Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Announces Incentive Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

SAN DIEGO, July 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zentalis^® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing clinically differentiated small molecule therapies that target fundamental biological pathways in cancers, today announced that on July 1, 2024, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Zentalis has granted non-qualified stock options to purchase an aggregate of 40,875 shares of the Company’s common stock to five newly hired employees. The stock options were granted under the Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2022 Employment Incentive Plan (2022 Incentive Plan) as a material inducement for each affected individual’s employment at Zentalis in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The 2022 Incentive Plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity awards to individuals who were not previously employees of Zentalis, or after a period of bona fide non-employment, as a material inducement for each such individual to become employed by Zentalis, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The stock options have an exercise price of $4.19 per share, which is the closing price of Zentalis common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on the grant date. The stock options have a term of 10 years and will vest over four years, with 25% of the options vesting on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the next three years.

The vesting of stock options is subject to the employee’s continued service with Zentalis on each vesting date.

About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Zentalis^® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing clinically differentiated small molecule therapies that target fundamental biological pathways in cancers. The company’s lead product candidate, azenosertib (ZN-c3), is a potential first-in-class and best-in-class WEE1 inhibitor for advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Azenosertib is being evaluated as a monotherapy and in combination in multiple clinical trials and has broad franchise potential. In clinical trials, azenosertib was well-tolerated and demonstrated antitumor activity as a single agent across multiple tumor types and in combination with multiple chemotherapy regimens. As part of its azenosertib clinical development program, the Company is exploring enrichment strategies targeting tumors with high genomic instability, such as cyclin E1-positive tumors, homologous recombination-deficient tumors, and tumors with oncogenic driver mutations. The Company is also leveraging its extensive experience and capabilities in cancer biology and medicinal chemistry to advance its research into protein degraders. Zentalis is headquartered in San Diego.

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For more information, please visit www.zentalis.com. Follow Zentalis on Twitter @ZentalisP and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/zentalis-pharmaceuticals.

ZENTALIS^® and its associated logo are trademarks of Zentalis and/or its affiliates. All website addresses and other links in this press release are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be an active link or to integrate any website or other information into this press release.

Contacts:

Elizabeth Hickin
Vice President, Investor Relations
[email protected]