Cytokinetics Announces Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cytokinetics, Incorporated (Nasdaq: CYTK) today announced that on April 30, 2024 it granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of 29,646 shares of common stock and 17,012 shares of restricted stock units (RSUs) convertible into shares of common stock upon vesting to five new employees, whose employment commenced in April 2024, as a material inducement to their employment.

The RSUs will vest over 3 years, with 40% of the RSUs vesting on the first anniversary of the applicable grant date, an additional 40% of the RSUs vesting on the second anniversary of the grant date and the final 20% vesting on the third anniversary of the grant date, in each case, subject to the new employee’s continued service with the Company. The stock options that were granted are subject to an exercise price of $61.32 per share, which is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on April 30, 2024, and will vest over 4 years, with 1/4^th of the shares underlying the employee’s option vesting on the one-year anniversary of the grant date and the remaining shares thereafter vesting in monthly installments at a rate of 1/48^th of the shares underlying each employee’s option over the subsequent 36 months, subject to the new employee’s continued service with the Company. Each stock option has a 10-year term. These awards are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's Amended and Restated 2004 Equity Incentive Plan and the stock option agreement pursuant to which the option was granted.  

The options were granted as material inducements to employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

About Cytokinetics

Cytokinetics is a late-stage, specialty cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class muscle activators and next-in-class muscle inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases in which cardiac muscle performance is compromised. As a leader in muscle biology and the mechanics of muscle performance, the company is developing small molecule drug candidates specifically engineered to impact myocardial muscle function and contractility. Cytokinetics is preparing for regulatory submissions for aficamten, its next-in-class cardiac myosin inhibitor, following positive results from SEQUOIA-HCM, the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Aficamten is also currently being evaluated in two ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials: MAPLE-HCM, evaluating aficamten as monotherapy compared to metoprolol as monotherapy in patients with obstructive HCM and ACACIA-HCM, evaluating aficamten in patients with non-obstructive HCM. Cytokinetics is also developing omecamtiv mecarbil, a cardiac muscle activator, in patients with heart failure. Additionally, Cytokinetics is developing CK-586, a cardiac myosin inhibitor with a mechanism of action distinct from aficamten for the potential treatment of HFpEF, and CK-136, a cardiac troponin activator for the potential treatment HFrEF and other types of heart failure, such as right ventricular failure resulting from impaired cardiac contractility.