WALTHAM, Mass., April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (“Zenas” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ZBIO), a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company committed to being a leader in the development and commercialization of therapies for autoimmune diseases, today announced that on April 15, 2025 (the “Grant Date”), the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Committee”) granted non-qualified stock options to two newly hired officers of the Company, each as an inducement material to each officer’s entry into employment with the Company, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The Committee granted a non-qualified stock option to purchase 400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to Lisa von Moltke, M.D., who was recently appointed to the role of Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer (the “CMO Inducement Grant”). In addition, the Committee granted a non-qualified stock option to purchase 250,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to Haley Laken, Ph.D., the Company’s new Chief Scientific Officer (the “CSO Inducement Grant”).

The CMO Inducement Grant and the CSO Inducement Grant (the “Grants”) each have a ten-year term and an exercise price per share of $8.72, which is equal to the closing price of Zenas’ common stock on the Grant Date. The Grants will vest over a four-year period, with 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the officer’s first day of employment with the Company, and thereafter the remainder of the option will vest in 36 equal monthly installments, subject to the officer’s continued service with Zenas through the applicable vesting dates. Each Grant was granted pursuant to, and is subject to, the terms and conditions of an Inducement Option Award Agreement.

About Zenas BioPharma, Inc.

Zenas is a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of transformative therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases. Our core business strategy combines our experienced leadership team with a disciplined product candidate acquisition approach to identify, acquire and develop product candidates globally that we believe can provide superior clinical benefits to patients living with autoimmune diseases. Zenas’ lead product candidate, obexelimab, is a bifunctional monoclonal antibody designed to bind both CD19 and FcγRIIb, which are broadly present across B cell lineage, to inhibit the activity of cells that are implicated in many autoimmune diseases without depleting them. We believe that obexelimab’s unique mechanism of action and self-administered, subcutaneous injection regimen may broadly and effectively address the pathogenic role of B cell lineage in chronic autoimmune disease. For more information about Zenas BioPharma, please visit www.zenasbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

The Zenas BioPharma word mark, logo mark, and the “lightning bolt” design are trademarks of Zenas BioPharma, Inc. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

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