. As a smaller reporting company, the guidance was effective for the Company on January 1, 2023. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact to this Company's consolidated financial statements.

NOTE 3. GRANTS RECEIVABLE

Grants receivable represents qualifying costs incurred where there is reasonable assurance that conditions of the grant have been met but the corresponding funds have not been received as of the reporting date. Grants receivable balances were $0 as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The Company received $1.5 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas on February 15, 2023.

NOTE 4. PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS

Prepaid expenses and other current assets at December 31, 2024 and 2023 consisted of the following:

Prepaid insurance is mainly comprised of prepaid directors' and officers' insurance. In July 2024 and 2023, the Company financed its directors and officers' insurance premium with a short term note the principal amount of which is approximately $0.4 million and $0.6 million bearing interest at a rate of 9.74% and 7.87%, respectively. The note payable balance, which was included within Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet was $0.2 million and $0.3 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 .

NOTE 5. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas

In June 2016, the Company entered into a Cancer Research Grant Contract with CPRIT. Pursuant to the contract, CPRIT awarded the Company a grant up to $18.7 million, further modified to $16.1 million to fund development of LSD 1 inhibitor. The grant expired during 2023.

The Company will retain ownership over any intellectual property developed under the contract ("Project Result"). With respect to non-commercial use of any Project Result, the Company agreed to grant to CPRIT a nonexclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license with right to sublicense any necessary additional intellectual property rights to exploit all Project Results by CPRIT, other governmental entities and agencies of the State of Texas, and private or independent institutions of higher education located in Texas, for education, research and other non-commercial purposes.

The Company is obligated to make revenue-sharing payments to CPRIT with respect to net sales of any product covered by the contract, up to a maximum repayment of certain percentage of the aggregate amount paid to the Company by CPRIT under the CPRIT contract. The payments are determined as a percentage of net sales, which may be reduced if the Company is required to obtain a license from a third party to sell any such product. In addition, upon meeting the foregoing limitation on revenue-sharing payments, the Company agreed to make continued revenue-sharing payments to CPRIT of less than 1% of net sales.

License Agreement with the University of Utah Research Foundation

In 2011, the Company entered into a license agreement with the University of Utah, under which, the Company acquired license to LSD 1. In exchange for the license, the Company issued 2% equity ownership in the Company based on a fully diluted basis at the effective date of the agreement and subject to certain adjustments specified in the agreement, granted revenue sharing rights on any resulting products or processes to commence on first commercial sale, and milestone payments based upon regulatory approval of any resulting product or process as well as on the second anniversary of first commercial sale.

Lease Agreement

The Company presently leases office space under operating lease agreements on a month to month basis.

6. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under GAAP. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. A fair value hierarchy based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable, are used to measure fair value:

Level 1-Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2-Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3-Significant unobservable inputs including Salarius’ own assumptions in determining fair value.

The Company believes the recorded values of its financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts payable and note payable approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

7. STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Common Stock Issuances

On February 5, 2021, the Company entered into an At the Market Offering Agreement ("ATM") with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. Under this agreement the Company is able to issue and sell, from time to time, shares of its common stock. On February 5, 2021 and July 2, 2021, the Company filed prospectus supplements with the SEC to register the offering and sale of Common Stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $6.3 million and $25.0 million, respectively. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company sold 608,949 and 87,034 shares of common stock under the At the Market Offering Agreement with gross proceeds of $1.7 million and $1.7 million, respectively.

On May 11, 2023, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with an accredited investor (the “Investor”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell to the Investor in a private placement (the “Offering”) (i)41,250 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), (ii) pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 413,296 shares of Common Stock, (iii) Series A-1 warrants (the “Series A-1 Warrants”) to purchase up to 454,546 shares of Common Stock and (iv) Series A-2 warrants (the “Series A-2 Warrants”) and together with the Series A-1 Warrants, the “Common Stock Warrants,” and together with the Pre-Funded Warrants, the “Warrants”) to purchase up to 454,546 shares of Common Stock, at a purchase price of (a) $13.2 per Share and accompanying Common Stock Warrants and (b) $13.1992 per Pre-Funded Warrant and accompanying Common Stock Warrants. The aggregate gross proceeds from the Offering were approximately $6 million, exclusive of placement agent fees and expenses and other offering expenses. The Offering closed on May 16, 2023. All of the Series A-2 Warrants had expired as of December 31, 2024.

All of Pre-Funded Warrants were fully exercised as of December 31, 2024.

On December 12, 2024, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with C/M Capital Master Fund, LP (the “Purchaser”), pursuant to which the Company, subject to the restrictions and satisfaction of the conditions in the Purchase Agreement, has the right, but not the obligation, to sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser is obligated to purchase, up to the lesser of (i) $10 million of newly issued shares (the “Purchase Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”) and (ii) a specified cap dictated by the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. As consideration for the Purchaser’s execution and delivery of the Purchase Agreement, the Company has agreed to issue to the Purchaser, simultaneously with the delivery of any and all Purchase Shares purchased under the Purchase Agreement, a number of shares of Common Stock equal to one percent (1%) of the number of Purchase Shares actually sold in each sale under the Purchase Agreement (the “Commitment Shares” and, together with the Purchase Shares, the “Securities”).

