Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) stock surged 43.23% on January 7th, 2019 (Source: Google finance) after the company announced the granting of inducement awards to three new employees. In accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), the awards were approved by Insmed’s Compensation Committee and made as a material inducement to each employee’s entry into employment with the Company.
In connection with the commencement of their employment, the employees received options on January 2, 2019 to purchase an aggregate 5,500 shares of Insmed common stock at an exercise price of $13.97 per share, the closing trading price on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the date of grant.
The options have a ten-year term and a four-year vesting schedule, with 25% of the shares subject to the option vesting on the first anniversary of the relevant grant date and 12.5% of the shares subject to the option vesting every six months thereafter through the fourth anniversary of the relevant grant date, subject to the relevant employee’s continued service with Insmed on the applicable vesting date.
Meanwhile, INSM has announced several changes to its board of directors. Elizabeth McKee Anderson has been appointed to Insmed’s board of directors, succeeding Myrtle Potter, who has retired as a member of the board following four years of service to Insmed due to the demands of her current role as Vant Operating Chair for Roivant Pharma, a division of Roivant Sciences. Further, Donald Hayden, Jr. has stepped down as chairman of the board after 13 years of distinguished service and will continue to serve as a director. Will Lewis, Insmed’s president and chief executive officer, succeeds Mr. Hayden as chairman. Mr. Lewis will continue to serve as president and chief executive officer of the Company, positions he has held since 2012. David Brennan, a member of the board of directors since 2014, has been elected lead independent director.
Moreover, INSM stock surged after the company announced it expected sales of its antibacterial Arikayce to be $9.8 million for the fourth quarter, with $9.2 million in U.S. sales and $600,000 in sales outside the U.S. The drug is used to treat patients with a lung disease caused by a group of bacteria called Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and who do not respond to traditional treatment. Arikayce was granted accelerated approval by the FDA in September. Insmed said more than 500 U.S. patients had started treatment with the drug and approximately 600 physicians had written at least one prescription for the therapy as of Dec. 31 and that the company is planning to accelerate global expansion in 2019-2020, following full approval by the FDA early this year.