Bowers & Wilkins

Biotech firms award new hires stock options, some worth hundreds of thousands

Several biopharma and biotech companies—X4 Pharmaceuticals, Aura Biosciences, Akebia Therapeutics, Abeona Therapeutics, and Faeth Therapeutics—awarded inducement equity grants to newly hired executives or employees under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), including stock options (with Aura also granting RSUs) and with 10-year terms and multi-year vesting schedules designed to align new hires with company goals. Vesting generally starts with 25% after one year and proceeds in monthly or quarterly installments over the following three years, subject to continued employment, with exercise prices set to the grant-date closing price.