Stoke Therapeutics Announces Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: STOK) is a biotechnology company dedicated to restoring protein expression by harnessing the body’s potential with RNA medicine and has a lead investigational medicine, zorevunersen, in development as a first-in-class potential disease-modifying treatment for Dravet syndrome. The Company today announced that, effective on July 15, 2025, it granted stock options to purchase shares of common stock to Sara Den Besten, the Company’s newly-appointed Chief People Officer, and two other new employees, as a material inducement to their employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The company granted Ms. Den Besten stock options to purchase 260,000 shares of common stock. The stock options that were granted have an exercise price of $11.75 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Stoke’s common stock on July 15, 2025. Each option will vest over a 4-year period, with 1/4^th of the shares underlying the employee’s option vesting on the one-year anniversary of the applicable vesting commencement date and the remaining shares thereafter vesting monthly at a rate of 1/48^th of the shares underlying each employee’s option over the following 36 months, subject to the employee’s continued employment with Stoke on such vesting dates. The options have a term of 10 years and are subject to the terms and conditions of the 2023 Inducement Plan and the stock option agreement covering the grant.

In addition, the company granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of 130,000 shares of common stock to two new employees. The stock options that were granted have an exercise price of $11.75 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Stoke’s common stock on July 15, 2025. Each option will vest over a 4-year period, with 1/4^th of the shares underlying the employee’s option vesting on the one-year anniversary of the applicable vesting commencement date and the remaining shares thereafter vesting monthly at a rate of 1/48^th of the shares underlying each employee’s option over the following 36 months, subject to the employee’s continued employment with Stoke on such vesting dates. The options have a term of 10 years and are subject to the terms and conditions of the 2023 Inducement Plan and the stock option agreement covering the grant.

About Stoke Therapeutics
Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK), is a biotechnology company dedicated to restoring protein expression by harnessing the body’s potential with RNA medicine. Using Stoke’s proprietary TANGO (Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output) approach, Stoke is developing antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to selectively restore naturally-occurring protein levels. Stoke’s first medicine in development, zorevunersen, has demonstrated the potential for disease modification in patients with Dravet syndrome and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 study. Stoke’s initial focus are diseases of the central nervous system and the eye that are caused by a loss of ~50% of normal protein levels (haploinsufficiency). Proof of concept has been demonstrated in other organs, tissues, and systems, supporting broad potential for the Company’s proprietary approach. Stoke is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://www.stoketherapeutics.com/.