Zenas BioPharma Grants Stock Options and RSUs to New Hires
News related to:Zenas BioPharma, Inc · 2 min read
WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 18, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Zenas BioPharma, Inc., a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, has announced the granting of inducement stock options and restricted stock units to newly hired employees. The inducement grants, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), were awarded on September 15, 2026.
The company granted non-qualified stock options to purchase 53,700 shares of its common stock and 98,900 restricted stock units (RSUs) to the new hires. The stock options have a ten-year term and an exercise price per share of $31.93, which is equivalent to the closing price of Zenas’ common stock on the Grant Date. These options will vest over a four-year period, with 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of each employee's first day of employment, followed by 36 equal monthly installments.
The RSUs will vest in four equal installments over the same four-year period, with 25% of the RSUs vesting on each of the following dates: September 15, 2027, September 15, 2028, September 15, 2029, and September 15, 2030. Both the stock options and RSUs are subject to the employees' continued service with Zenas through the applicable vesting dates.
Zenas BioPharma, Inc. is advancing two late-stage, potential franchise molecules, obexelimab and orelabrutinib. Obexelimab, the company’s lead product candidate, is a bifunctional monoclonal antibody designed to bind CD19 and FcγRIIb to inhibit the activity of B cells implicated in various autoimmune diseases without depleting them. Orelabrutinib is a potentially best-in-class, highly selective CNS-penetrant, oral, small molecule BTK inhibitor that targets pathogenic B cells not only in the periphery but also within the central nervous system (CNS). Additionally, it directly modulates macrophages and microglial cells in the CNS, with the potential to address compartmentalized inflammation and disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS).
The company also has earlier stage programs, including ZB021, a novel, potentially best-in-class, oral, IL-17AA/AF inhibitor; ZB022, a preclinical, potentially best-in-class, oral, brain-penetrant, TYK2 inhibitor; and ZB014, a preclinical, half-life extended anti-CD19 and FcγRIIb monoclonal antibody.