Obsidian Therapeutics and Galera Therapeutics (OTC: GRTX) announced a definitive merger agreement in an all-stock transaction, with the combined company to operate as Obsidian Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under ticker "OBX."

The companies secured commitments for a $350 million private placement financing from investors including Balyasny Asset Management, Caligan Partners, Eventide Asset Management, and Nantahala Capital, among others. Current Obsidian investors such as Atlas Venture, Foresite Capital, and RA Capital Management also participated.

Under the merger terms, pre-closing Galera stockholders will own approximately 1.8% of the combined company, pre-closing Obsidian stockholders will own 53.2%, and private placement investors will own 45.0%. The funding is expected to support operations into the second half of 2028.

Obsidian's lead product candidate, OBX-115, is a genetically engineered autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocyte cell therapy currently in Phase 2 trials for advanced melanoma and Phase 1 trials for non-small cell lung cancer. The therapy has received Fast Track and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations from the FDA for treating melanoma resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

The combined company expects key clinical milestones in 2027, including NSCLC Phase 1 data in the first half and melanoma registration-enabling data by year-end. Madan Jagasia, Obsidian's current CEO, will lead the combined company.

The transaction requires approval from stockholders of both companies and other customary closing conditions. The companies expect to close the transaction by the third quarter of 2026.

Galera stockholders will retain contingent value rights for 95% of future milestones arising from Galera's asset purchase agreement with Biossil.ai for its dismutase mimetics.