Immuneering Corporation Announces Grant of Inducement Award

Rhea-AI Summary

Immuneering (Nasdaq: IMRX) has granted an inducement stock option award to its newly appointed Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Igor Matushansky. The award, issued on March 21, 2025, consists of options to purchase 118,000 shares of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $1.80 per share, matching the closing price on Nasdaq Global Market that day.

The stock option, granted under the company's 2025 Employment Inducement Award Plan and approved by the Board of Directors, has a ten-year term. The vesting schedule includes 25% vesting on March 17, 2026, with the remaining 75% vesting in monthly installments over the following three years, achieving full vesting by March 17, 2029. The grant was made under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) as an employment inducement.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immuneering Corporation (Nasdaq: IMRX), a clinical-stage oncology company seeking to develop and commercialize more effective and better tolerated therapies for cancer patients, previously announced on March 20, 2025, that Igor Matushansky, M.D., Ph.D., was named Chief Medical Officer of the Company. In connection with the commencement of Dr. Matushanky’s employment, on March 21, 2025, Dr. Matushanky was granted an option to purchase 118,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock with a per share exercise price of $1.80, the closing trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on March 21, 2025. The stock option was granted pursuant to the Company’s 2025 Employment Inducement Award Plan and was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors. The stock option has a ten-year term and vests (subject to Dr. Matushansky’s continued service to the Company through the applicable vesting dates) 25% on March 17, 2026 and the remaining 75% in substantially equal monthly installments over the three years thereafter, such that the stock option shall be fully vested and exercisable on March 17, 2029. The stock option was granted under Rule 5635(c)(4) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules as an inducement material to Dr. Matushansky entering into employment with the Company.

About Immuneering Corporation

Immuneering is a clinical-stage oncology company seeking to develop and commercialize more effective and better tolerated therapies for cancer patients. The Company’s lead product candidate, IMM-1-104, is an oral, once-daily deep cyclic inhibitor of MEK designed to improve tolerability and expand indications to include RAS-driven tumors such as most pancreatic cancers. IMM-1-104 is currently in a Phase 1/2a trial in patients with advanced solid tumors including pancreatic cancer. IMM-6-415 is an oral, twice-daily deep cyclic inhibitor of MEK currently in a Phase 1/2a trial in patients with advanced solid tumors harboring RAS or RAF mutations. The company’s development pipeline also includes early-stage programs. For more information, please visit www.immuneering.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding: Immuneering’s plans to develop, and the treatment potential of, its product candidates. 

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the risks inherent in oncology drug research and development, including target discovery, target validation, lead compound identification, and lead compound optimization; we have incurred significant losses, are not currently profitable and may never become profitable; our projected cash runway; our need for additional funding and ability to continue as a going concern; our unproven approach to therapeutic intervention; our ability to address regulatory questions and the uncertainties relating to regulatory filings, reviews and approvals; the lengthy, expensive, and uncertain process of clinical drug development, including potential delays in or failure to obtain regulatory approvals; our reliance on third parties and collaborators to conduct our clinical trials, manufacture our product candidates, and develop and commercialize our product candidates, if approved; failure to compete successfully against other drug companies; protection of our proprietary technology and the confidentiality of our trade secrets; potential lawsuits for, or claims of, infringement of third-party intellectual property or challenges to the ownership of our intellectual property; our patents being found invalid or unenforceable; costs and resources of operating as a public company; and unfavorable or no analyst research or reports. 

These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.  

Media Contact: 
Jenna Urban 
jurban@cglife.com 

Investor Contact: 
Laurence Watts 
619-916-7620 
laurence@newstreetir.com 

FAQ

What stock options were granted to IMRX's new Chief Medical Officer?

Dr. Matushansky received options to purchase 118,000 shares at $1.80 per share, with a ten-year term and gradual vesting through March 2029.

When will the IMRX stock options granted to Dr. Matushansky fully vest?

The stock options will fully vest on March 17, 2029, following an initial 25% vest in 2026 and monthly installments over three years.

What is the exercise price of IMRX's inducement stock options granted on March 21, 2025?

The exercise price is $1.80 per share, equal to IMRX's closing price on Nasdaq Global Market on March 21, 2025.

How is the vesting schedule structured for IMRX's new CMO stock options?

25% vests on March 17, 2026, with the remaining 75% vesting in monthly installments over the following three years.