VANCOUVER, British Columbia and SEATTLE, Nov. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KDNY), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, today announced that the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors approved a new employment inducement grant of stock options to purchase a total of 147,477 shares of common stock with a grant date of November 30, 2020 (the “Inducement Grant”) for Eric Bjerkholt, the Company’s chief financial officer.
The stock options approved under the Inducement Grant were issued on terms substantially similar to Chinook’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan and have an exercise price per share equal to $13.98, the closing price per share of Chinook’s common stock on the grant date. The stock options vest over four years, with 25% vesting on November 16, 2021 and 1/36th of the remaining shares vesting monthly thereafter, subject to Mr. Bjerkholt’s continued employment on each such date. The stock options have a 10-year term and are subject to the terms and conditions of the stock option agreement.
The Company granted the stock options as a material inducement to Mr. Bjerkholt for entering into employment with Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. in accordance with Nasdaq listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
About Chinook Therapeutics, Inc.
Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicines for kidney diseases. Chinook’s product candidates are being investigated in rare, severe chronic kidney disorders with opportunities for well-defined clinical pathways. Chinook’s lead program is atrasentan, an investigational Phase 3-ready endothelin receptor antagonist for the treatment of IgA nephropathy and other primary glomerular diseases. BION-1301, an investigational anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody is being evaluated in a Phase 1b trial for IgA nephropathy. In addition, Chinook is advancing CHK-336, a small-molecule preclinical development candidate for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, as well as research programs for other rare, severe chronic kidney diseases, including polycystic kidney disease. Chinook is building its pipeline by leveraging insights in kidney single cell RNA sequencing, human-derived organoids and new translational models, to discover and develop therapeutics with differentiating mechanisms of action against key kidney disease pathways. To learn more, visit www.chinooktx.com.
Contact:
Noopur Liffick
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
510-809-2465
investors@chinooktx.com
media@chinooktx.com