HOUSTON, Feb. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company using protein inhibition and protein degradation to develop cancer therapies for patients in need of new treatment options, announces the receipt of a $1.48 million payment under its contract with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The payment is part of a non-dilutive grant of approximately $16.1 million awarded to Salarius to support its operations and development of its drug candidate seclidemstat for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma. This $1.48 million payment brings Salarius’ cumulative disbursement from CPRIT to approximately $16.0 million.

“CPRIT has been an exceptional source of non-dilutive funding for Salarius and we are grateful for the support shown by the State of Texas to Salarius and other development-stage companies working in oncology,” said David Arthur, president and chief executive officer. “We recently reported encouraging interim data demonstrating that first- and second-relapse Ewing sarcoma patients treated with seclidemstat in combination with topotecan and cyclophosphamide who achieve disease control may have a longer time until tumor progression when compared to patients treated with topotecan and cyclophosphamide alone. The CPRIT grant helps fund this trial.”

“Although our Phase 1/2 sarcoma clinical trial with seclidemstat is on partial clinical hold owing to a suspected unexpected severe adverse reaction in the FET-rearranged arm, not the Ewing sarcoma arm, we are hopeful to receive permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to resume enrollment in the Ewing arm of the trial in the coming months,” Mr. Arthur added.

To date, CPRIT has awarded over $3 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development research programs. It has also recruited more than 285 distinguished researchers to Texas, supported the establishment, expansion or relocation of 52 companies to Texas, and generated over $7.6 billion in additional public and private investment. Salarius was awarded a product development research grant in May 2016 for the development of seclidemstat, and the disbursements are based upon Salarius’ achievement of defined goals and objectives. Under the grant agreement, Salarius must provide matching funds equal to 50% of the CPRIT funding and make a good faith effort to spend at least half of the CPRIT grant and matching monies with Texas-based employees, contractors and service providers.

About Salarius Pharmaceuticals

Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients with cancer in need of new treatment options. Salarius’ product portfolio includes seclidemstat, Salarius’ lead candidate, which is being studied as a potential treatment for pediatric cancers, sarcomas and other cancers with limited treatment options, and SP-3164, an oral small molecule protein degrader. Seclidemstat is currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for relapsed/refractory Ewing sarcoma and certain additional sarcomas that share a similar biology. This trial is currently on a partial clinical hold and is not enrolling new patients. Seclidemstat has received fast track, orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations for Ewing sarcoma from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Salarius is also exploring seclidemstat’s potential in several cancers with high unmet medical need, with an investigator-initiated Phase 1/2 clinical study in hematologic cancers at MD Anderson Cancer Center. This trial is currently on a partial clinical hold and is not enrolling new patients. Salarius has received financial support from the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to advance the Ewing program and was a recipient of a Product Development Award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). SP-3164 is currently in IND-enabling studies and anticipated to enter the clinic in 2023. For more information, please visit salariuspharma.com or follow Salarius on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as “will,” “believe,” “developing,” “expect,” “may,” “progress,” “potential,” “could,” “look forward,” “encouraging,” “might,” “should,” and similar terms or expressions or the negative thereof. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the following: the future of the company’s Phase 1/2 trial of seclidemstat as a treatment for Ewing sarcoma and FET-rearranged sarcomas following the recently announced suspected unexpected severe adverse reaction (SUSAR) event and resulting partial clinical hold by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); impact that the addition of new clinical sites will have on the development of Salarius’ product candidates; the timing of Salarius’ IND submissions to the FDA and subsequent timing for initiating clinical trials; interim data related to Salarius’ clinical trials, including the timing of when such data is available and made public; Salarius’ growth strategy; the value of seclidemstat as a treatment for Ewing sarcoma, Ewing-related sarcomas, and other cancers and its ability to improve the life of patients; expanding the scope of Salarius’ research and focus to high unmet need patient populations; milestones of Salarius’ current and future clinical trials, including the timing of data readouts. Salarius may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or objectives disclosed in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the FDA may impose additional restrictions on the company’s Phase 1/2 trial of seclidemstat as a treatment for Ewing sarcoma and FET-rearranged sarcomas following the SUSAR, including a partial or full clinical hold; Salarius’ ability to resume enrollment in the clinical trial following its review of the available data surrounding the SUSAR; the sufficiency of Salarius’ capital resources; the ability of, and need for, Salarius to raise additional capital to meet Salarius’ business operational needs and to achieve its business objectives and strategy; future clinical trial results and the impact of such results on Salarius; that the results of studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of future clinical trial results; risks related to the drug development and the regulatory approval process; the competitive landscape and other industry-related risks; and other risks described in Salarius’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as revised or supplemented by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. Salarius disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

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