LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRNA) (the “Company” or “Dicerna”), a leading developer of investigational ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) therapeutics, today announced that the Compensation Committee of the Company's Board of Directors approved inducement grants of stock options to purchase a total of 61,350 shares of common stock and 13,650 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to be distributed to one new employee with a grant date of Oct. 1, 2021 (the “Inducement Grants”).
The stock options approved under the Inducement Grants were issued pursuant to Dicerna’s 2016 Inducement Plan and have an exercise price per share equal to $20.26, the fair market value on the grant date. The stock options vest over four years, with 25% vesting on the one-year anniversary of the employee’s first day of employment with the Company and 1/36 of the remaining shares vesting monthly thereafter, subject to the new employee’s continued service relationship with the Company on each such date. The stock options have a 10-year term and are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable stock option agreement.
The RSUs vest over four years, with 25% vesting on Sept. 15, 2022 and each of the first, second and third anniversaries of that date, subject to continued employment or service through each applicable vesting date. The RSUs are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable RSU agreement.
The Company granted the stock options and RSUs as inducement materials to the new employee entering into employment with Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in accordance with Nasdaq listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
About Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRNA) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines that are designed to leverage ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) to silence selectively genes that cause or contribute to disease. Using our proprietary GalXC™ and GalXC-Plus™ RNAi technologies, Dicerna is committed to developing RNAi-based therapies with the potential to treat both rare and more prevalent diseases. By silencing disease-causing genes, Dicerna’s GalXC platform has the potential to address conditions that are difficult to treat with other modalities. Initially focused on disease-causing genes in the liver, Dicerna has continued to innovate and is exploring new applications of its RNAi technology with GalXC-Plus, which expands on the functionality and application of our flagship liver-targeted GalXC technology to tissues and cell types outside the liver, and has the potential to treat diseases across multiple therapeutic areas. In addition to our own pipeline of core discovery and clinical candidates, Dicerna has established collaborative relationships with some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, including Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche, Eli Lilly and Company, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Between Dicerna and our collaborative partners, we currently have more than 20 active discovery, preclinical or clinical programs focused on cardiometabolic, viral, chronic liver and complement-mediated diseases, as well as neurodegenerative diseases and pain. At Dicerna, our mission is to interfere – to silence genes, to fight disease, to restore health. For more information, please visit www.dicerna.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements pertaining to continued service of an employee and future vesting of inducement grants as well as to our business and operations, including the discovery, development and commercialization of our product candidates and technology platform, and the therapeutic potential thereof, the success of our collaborations with partners and any potential future collaborations. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Applicable risks and uncertainties include those relating to our preclinical and clinical programs and other risks identified under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings and in other future filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect Dicerna’s current views with respect to future events, and Dicerna does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
GalXC™ and GalXC-Plus™ are trademarks of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
