ThZeal - The Zeal

[MISSING IMAGE: lg_gaintherapeutics-4c.jpg]

GAIN THERAPEUTICS, INC.

4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220
Bethesda, Maryland 20814

NOTICE OF 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held On June 16, 2022

To the Stockholders of Gain Therapeutics, Inc.:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Gain Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time at the offices of Cooley LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001-2157, for the following purposes:

To elect the seven (7) nominees for director named in the accompanying proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) to hold office until the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Ernst & Young AG as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

To approve the Gain Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.

To conduct any other business properly brought before the Annual Meeting.

These items of business are more fully described in the Proxy Statement accompanying this Notice.

The record date for the Annual Meeting is May 5, 2022. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on that date may vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. A list of stockholders of record will be available for inspection by stockholders of record during normal business hours for ten days prior to the Annual Meeting for any legally valid purpose at our corporate headquarters at 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. The stockholder list will also be available during the Annual Meeting via a secure link.

	By Order of the Board of Directors,
	/s/ Salvatore Calabrese Salvatore Calabrese Corporate Secretary
	Bethesda, Maryland May 13, 2022

		You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting in person. Whether or not you expect to attend the Annual Meeting, PLEASE VOTE YOUR SHARES. Please complete, date, sign and return the enclosed proxy, or vote over the telephone or the internet as instructed in these materials, as promptly as possible in order to ensure your representation at the Annual Meeting.
		Even if you have voted by proxy, you may still vote in person if you attend the Annual Meeting. Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee and you wish to vote at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a proxy issued in your name from that record holder.

GAIN THERAPEUTICS, INC.

4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220 Bethesda,
Maryland 20814

PROXY STATEMENT
FOR THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held on June 16, 2022

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS AND VOTING

Who is soliciting my vote?

We are providing you with these proxy materials because the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) is soliciting your proxy to vote at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”), including at any adjournments or postponements thereof, to be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time at the offices of Cooley LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001-2157. Directions to the Annual Meeting may be found at http://www.viewproxy.com/GANX/2022/.

Do I need to attend the Annual Meeting to vote?

You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting to vote on the proposals described in this proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”). However, you do not need to attend the Annual Meeting to vote your shares. Instead, you may simply follow the instructions below to submit your proxy over the telephone, through internet or by mail, and your votes will be cast for you at the Annual Meeting. We intend to mail these proxy materials, including this Proxy Statement and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, on or about May 13, 2022 to all stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

How do I attend the Annual Meeting?

The Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time at the offices of Cooley LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001-2157. Directions to the Annual Meeting may be found at http://www.viewproxy.com/GANX/2022/. Information on how to vote in person at the Annual Meeting is discussed below.

What are the health and safety protocols to attend the Annual Meeting?

We continue to be mindful of the public health concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person attendance will require compliance with protocols consistent with then applicable federal, state and local guidelines, mandates or recommendations, as well as with requirements imposed by 55 Hudson Yards building. You are required to be fully vaccinated in order to attend the Annual Meeting. You will be required to complete a health questionnaire attesting to your fully vaccinated status before you are admitted to the Annual Meeting. In addition, any person in attendance who does not comply with such measures, who exhibits cold or flu-like symptoms or who has been exposed to COVID-19, may be asked to leave the premises for the protection of the other attendees. To ensure the continued safety of all, once the Annual Meeting has concluded, all attendees will be asked to leave the premises as soon as possible. These measures are subject to change due to the fluidity of the public health situation, and we reserve the right to make adjustments, take any additional precautionary measures or impose any additional procedures or limitations on meeting attendees as we deem appropriate in relation to the physical meeting and access.

Will a list of stockholders as of the record date be available?

For the ten days prior to the Annual Meeting, a list of stockholders as of the close of business on the record date will be available for examination by any stockholder of record for a legally valid purpose by emailing us at IR@gaintherapeutics.com.

Who can vote at the Annual Meeting?

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on May 5, 2022 will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. On the record date, there were 11,883,368 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote.

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

If on May 5, 2022, your shares were registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, Philadelphia Stock Transfer, Inc., then you are a stockholder of record. As a stockholder of record, you may vote in person at the meeting or vote by proxy. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we urge you to fill out and return vote by proxy over the telephone, vote by proxy through the internet, or vote by proxy using a proxy card to ensure your vote is counted.

Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker or Bank

If on May 5, 2022, your shares were held, not in your name, but rather in an account at a brokerage firm, bank or other similar organization, then you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by that organization. The organization holding your account is considered to be the shareholder of record for purposes of voting at the Annual Meeting. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or other agent regarding how to vote the shares in your account. You are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting. However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not vote your shares at the Annual Meeting even if you participate virtually, unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other agent.

What am I voting on?

There are three matters scheduled for a vote:

•

Election of seven (7) directors to hold office until the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (Proposal 1);

•

Ratification of selection by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Ernst & Young AG as our independent registered public accounting firm for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 (Proposal 2); and

•

Approval of the adoption of the Gain Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (Proposal 3).

What if another matter is properly brought before the meeting?

The Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote on those matters in accordance with their best judgment.

How do I vote?

You may either vote “FOR” all the proposed nominees to the Board of Directors or you may “WITHHOLD” your vote for any nominee you specify. Proxies cannot be voted for a greater number of persons than the seven nominees named in this Proxy Statement. For each of the other matters to be voted on, you may vote “FOR” or “AGAINST” or abstain from voting.

