On August 3, 2026 Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc. ("Obsidian") (Nasdaq: OBX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company harnessing novel protein-regulation technology to develop engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies, reported the completion of its previously announced transaction with Galera Therapeutics, Inc. ("Galera"). The combined company will operate under the name Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc., and its shares are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on August 4, 2026 under the ticker symbol "OBX".
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Prior to closing the merger, Obsidian completed a previously announced oversubscribed private placement financing of $350 million in gross proceeds from a syndicate of new investors, including Balyasny Asset Management, Caligan Partners LP, Eventide Asset Management, Nantahala Capital, Octagon Capital, Redmile, Spruce Street Capital and Trails Edge Capital Partners, and with participation from current Obsidian investors, including Atlas Venture, Deep Track Capital, Foresite Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, Novo Holdings A/S, Paradigm BioCapital Advisors, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, RA Capital Management, RTW Investments, TCGX and Wellington Management, among other leading investment management firms.
The combined company’s cash and cash equivalents balance at closing, including the funds from the private placement financing, is anticipated to fund the combined company’s operations into the second half of 2028 and provide runway through key clinical milestones for Obsidian’s lead product candidate, OBX-115. These include Phase 1 data from the ongoing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) trial expected in the first half of 2027, and topline data from the melanoma registration-enabling trial, which are expected by year-end 2027. The combined company will also continue to support Galera’s pipeline.
"The completion of the merger with Galera and closing of our $350 million private placement mark a transformative milestone that propels Obsidian into its next stage of growth," said Madan Jagasia, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian. "With a strong financial position backed by a syndicate of leading biotechnology investors, robust leadership team, and promising early Phase 2 clinical data from our lead product candidate, OBX-115, we are well-positioned to deliver best-in-class TIL cell therapies to patients with solid tumors. We look forward to continuing to advance OBX-115 through the clinic and we are on track to begin enrolling patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-resistant advanced melanoma in the registration-enabling cohort of our multicenter study in mid-2026."
Obsidian leverages its cytoDRiVE platform to develop engineered TIL cell therapies. OBX-115 is a novel engineered TIL cell therapy armored with pharmacologically regulatable membrane-bound IL15 and designed to deliver an improved, patient-centric treatment regimen. OBX-115 has the potential to reduce overall treatment burden with the option for minimally invasive core needle biopsy tumor tissue procurement, exclusively low-dose lymphodepletion compatible with outpatient administration and elimination of IL2 in the treatment regimen.
OBX-115 has been granted Fast Track and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma that is resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. OBX-115 is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced melanoma and a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of NSCLC (NCT06060613).
Transaction Details
Prior to the closing of the transaction, Galera effected a 1-for-200 reverse stock split of its common stock. In connection with the closing of the transaction, Galera issued a non-transferable contingent value right (a "CVR") to Galera stockholders of record as of July 31, 2026, which does not include the former holders of shares of Obsidian or the private placement investors, representing the right to receive contingent payments upon the occurrence of certain events. Pursuant to the merger agreement and based on the final exchange ratio in each of the mergers, at the closing of the mergers, former Galera stockholders own approximately 1.2%, and former Obsidian stockholders own approximately 51.6%, and investors in the concurrent financing own approximately 47.2% of the combined company’s outstanding common stock.
Leerink Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor and Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel to Obsidian. Leerink Partners, TD Cowen, Piper Sandler, William Blair and LifeSci Capital acted as placement agents in connection with the concurrent private placement financing. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. served as legal counsel to the placement agents. Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel to Galera. Lucid Capital Markets provided a fairness opinion to Galera’s Board of Directors.
(Press release, Obsidian Therapeutics, AUG 3, 2026, View Source [SID1234669629])