WILMINGTON, DE — Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) granted stock options covering 128,000 shares to two newly hired non-executive employees as the clinical-stage drugmaker advances a global Phase 3 study of its lead pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment.
The non-qualified options were granted Sept. 30 under the company’s 2026 Inducement Equity Plan and were approved by the board’s Compensation Committee as an incentive for the employees to join Inhibikase.
The options carry an exercise price of $2.055 per share, equal to the closing price of Inhibikase stock on the grant date, and have a 10-year term.
Twenty-five percent of each award will vest on the first anniversary of the grant date. The remaining 75% will vest in 36 equal monthly installments, subject to the terms of the equity plan and individual award agreements.
The grants were made under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), which permits equity awards outside a company’s shareholder-approved equity compensation plans when they serve as a material inducement for new employees.
Inhibikase’s board approved the inducement plan in March.
The Wilmington-based company is developing IKT-001, a prodrug of imatinib mesylate, as a potential treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a progressive disease characterized by remodeling of pulmonary blood vessels and elevated vascular resistance.
Inhibikase is enrolling patients in IMPROVE-PAH, a pivotal Phase 3 trial of IKT-001 being conducted at approximately 180 sites worldwide.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension affects about 50,000 Americans, according to the company.
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