The procedures for voting are fairly simple:

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote in person at the Annual Meeting, fill out and return the enclosed proxy card, vote by proxy over the telephone, or vote by proxy through the internet. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting virtually, we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. You may still attend the Annual Meeting and vote at the Annual Meeting even if you have already voted by proxy.

•

To vote in person, come to the Annual Meeting and we will give you a ballot when you arrive; however, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related government guidelines, we urge our stockholders to monitor the applicable government guidelines and to not attend the Annual Meeting in person if the State of New York or City of New York implement any “stay-at-home” advisory, or if other applicable government guidelines continue to encourage people not to attend public gatherings.

•

To vote prior to the Annual Meeting (until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 15, 2022), you may vote via the internet at www.AALvote.com/GANX; by telephone; or by completing and returning their proxy card or voting instruction form, as described below.

•

To vote using the proxy card, simply complete, sign and date the proxy card and return it promptly in the envelope provided. If you return your signed proxy card to us before the Annual Meeting, we will vote your shares as you direct.

•

To vote over the telephone, dial toll-free 1-866-804-9616 using a touch-tone phone and follow the recorded instructions. You will be asked to provide the company number and Control Number from the enclosed proxy card. Your telephone vote must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on June 15, 2022 to be counted.

•

To vote through the internet prior to the meeting, go to www.AALvote.com/GANX and follow the instructions to submit your vote on an electronic proxy card. You will be asked to provide the company number and Control Number from the enclosed proxy card. Your internet vote must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 15, 2022 to be counted.

Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of Broker or Bank

If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your broker, bank or other agent, you should have received a voting instruction form with these proxy materials from that organization rather than from us. To vote prior to the Annual Meeting, simply complete and mail the voting instruction form to ensure that your vote is counted. Alternatively, you may vote by telephone or over the internet as instructed by your broker or bank. To vote in person at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other agent. Follow the instructions from your broker, bank or other agent included with these proxy materials, or contact that organization to request a proxy form.

Internet proxy voting will be provided to allow you to vote your shares online, with procedures designed to ensure the authenticity and correctness of your proxy vote instructions. However, please be aware that you must bear any costs associated with your internet access, such as usage charges from internet access providers and telephone companies.

How many votes do I have?

On each matter to be voted upon, you have one vote for each share of common stock you own as of May 5, 2022.

If I am a stockholder of record and I do not vote, or if I return a proxy card or otherwise vote without giving specific voting instructions, what happens?

If you are a stockholder of record and do not vote by completing your proxy card, by telephone, through the internet or in person at the Annual Meeting, your shares will not be voted.

If you return a signed and dated proxy card or otherwise vote without marking voting selections, your shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our Board of Directors: “FOR” the election of each of the seven nominees for director; “FOR” the ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young AG as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022; and “FOR” approval of the Gain Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan. If any other matter is properly presented at the Annual Meeting, your proxyholder (one of the individuals named on your proxy card) will vote your shares using his or her best judgment.

If I am a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and I do not provide my broker or bank with voting instructions, what happens?

If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and you do not instruct your broker, bank or other agent how to vote your shares, the question of whether your broker or nominee will still be able to vote your shares depends on whether, pursuant to Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) rules, the particular proposal is deemed to be a “routine” matter. Brokers and nominees can use their discretion to vote “uninstructed” shares with respect to matters that are considered to be “routine,” but not with respect to “non-routine” matters. Under Nasdaq rules and interpretations, “non-routine” matters are matters that may substantially affect the rights or privileges of shareholders, such as mergers, shareholder proposals, elections of directors (even if not contested), executive compensation, and certain corporate governance proposals, even if management-supported. Proposals 1 and 3 are considered to be “non-routine” under Nasdaq rules meaning that your broker may not vote your shares on those proposals in the absence of your voting instructions. However, Proposal 2 is considered to be a “routine” matter under Nasdaq rules meaning that if you do not return voting instructions to your broker, bank or other agent by its deadline, your shares may be voted by your broker, bank or other agent in its discretion on Proposal 2.

If you a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and you do not plan to attend the Annual Meeting, in order to ensure your shares are voted in the way you would prefer, you must provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other agent by the deadline provided in the materials you receive from your broker, bank or other agent.

Who is paying for this proxy solicitation?

We will pay for the entire cost of soliciting proxies. In addition to these proxy materials, our directors and employees may also solicit proxies in person, by telephone or by other means of remote communication. Directors and employees will not be paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.

What does it mean if I receive more than one set of proxy materials?

If you receive more than one set of proxy materials, your shares may be registered in more than one name or in different accounts. Please follow the voting instructions on the proxy cards in the proxy materials to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

Can I change my vote after submitting my proxy?

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

Yes. You can revoke your proxy at any time before the final vote at the meeting. If you are the record holder of your shares, you may revoke your proxy in any one of the following ways:

•

You may submit another properly completed proxy card with a later date.

•

You may grant a subsequent proxy by telephone or through the internet.

•

You may send a timely written notice that you are revoking your proxy via email at IR@gaintherapeutics.com.

•

You may attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. Simply attending the Annual Meeting will not, by itself, revoke your proxy.

Your most current proxy card, telephone or internet proxy is the one that is counted.

Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of Broker or Bank

If your shares are held by your broker, bank or other agent, you should follow the instructions provided by your broker, bank or other agent.

When are stockholder proposals and director nominations due for next year’s annual meeting?

