CONSHOHOCKEN, PA — Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MDGL) has granted a substantial equity inducement award to its newly appointed chief accounting officer, signaling confidence in leadership continuity as the drugmaker advances its flagship liver disease therapy.
The company said it awarded the equity package on January 15, 2026, to Rita Thakkar in connection with her acceptance of the role. The grant was approved by Madrigal’s board of directors under the company’s 2025 Inducement Plan and in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), which allows equity awards to new hires outside of shareholder-approved plans.
The inducement package includes 2,398 time-based restricted stock units and options to purchase 1,826 shares of Madrigal common stock. The stock options carry an exercise price of $495.88 per share, matching the company’s closing share price on the grant date.
Under the terms of the award, 25% of the option shares will vest on the first anniversary of the grant date, with the remaining shares vesting in equal quarterly installments thereafter. The restricted stock units will vest in four equal annual installments over four years. All vesting is contingent on Thakkar’s continued employment with the company at each vesting date.
The move comes as Madrigal continues to build out its leadership team alongside the commercial and clinical expansion of its liver disease portfolio.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals is focused on developing treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, a serious liver disease with limited therapeutic options. Its drug Rezdiffra, also known as resmetirom, is a once-daily oral therapy designed to target underlying drivers of the disease.
Rezdiffra is the first and only medication approved by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission for the treatment of MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis. The company is also conducting a Phase 3 outcomes trial evaluating the drug in patients with compensated MASH cirrhosis.
The equity grant underscores Madrigal’s effort to align executive leadership incentives with long-term performance as it pushes deeper into global commercialization and late-stage clinical development.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.