Warrants Exercised for Cash

The Company hasfive-year warrants outstanding that were issued in February 2020 and subsequently modified in December 2020 in connection with the issuance of additional inducement warrants. The warrants are exercisable at a price per share of$230.00. The inducement warrants expire on June 11, 2026, and are exercisable at a price per share of$236.40. The Company has 35,023 warrants outstanding that were issued in April 2022, with an exercise price of$67.98 per share. The warrants were exercisablesix months following the issuance date and will expire five and one-half years from the issuance date. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, no warrants were exercised.

In May 2023, the Company issued Series A-1 Warrants that are exercisable for a period of five and one-half (5.5) years from the issuance date at an exercise price of $11.2 per share. Series A-2 Warrants are exercisable for a period of eighteen (18) months from the issuance date at an exercise price of $11.2 per share. Each Pre-Funded Warrant was sold in lieu of shares of Common Stock, are exercisable immediately upon issuance, have an exercise price of $0.0001 per share and expire when exercised in full. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, no Series A-1 or A-2 warrants were exercised. All of the Series A-2 Warrants had expired as of December 31, 2024.

In connection with the above mentioned Offering, the Company issued warrants to its exclusive placement agency H.C Wainwright & Co., LLC to purchase up to 31,818 shares of common stock at an exercise price per share of $16.5 and a term of five and one-half (5.5) years. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, no warrants were exercised.

As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, approximately 560,839 and 1,355,598 warrants remained outstanding, respectively.

The terms of the outstanding warrants require the Company, upon the consummation of any fundamental transaction to, among other obligations, cause any successor entity resulting from the fundamental transaction to assume the Company's obligations under the warrants and the associated transaction documents. In addition, holders of warrants are entitled to participate in any fundamental transaction on an as-converted or as-exercised basis, which could result in the holders of the Company's common stock receiving a lesser portion of the consideration from a fundamental transaction. The terms of the warrants could also impede the Company's ability to enter into certain transactions or obtain additional financing in the future.

8. EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION

Equity Incentive Plans

The Company has granted options to employees, directors, and consultants under the 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (the "2015 Plan"). The 2015 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options ("ISOs"), nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance-based stock awards and other stock-based awards. Additionally, the 2015 Plan provides for the grant of performance-based cash awards. ISOs may be granted only to the Company's employees. All other awards may be granted to the Company's employees, including officers, and to non-employee directors and consultants. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were 9,844 and 10,542 shares, respectively, remaining available for the grant of stock option under the 2015 Plan. The 2015 Plan expired in accordance with its terms in January 2025.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company awarded 21,125 and 0, respectively, stock options to its employees and directors, pursuant to the plan described above. Stock options generally vest overone tofour years and have a contractual term often years. Stock options are valued using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and compensation cost is recognized based on the resulting value over the service period. Expected volatilities utilized in the model are based on implied volatilities from traded stocks of peer companies. Similarly, the dividend yield is based on historical experience and the estimate of future dividend yields. The risk-free interest rate is derived from the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The expected term of the options is based on the average period the stock options are expected to remain outstanding. The fair value of the option grants of $0.1 million has been estimated with the following assumptions for the year ended December 31, 2024:

The following table summarizes stock option activity for employees and non-employees for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:

As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was approximately $0.1 million and $0.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost, respectively, related to unvested stock options. Total unrecognized compensation cost will be adjusted for future changes in employee and non-employee forfeitures, if any. The Company expects to recognize that cost over a remaining weighted-average period of 0.51 years.

9. INCOME TAX

The Company has no current or deferred tax expense due to its current year loss and its overall net operating loss position. A reconciliation of the federal statutory tax rate and the effective tax rates for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows:

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets were as follows:

The valuation allowance recorded by the Company as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 resulted from the uncertainties of the future utilization of deferred tax assets relating from NOL carry forwards for federal and state income tax purposes. Realization of the NOL carry forwards is contingent on future taxable earnings. The deferred tax asset was reviewed for expected utilization using a “more likely than not” approach by assessing the available positive and negative evidence surrounding its recoverability. Accordingly, a full valuation allowance continues to be recorded against the Company’s deferred tax asset, as it was determined based upon past and projected future losses that it was “more likely than not” that the Company’s deferred tax assets would not be realized. In future years, if the deferred tax assets are determined by management to be “more likely than not” to be realized, the recognized tax benefits relating to the reversal of the valuation allowance will be recorded. The Company will continue to assess and evaluate strategies that will enable the deferred tax asset, or portion thereof, to be utilized, and will reduce the valuation allowance appropriately as such time when it is determined that the “more likely than not” criteria is satisfied.

The federal net operating loss carryforwards of $39.8 million have an indefinite life, but the R&D credits of $3.5 million begin to expire in 2039. Due to the change in ownership provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, the availability of the Company’s net operating loss carry forwards could be subject to annual limitations against taxable income in future periods, which could substantially limit the eventual utilization of such carry forwards. The Company has not analyzed the historical or potential impact of its equity financings on beneficial ownership and therefore no determination has been made whether the net operating loss carry forward is subject to any Internal Revenue Code Section 382 limitation. To the extent there is a limitation, there could be a reduction in the deferred tax asset with an offsetting reduction in the valuation allowance.

Tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Company’s tax returns are required to be evaluated to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. Tax positions not deemed to meet a more-likely-than-not threshold, as well as accrued interest and penalties, if any, would be recorded as an interest and penalties expense in the current year. There were no uncertain tax positions that require accrual or disclosure to the financial statements as of December 31, 2024.

10. SEGMENT REPORTING

The Company has been concentrated on developing treatments for cancers caused by dysregulated gene expression. The current pipeline consists of two small molecule drugs: (1) SP-3164, a targeted protein degrader, and (2) seclidemstat (“SP-2577”), a targeted protein inhibitor. The Company does not have any revenue generating products.

For the year ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company identifiedone operating and reportable segment relating to its operations. The Company defines its operating segment based on internally reported financial information that is regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (the CODM), its Chief Executive Officer. The CODM reviews the segment’s loss based on net loss reported on the consolidated statement of operations.

The Company’s CODM views specific categories within research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses as significant given the direct correlation between cash burn as a pre-revenue company. The table below is a summary of the segment loss, including significant segment expenses:

11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On January 10, 2025, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Decoy Therapeutics MergerSub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“First Merger Sub”), Decoy Therapeutics MergerSub II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Second Merger Sub”), and Decoy. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Company will combine with Decoy (the “Merger”) by causing First Merger Sub to be merged with and into Decoy, with Decoy surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the “First Merger”). Immediately following the First Merger, Decoy will merge with and into Second Merger Sub, with Second Merger Sub being the surviving entity and continuing under the name “Decoy Therapeutics, LLC” as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

The Merger is structured as a stock-for-stock transaction pursuant to which all of Decoy’s outstanding equity interests will be exchanged based on an exchange ratio for consideration of a combination of (a) shares of the Company’s common stock par value $0.0001 (the “Common Stock”) in an amount up to (i)19.9% of the Company’s total shares outstanding as of January 10, 2025 minus (ii) any shares of Salarius' Common Stock issued in any private placement between January 10, 2025 and the effective time of the First Merger (the "First Effective Time"), and (b) shares of Series A Preferred Stock, which is a newly designated series of preferred stock (“Preferred Stock”) that is intended to have economic rights equivalent to the Common Stock, but with only limited voting rights, in addition to the assumption of outstanding and unexercised stock options to purchase shares of Common Stock from the Decoy Therapeutics Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan. The number of shares of common stock to be issued at the Closing and the number of shares of common stock underlying the Series A Preferred Stock to be issued at Closing is based on an exchange ratio which assumes a base value of $28.0 million for Decoy and $4.6 million for Salarius, subject in each case to adjustment based on the balance sheet cash available to each Salarius and Decoy at Closing (excluding any proceeds raised in in the Qualified Financing, as defined below). Based on these relative values, before taking into account the dilutive effects of the Qualified Financing, Salarius’ legacy stockholders would retain approximately 14.1% of Salarius on an as-converted-to-common basis and, after giving effect to the exchange ratio and the conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock, Decoy stockholders would own approximately 85.9% of Salarius.

The rights of the Series A Preferred Stock will be set forth in a Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations that we will file with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Certificate of Designation”). The Certificate of Designation provides that the preferred stock will be convertible into shares of Common stock on a 1-for-1000 basis, subject to stockholder approval. Please see “Description of Series A Preferred Stock” for a complete description of the Certificate of Designation and the rights of the Series A Preferred Stock. The Merger was approved by our Board of Directors and the board of directors of Decoy. In addition, following the consummation of the Merger, the Company has agreed to call a special stockholder meeting to approve (i) the conversion of the preferred stock to be issued at the Closing into shares of Common Stock (the “Conversion Proposal”), (ii) a new equity incentive plan in form reasonably agreed to by the parties (the “Equity Plan Proposal”), and (iii) if necessary and advisable, a reverse stock split in a ratio to be approved by our Board of Directors (the “Reverse Stock Split Proposal” and together with the Conversion Proposal and the Equity Plan Proposal, the “Company Stockholder Matters”).

The Merger Agreement contains customary representations and warranties by each of the Company and Decoy, as well as covenants relating to operating each respective business in the ordinary course prior to closing. The closing is conditioned upon, among other things, minimum proceeds from future offerings of at least $6.0 million (collectively, the “Qualified Financing”) and the continued listing of our Common Stock on Nasdaq.

On January 10, 2025, the Company entered into a Warrant Cancellation Agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, a Series A-1 Common Stock Purchase Warrant exercisable for 454,546 shares of the Company's common stock was canceled in exchange for cash of $0.35 million.

The Company issued 286,772 shares of common stock with proceeds of $0.7 million during the period subsequent to December 31, 2024 according to the Purchase Agreement entered into on December 12, 2024 with C/M Capital Master Fund, LP.

The Company issued 24,390 shares of its common stock under the ATM Agreement with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc in March 2025.