To be considered for inclusion in next year’s proxy materials, your proposal must be submitted in writing by January 13, 2023, to our Corporate Secretary c/o Gain Therapeutics, Inc., 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, and you must comply with all applicable requirements of Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Our bylaws also establish an advance notice procedure if you wish to present a proposal before an annual meeting of stockholders, but you are not requesting that your proposal or nomination be included in next year’s proxy materials. To be timely for our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our Corporate Secretary must receive the written notice at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on March 18, 2023 nor earlier than the close of business on February 16, 2023. However, if we hold our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders more than 30 days before or 60 days after June 16, 2023 (the one-year anniversary date of the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders), then timely notice of a stockholder proposal that is not intended to be included in our proxy statement must be received not earlier than the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is first made. You are also advised to review our bylaws, which contain additional requirements about advance notice of stockholder proposals and director nominations.

How are votes counted?

Votes will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for the Annual Meeting, who will separately count, for Proposal 1 to elect directors, votes “FOR,” “WITHHOLD” and broker non-votes; and, with respect to Proposals 2 and 3, votes “FOR” and “AGAINST,” abstentions and, if applicable, broker non-votes. Abstentions will be counted towards the vote total for each proposal, other than the election of directors (Proposal 1). Abstentions will have the same effect as “AGAINST” votes on Proposals 2 and 3, and will have no effect on Proposal 1. Broker non-votes on Proposals 1 and 3 will have no effect and will not be counted towards the vote total for any of those proposals.

What are “broker non-votes”?

As discussed above, when a beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” does not give instructions to the broker or nominee holding the shares as to how to vote on matters deemed to be “non-routine,” the broker or nominee cannot vote the shares. These unvoted shares are counted as “broker non-votes.”

As a reminder, if you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, in order to ensure your shares are voted in the way you would prefer, you must provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other agent by the deadline provided in the materials you receive from your broker, bank or other agent.

How many votes are needed to approve each proposal?

The following table summarizes the minimum vote needed to approve each proposal and the effect of abstentions and broker non-votes.

Proposal
Number

Proposal Description

Vote Required for Approval

Effect of
Abstentions

Effect of
Broker Non-
Votes

Election of Directors

Directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting by the holders of shares present by remote communication or represented by proxy and entitled to

No effect

Proposal
Number

Proposal Description

Vote Required for Approval

Effect of
Abstentions

Effect of
Broker Non-
Votes

vote on the election of directors. The seven nominees receiving the most “FOR” votes will be elected; withheld votes will have no effect.

Ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young AG as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022

“FOR” votes from the holders of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the matter

Against

Not
applicable(1)

Approval of the Gain Therapeutics Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan

“FOR” votes from the holders of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the matter

Against

No effect

(1)

This proposal is considered to be a “routine” matter under Nasdaq rules. Accordingly, if you hold your shares in street name and do not provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other agent that holds your shares, your broker, bank or other agent has discretionary authority under Nasdaq rules to vote your shares on this proposal.

What is the quorum requirement?

A quorum of stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present if stockholders holding at least a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote are present at the Annual Meeting in person or represented by proxy. On the record date, there were 11,883,368 shares outstanding and entitled to vote. Thus, the holders of 5,941,685 shares must be present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting to have a quorum.

Your shares will be counted towards the quorum only if you submit a valid proxy (or one is submitted on your behalf by your broker, bank or other nominee) or if you vote in person at the meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted towards the quorum requirement. If there is no quorum, the holders of a majority of shares present at the meeting or represented by proxy may adjourn the meeting to another date.

How can I find out the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting?

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the annual meeting. In addition, final voting results will be published in a current report on Form 8-K that we expect to file within four business days after the annual meeting. If final voting results are not available to us in time to file a Form 8-K within four business days after the meeting, we intend to file a Form 8-K to publish preliminary results and, within four business days after the final results are known to us, file an additional Form 8-K to publish the final results.

What proxy materials are available on the internet?

The proxy statement and our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K (including Amendment No. 1) http://www.viewproxy.com/ganx/2022.

Proposal 1

Election Of Directors

Our Board of Directors consists of seven directors. There are seven nominees for director this year: Dov Goldstein, Hans Peter Hasler, Khalid Islam, Gwen Melincoff, Claude Nicaise, Eric I. Richman and Jeffrey Riley. Each director to be elected and qualified will hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is elected, or, if sooner, until the director’s death, resignation or removal.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks to assemble a board that, as a whole, possesses the appropriate balance of professional and industry knowledge, financial expertise, diversity and high-level management experience necessary to oversee and direct our business. To that end, the committee has identified and evaluated nominees in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition, with the goal of recruiting members who complement and strengthen the skills of other members and who also exhibit integrity, collegiality, sound business judgment and other qualities that the committee views as critical to effective functioning of the Board. To provide a mix of experience and perspective on the Board, the committee also takes into account diversity (including gender, sexual preference, disability, age, ethnicity, business experience, functional expertise, stakeholder expectations, culture and geography) and other factors that it deems appropriate to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and capability on the Board. The biographies below under “Information Regarding Director Nominees and Current Directors” include information, as of the date of this proxy statement, regarding the specific and particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each director or director nominee that led the committee to believe that that nominee should continue to serve on the Board. However, each of the members of the committee may have a variety of reasons why a particular person would be an appropriate nominee for the Board, and these views may differ from the views of other members.

Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes of the holders of shares present by in-person attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Accordingly, the seven nominees receiving the highest number of “FOR” votes will be elected. Shares represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the election of the three nominees named above. If any nominee becomes unavailable for election as a result of an unexpected occurrence, shares that would have been voted for that nominee will instead be voted for the election of a substitute nominee proposed by us.

Our Board Of Directors Recommends a Vote For
Each Director Nominee Named Above.

INFORMATION REGARDING DIRECTOR NOMINEES AND CURRENT DIRECTORS

The following is a brief biography of each nominee for director and a discussion of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each nominee that led the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to recommend that person as a nominee for director, as of the date of this proxy statement:

Name	Age	Principal Occupation/ Position Held With the Company
Eric I. Richman	61	Chief Executive Officer and Director
Khalid Islam, Ph.D.	66	Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dov Goldstein, M.D.	54	Director
Hans Peter Hasler	66	Director
Gwen Melincoff	70	Director
Claude Nicaise, M.D.	68	Director
Jeffrey Riley	59	Director

Nominees For Election At The 2022 Annual Meeting Of Stockholders

Eric I. Richman has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2020. Mr. Richman has over 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as an investor and in operational roles. He served as a Venture Partner at Brace Pharma Capital, a life science venture capital firm from 2016 to 2018 and Advisor to Broad Oak Capital, a life science private equity firm from 2015 to present. Mr. Richman also served as Chief Executive Officer of Tyrogenex Inc., a biopharmaceutical company and he served as Chief Executive Officer of PharmAthene, Inc. (“PharmAthene”), subsequently acquired by Altimmune, Inc, from 2010 to 2015. Prior to PharmAthene, Mr. Richman held various commercial and strategic positions at MedImmune, Inc. over a 12-year period from its inception. Mr. Richman currently serves as a director of Neubase Therapeutics, Inc. and NovelStem International Corp., co-founder and Chairman of InFuse Holdings and Chairman of the board of LabConnect, Inc. Between 2007 and 2020, he served as a director of Adma Biologics, Inc., Zyversa Therapeutics, Inc. and LEV Pharma, which was acquired by Viropharma, among others private and public companies. Mr. Richman received a B.S. in Biomedical Science from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education (CUNY Medical School) and a M.B.A. from the American Graduate School of International Management. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Richman is qualified to serve as a director based on his role as our Chief Executive Officer and his extensive management experience in the biotechnology industry.

Dr. Khalid Islam, Ph.D. cofounded our company in 2017 and has served as Chairman of our Board of Directors since 2017. Dr. Islam has over 30 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He is currently the Managing Director of Life Sciences Management GmbH, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fennec Pharmaceuticals and Minoryx Therapeutics S.L, as well as a director of Processa Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Islam also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gentium S.p.A. from 2009 to 2014, where, under his leadership, Defitelio was granted marketing authorization and the company went from a $25 million valuation to a $1 billion all-cash merger with Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. From 1999 to 2008, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Arpida AG, where he transitioned the early-stage startup to a SWX-listed company and raised $300 million between their initial public offering and follow-ons. From 1987 to 1999, Dr. Islam held various positions at HMR & MMD (now Sanofi-Aventis). Prior to HMR & MMD, he worked in academia at Imperial College, University of London and Milan University, where he was a contract professor. He has also previously served as a director of Immunomedics Inc., Karolinska Development, MolMed S.p.A., OxThera AB, Rheoscience AS, PCovery AS, Adenium AS and C10 Pharma AS. He is an advisor to Kurma Biofund (Paris). Dr. Islam is a graduate of Chelsea College and received his Ph.D. from Imperial College, University of London. Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Islam is qualified to serve as a director based on his extensive science background and professional experience.

Dov Goldstein, M.D. has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Dr. Goldstein has over 20 years of experience in the financial management of various biotechnology and

pharmaceutical companies. Chief Financial Officer of BioAge Labs, a privately held biotechnology company. He was previously Chief Financial Officer and Business Officer of Indapta Therapeutics. Dr. Goldstein served as Chief Executive Officer at RIGImmune. At Aisling Capital, a private investment firm, he served as Managing Partner, from 2014 to 2019, Partner from 2009 to 2014 and Principal from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Goldstein served as Chief Financial Officer and director of Loxo Oncology, between July 2014 and January 2015 and its acting Chief Financial Officer from January 2015 to May 2015. From 2000 to 2005, Dr. Goldstein served as Chief Financial Officer of Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Pfizer in September 2005. Prior to joining Vicuron, Dr. Goldstein was Director of Venture Analysis at HealthCare Ventures. Dr. Goldstein completed an internship in the Department of Medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Goldstein serves as a director of NeuBase Therapeutics. He served as a director of ADMA Biologics, Cempra (acquired by Melinta Therapeutics), Durata Therapeutics, Esperion Therapeutics, and Loxo Oncology. Dr. Goldstein received a B.S. from Stanford University, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and an M.D. from Yale School of Medicine.Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Goldstein is qualified to serve as a director based on his extensive science background and professional experience.

Hans Peter Hasler has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Mr. Hasler has over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Mr. Hasler is the Founder and, until 2020 served as Chief Executive Officer, of Vicarius Pharma AG, a privately held company that provides strategic options to non-European bio-pharma companies bringing late-stage assets to the European market. Mr. Hasler is Chairman of the Board of HBM Healthcare Investments AG in Switzerland, Director of the Board of Minerva Neuroscience Inc., Boston, non-executive Chairman of the Board of Shield Therapeutics PLC, London, and Chief Advisor of SBTech Advisory, a small asset scouting company located in Israel, Switzerland, and the USA. Since June 2009, he has served as a director of HBM Healthcare Investments, an investment company listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, and is Senior Advisor at SBTech Global Advisory. His prior experience includes Elan Corporation, where he was Chief Operating Officer, and Biogen, Inc., where his positions included Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Neurology and International. Previously, Mr. Hasler was at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director of Wyeth Group Germany and General Manager, Wyeth-Lederle Switzerland, Austria and ECE. Mr. Hasler holds a Federal Swiss Commercial Diploma and a Marketing Manager Certificate from the Swiss Institute of Business Economy SIB, Zurich, Switzerland. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Hasler is qualified to serve as a director based on his extensive science background and professional experience.

Gwen Melincoff has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Ms. Melincoff is a seasoned business development and venture professional with over 25 years of deal making and management experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Ms. Melincoff is currently managing director at Gemini Advisors LLC, a biopharmaceutical consultancy (since 2013) and an advisor to Verge Genomics, a startup drug discovery company (since 2016). Ms. Melincoff serves on the board of Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc., Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., and Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. and in an advisory capacity at a number of pharmaceutical companies. From January 2017 through January 2019, she served on the board of directors of Kamada Ltd., the board of Photocures ASA from April 2017 – June 2020 and from June 2014 through November 2016 she served on the Board of Directors of Tobira Therapeutics Inc. (acquired by Allergan plc). From August 2014 through September 2016, Ms. Melincoff previously served as Vice President of Business Development at BTG International Inc., a UK-specialist healthcare company. Prior to BTG, Ms. Melincoff was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Shire Plc (acquired by Takeda). Additionally, she led the Shire Strategic Investment Group, the venture capital arm of Shire Plc. Ms. Melincoff was Vice President of Business Development at Adolor Corporation and held executive positions at Eastman Kodak for over ten years in a number of their health care companies. Ms. Melincoff received a B.S. in Biology from The George Washington University and an M.S. in Management and Health Care Administration from Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Melincoff has also attained the designation of Certified Licensing Professional (CLP™). Ms. Melincoff was named to the “Top Women in Biotech 2013” by Fierce Biotech and to the Powerlist 100 of Corporate Venture Capital in 2012 and 2013. Our Board of Directors believes that Ms. Melincoff is qualified to serve as a director based on her extensive science background and professional experience.

Claude Nicaise, M.D. has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Dr. Nicaise has more than 35 years of experience in the development and regulation of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He is the founder of Clinical Regulatory Services, a company providing advice on clinical and regulatory matters to biotechnology companies. Dr. Nicaise serves on the board for Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., chairs their Compensation committee, and is a member of their Research and Development committee. Since 2015, Dr. Nicaise has served as an Executive Vice President Regulatory at Ovid Therapeutics Inc., a company that develops medicines for orphan diseases of the brain. Dr. Nicaise was a Senior Vice President of Strategic Development and Global Regulatory Affairs at Alexion Pharmaceuticals from 2008 to 2014. From 1983 to 2008, Dr. Nicaise served in various positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb, including senior positions such as Vice President of Global Development, Vice-President of Worldwide Regulatory Science and Strategy, and leadership positions in Oncology, Infectious Disease, and Neuroscience development. Dr. Nicaise received his M.D. from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Nicaise is qualified to serve as a director based on his extensive science background and professional experience.

Jeffrey Riley has served as a member of our Board of Directors since May 2019. Mr. Riley has more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, during which he has negotiated numerous worldwide strategic corporate alliances, established joint ventures and assisted in venture financings to support product development. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Caravan Biologix, Inc. and Executive Chairman of Blink TBI. Over his career, he has served in various roles and responsibilities in big pharma (SmithKline Beecham and Pfizer), venture capital (Queensland Biocapital Fund / QIC) and numerous biotechnology companies in the capacity of business development and general management. From March 2010 until December 2017, he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Synthetic Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal diseases. He has served as a member of several public and private boards of directors in the United States and Australia. Mr. Riley received a B.S. from Boise State University, an MBA/MIM from Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and has done advanced science work at the University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Riley is qualified to serve as a director based on his extensive science background and professional experience.

The Board Of Directors Recommends
A Vote In Favor Of Each Named Nominee.

Board Diversity

Our Board believes that a diverse board is better able to effectively oversee our management and strategy, and position us to deliver long-term value for our stockholders. Our nominating and corporate governance committee considers diversity, including gender, sexual preference and ethnicity, as adding to the overall mix of perspectives of our Board as a whole. With the assistance of the nominating and corporate governance committee, our Board regularly reviews trends in board composition, including on director diversity.

The table below provides additional diversity information regarding our Board as of April 29, 2022. Each of the categories listed in the below table has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(f). While the Board satisfies the minimum objectives of Nasdaq Rule 5605(f)(2) by having at least one director who identifies as female and at least one director who identifies as a member of an Underrepresented Minority (as defined by Nasdaq Rules), the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will continue to consider the diversity of the Board in its selection of director nominees.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Independence Of The Board Of Directors

As required under the Nasdaq Stock Market, or Nasdaq, listing standards, a majority of the members of a listed company’s Board of Directors must qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively determined by the Board of Directors. The Board consults with its counsel to ensure that the Board’s determinations are consistent with relevant securities and other laws and regulations regarding the definition of “independent,” including those set forth in pertinent listing standards of Nasdaq, as in effect from time to time.

Consistent with these considerations, after review of all relevant identified transactions or relationships between each director, or any of his or her family members, and us, our senior management and our independent auditors, the Board has affirmatively determined that the following five directors are independent directors within the meaning of the applicable Nasdaq listing standards: Dr. Goldstein, Mr. Hasler, Ms. Melincoff, Dr. Nicaise and Mr. Riley. In making this determination, the Board found that none of these directors or nominees for director had a material or other disqualifying relationship with us.

Accordingly, a majority of our directors are independent, as required under applicable Nasdaq rules. In making this determination, our Board considered the applicable Nasdaq rules and the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including their beneficial ownership of our capital stock.

Board Leadership Structure

The Chairman of our Board is Dr. Islam. The primary responsibilities of the Chairman of our Board of Directors are to: work with our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Richman, to develop board meeting schedules and agendas; provide our Chief Executive Officer feedback on the quality, quantity and timeliness of the information provided to the Board of Directors; develop the agenda for and moderate executive sessions of the independent members of the Board of Directors; preside over board meetings; act as principal liaison between the independent members of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer; convene meetings of the independent directors as appropriate; and perform other duties as the Board of Directors may determine from time to time. Accordingly, Dr. Islam has substantial ability to shape the work of our Board of Directors.

We believe that separation of the positions of board chair and Chief Executive Officer reinforces the independence of the Board in its oversight of our business and affairs.

Role Of The Board In Risk Oversight

One of the Board’s key functions is informed oversight of our risk management process. The Board does not have a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through the Board as a whole, as well as through various Board standing committees that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our Board is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure, including a determination of the nature and level of risk appropriate for the Company. Our Audit Committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken. The Audit Committee also monitors compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, in addition to oversight of cybersecurity risk management as well as incidental reports as matters arise. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee monitors the effectiveness of our corporate governance guidelines, including whether they are successful in preventing illegal or improper liability-creating conduct. Our Compensation Committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk-taking. It is the responsibility of the committee chairs to report findings regarding material risk exposures to the Board as quickly as possible. The Board has delegated to the Board’s chair the responsibility of coordinating between the Board and management with regard to the determination and implementation of responses to any problematic risk management issues.

Meetings Of The Board Of Directors

Our Board is responsible for the oversight of management and the strategy of our company and for establishing corporate policies. The Board meets periodically during the year to review significant developments affecting us and to act on matters requiring the approval of our Board. Our Boards met seven times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, the Audit Committee met three times, the Compensation Committee met three times and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee did not meet in 2021 as any matters falling within the purview of the committee were discussed at Board meetings in executive session. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, each director attended 100% of the aggregate of the meetings of our Board of Directors and of the committees on which he or she served. We encourage our directors and nominees for director to attend our Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Information Regarding Committees Of The Board Of Directors

The Board has three committees: an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The following table provides membership and meeting information for fiscal 2021 for each of the Board committees:

Name

Audit

Compensation

Nominating and
Corporate
Governance

Khalid Islam, Ph.D.

Eric I. Richman

Jeffrey Riley

Dov Goldstein, M.D.

Gwen Melincoff

Claude Nicaise, M.D.

Hans Peter Hasler

Total meetings in fiscal 2021

Committee Chairperson

Our Board has determined that each member of each standing committee meets the applicable Nasdaq rules and regulations regarding “independence” and each member is free of any relationship that would impair his or her individual exercise of independent judgment with regard to us.

Below is a description of each standing committee of our Board of Directors:

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors was established by the Board in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act, to oversee our corporate accounting and financial reporting processes and audits of our financial statements. For this purpose, the Audit Committee performs several functions. The Audit Committee evaluates the performance of and assesses the qualifications of the independent auditors; determines and approves the engagement of the independent auditors; determines whether to retain or terminate the existing independent auditors or to appoint and engage new independent auditors; reviews and approves the retention of the independent auditors to perform any proposed permissible non-audit services; monitors the rotation of partners of the independent auditors on our audit engagement team as required by law; reviews and approves or rejects transactions between the company and any related persons; confers with management and the independent auditors regarding the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting; establishes procedures, as required under applicable law, for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and the confidential and anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and meets to review our annual audited financial

statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including a review of our disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

The Audit Committee is composed of three directors: Hans Peter Hasler, Jeffrey Riley, and Dov Goldstein, with Dov Goldstein serving as chair. The Audit Committee met three times during the fiscal year. The Board has adopted a written Audit Committee charter that is available to stockholders on our website at https://gaintherapeutics.com/investors-media/corporate-governance.html.

The Board reviews the Nasdaq listing standards definition of independence for Audit Committee members on an annual basis and has determined that all members of our Audit Committee are independent, as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules.

The Board has also determined that Dr. Goldstein qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined in applicable SEC rules. The Board made a qualitative assessment of Dr. Goldstein’s level of knowledge and experience based on a number of factors, including his formal education and experience as a chief financial officer for public reporting companies.

The Audit Committee is responsible for assisting our Board in its oversight of the integrity of our consolidated financial statements, the qualifications and independence of our independent auditors and our internal financial and accounting controls. The principal duties and responsibilities of our Audit Committee include, among other things:

•

selecting a qualified firm to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial statements;

•

helping to ensure the independence and performance of the independent registered public accounting firm;

•

discussing the scope and results of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm, and reviewing, with management and the independent accountants, our interim and year-end operating results;

•

developing procedures for employees to submit concerns anonymously about questionable accounting or audit matters;

•

reviewing our policies on risk assessment and risk management;

•

reviewing related party transactions;

•

obtaining and reviewing a report by the independent registered public accounting firm at least annually, that describes our internal quality-control procedures, any material issues with such procedures, and any steps taken to deal with such issues when required by applicable law; and

•

approving (or, as permitted, pre-approving) all audit and all permissible non-audit services, other than de minimis non-audit services, to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm.

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 with our management. The Audit Committee has also reviewed and discussed with Ernst & Young AG, our independent registered public accounting firm, the matters required to be discussed by Auditing Standard No. 1301, Communications with Audit Committees, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”). The audit committee has also received the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young AG required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent accountants’ communications with the audit committee concerning independence, and has discussed with Ernst & Young AG the accounting firm’s independence. Based on the foregoing, the audit committee has recommended to our Board of Directors that the audited financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and filed with the SEC.

Dov Goldstein, Chair
Hans Peter Hasler
Jeffrey Riley

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee is composed of three directors: Claude Nicaise, Jeffrey Riley, and Gwen Melincoff, with Jeff Riley serving as chair. All members of our Compensation Committee are independent, as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(d)(2) of Nasdaq Listing Rules. The Compensation Committee met three times during the fiscal year. The Board has adopted a written Compensation Committee charter that is available to stockholders on our website at https://gaintherapeutics.com/investors-media/corporate-governance.html.

The Compensation Committee acts on behalf of the Board to review, recommend for adoption and oversee our compensation strategy, policies, plans and programs, including:

•

establishment of corporate and individual performance objectives relevant to the compensation of our executive officers, directors and other senior management and evaluation of performance in light of these stated objectives;

•

review and recommendation to the Board for approval of the compensation and other terms of employment or service, including severance and change-in-control arrangements, of our Chief Executive Officer, the other executive officers and directors; and

•

administration of our equity compensation plans, pension and profit-sharing plans, deferred compensation plans and other similar plan and programs.

Compensation Committee Processes and Procedures

Typically, the Compensation Committee meets at least four times annually and with greater frequency if necessary. The agenda for each meeting is usually developed by the Chair of the Compensation Committee, in consultation with management. The Compensation Committee meets regularly in executive session. However, from time to time, various members of management and other employees as well as outside advisors or consultants may be invited by the Compensation Committee to make presentations, to provide financial or other background information or advice or to otherwise participate in Compensation Committee meetings. Mr. Richman, our Chief Executive Officer, may not participate in, or be present during, any deliberations or determinations of the Compensation Committee regarding his compensation.

The charter of the Compensation Committee grants the Compensation Committee full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of the Company. In addition, under the charter, the Compensation Committee has the authority to obtain, at the expense of the Company, advice and assistance from compensation consultants and internal and external legal, accounting or other advisors and other external resources that the Compensation Committee considers necessary or appropriate in the performance of its duties. The Compensation Committee has direct responsibility for the oversight of the work of any consultants or advisers engaged for the purpose of advising the Committee. In particular, the Compensation Committee has the sole authority to retain, in its sole discretion, compensation consultants to assist in its evaluation of executive and director compensation, including the authority to approve the consultant’s reasonable fees and other retention terms. Under the charter, the Compensation Committee may select, or receive advice from, a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser to the compensation committee, other than in-house legal counsel and certain other types of advisers, only after taking into consideration six factors, prescribed by the SEC and Nasdaq, that bear upon the adviser’s independence; however, there is no requirement that any adviser be independent.

During the past fiscal year, the Compensation Committee had engaged Gallagher as its compensation consultant. Then, in February 2022, after taking into consideration the six factors prescribed by the SEC and Nasdaq described above, the Compensation Committee engaged AON as its compensation consultant. The Compensation Committee requested that Aon Hewitt and Radford assist in refining our compensation strategy. As part of its engagement, Aon Hewitt and Radford was requested by the Compensation Committee to develop a comparative group of companies and to perform analyses of competitive performance and compensation levels for that group.

Historically, the Compensation Committee has made most of the significant adjustments to annual compensation, determined bonus and equity awards and established new performance objectives at one or

more meetings held during the first quarter of the year. However, the Compensation Committee also considers matters related to individual compensation, such as compensation for new executive hires, as well as high-level strategic issues, such as the efficacy of our compensation strategy, potential modifications to that strategy and new trends, plans or approaches to compensation, at various meetings throughout the year. Generally, the Compensation Committee’s process comprises two related elements: the determination of compensation levels and the establishment of performance objectives for the current year. For executives other than the Chief Executive Officer, the Compensation Committee solicits and considers evaluations and recommendations submitted to the Compensation Committee by the Chief Executive Officer. In the case of the Chief Executive Officer, the evaluation of his performance is conducted by the Compensation Committee, which determines any adjustments to his compensation as well as awards to be granted. For all executives and directors as part of its deliberations, the Compensation Committee may review and consider, as appropriate, materials such as financial reports and projections, operational data, tax and accounting information, tally sheets that set forth the total compensation that may become payable to executives in various hypothetical scenarios, executive and director stock ownership information, company stock performance data, analyses of historical executive compensation levels and current Company-wide compensation levels and recommendations of its compensation consultant, including analyses of executive and director compensation paid at other companies identified by the consultant.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for identifying, reviewing and evaluating candidates to serve as our directors (consistent with criteria approved by the Board), reviewing and evaluating incumbent directors, recommending to the Board for selection candidates for election to the Board of Directors, making recommendations to the Board regarding the membership of the committees of the Board, assessing the performance of management and the Board, and developing a set of corporate governance principles for us.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is composed of three directors: Dov Goldstein, Claude Nicaise, and Hans Peter Hasler, with Hans Peter Hasler serving as chair. All members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are independent, as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee did not meet during the last fiscal year. The Board has adopted a written Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter that is available to stockholders on our website and https://gaintherapeutics.com/investors-media/corporate-governance.html.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believes that candidates for director should have certain minimum qualifications, including the ability to read and understand basic financial statements, being over 35 years of age and having the highest personal integrity and ethics. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also intends to consider such factors as possessing relevant expertise upon which to be able to offer advice and guidance to management, having sufficient time to devote to the affairs of the Company, demonstrated excellence in his or her field, having the ability to exercise sound business judgment and having the commitment to rigorously represent the long-term interests of our stockholders. However, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee retains the right to modify these qualifications from time to time. Candidates for director nominees are reviewed in the context of the current composition of the Board, the operating requirements of the Company and the long-term interests of our stockholders. In conducting this assessment, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee typically considers diversity (including gender, racial and ethnic diversity), age, skills and such other factors as it deems appropriate, given the current needs of the Board and us, to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and capability.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee appreciates the value of thoughtful Board refreshment, and regularly identifies and considers qualities, skills and other director attributes that’s would enhance the composition of the Board. In the case of incumbent directors whose terms of office are set to expire, the Committee reviews these directors’ overall service to the Company during their terms, including the number of meetings attended, level of participation, quality of performance and any other relationships and transactions that might impair the directors’ independence. The Committee also takes into account the results of the Board’s self-evaluation, conducted annually on a group and individual basis. In the case of new

director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also determines whether the nominee is independent for Nasdaq purposes, which determination is based upon applicable Nasdaq listing standards, applicable SEC rules and regulations and the advice of counsel, if necessary. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee then uses its network of contacts to compile a list of potential candidates, but may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee conducts any appropriate and necessary inquiries into the backgrounds and qualifications of possible candidates after considering the function and needs of the Board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee meets to discuss and consider the candidates’ qualifications and then selects a nominee for recommendation to the Board by majority vote.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider director candidates recommended by stockholders. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not intend to alter the manner in which it evaluates candidates, including the minimum criteria set forth above, based on whether or not the candidate was recommended by a stockholder. Stockholders who wish to recommend individuals for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to become nominees for election to the Board may do so by delivering a written recommendation to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee at the following address: 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220, Bethesda, Maryland, at least 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the mailing of our proxy statement for the last annual meeting of stockholders. Submissions must include the full name of the proposed nominee, a description of the proposed nominee’s business experience for at least the previous five years, complete biographical information, a description of the proposed nominee’s qualifications as a director and a representation that the nominating stockholder is a beneficial or record holder of our stock and has been a holder for at least one year. Any such submission must be accompanied by the written consent of the proposed nominee to be named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected.

Communications With The Board Of Directors

Stockholder communications will be reviewed by one or more employees of the Company designated by the Board, who will determine whether the communication should be presented to the Board. The purpose of this screening is to allow the Board to avoid having to consider irrelevant or inappropriate communications (such as advertisements, solicitations and hostile communications). All communications directed to the Audit Committee in accordance with our Whistleblower Policy for Accounting and Auditing Matters that relate to questionable accounting or auditing matters involving us will be promptly and directly forwarded to the Audit Committee. We also have a corporate ethics hotline to allow complaints related to questionable accounting or auditing matters. All inquiries made through this hotline are immediately directed to the chairman of the Audit Committee.

Code Of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our officers, directors and employees. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on our website at https://gaintherapeutics.com/investors-media/corporate-governance.html. If we make any substantive amendments to the Code of Business Conduct or we grant any waiver from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct to any executive officer or director, we will promptly disclose the nature of the amendment or waiver on our website.

Corporate Governance Guidelines

Our Board has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines, a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and charters for the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board to assist the Board in the exercise of its responsibilities and to serve as a framework for the effective governance of the Company. You can access our current committee charters, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics in the “Corporate Governance” section of the “Investors & Media” page of our website located at https://gaintherapeutics.com/investors-media/corporate-governance.html or by writing to our Secretary at our offices at 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220 Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

Proposal 2

Ratification Of Selection Of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Audit Committee of the Board has selected Ernst & Young AG as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 and has further directed that management submit the selection of our independent registered public accounting firm for ratification by our stockholders at the Annual Meeting. Ernst & Young AG has audited our financial statements since its inception in 2020. Representatives of Ernst & Young AG are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting. They will have an opportunity to make a statement if they so desire and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Neither our Bylaws nor other governing documents or law require shareholder ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young AG as our independent registered public accounting firm. However, the Audit Committee is submitting the selection of Ernst & Young AG to the stockholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate practice. If the stockholders fail to ratify the selection, the Audit Committee will reconsider whether or not to retain that firm. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may direct the appointment of different independent auditors at any time during the year if they determine that such a change would be in the best interests of us and our stockholders.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the matter at the Annual Meeting will be required to ratify the selection of Ernst & Young AG.

Principal Accountant Fees And Services

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees

Our independent public accounting firm is Ernst & Young AG, Lugano, Switzerland (PCAOB Auditor ID: 1460). The following is a summary and description of fees for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 billed to us by Ernst & Young AG. All fees described below were pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

	Fiscal Year Ended
	2021			2020
Audit Fees(1)		$	380,000		$	550,000
All Other Fees(2)			22,000			—
Total Fees		$	402,000		$	550,000

(1)

Audit fees represent the aggregate fees for professional services rendered for our consolidated financial statements, including the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements on Form 10-K and the review of our quarterly consolidated financial statements on Form 10-Q, and the statutory audit fees of our Swiss subsidiary. For FY 2020, it includes fees associated with our initial public offering, including the review of our Registration Statement on Form S-1 as well as comfort letter matters.

(2)

All other fees consist of fees billed services provided in fiscal year 2021 other than the services reported as audit fees, mainly related to tax services.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

The Audit Committee has adopted procedures for the pre-approval of audit and non-audit services rendered by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young AG. