Slate Medicines agreed to combine with Fulcrum Therapeutics in a reverse merger, setting up a move onto Nasdaq alongside a $245 million financing for its migraine pipeline. Fulcrum’s programs were reshaped after regulators questioned PRC2-linked approaches in sickle cell, and the combined entity now refocuses on migraine therapeutics, including a PACAP inhibitor slated for Phase 1 testing. Separate reporting also described the broader reverse-merger channel—private biotechs using shell transactions to reach public markets without an IPO—continuing to attract investor commitments as companies seek cash for clinical inflection points. For biotech investors, the Slate-Fulcrum deal highlights how migraine, a crowded but still fast-evolving category, is drawing capital to next-generation targets and antibodies when traditional late-stage differentiation is constrained.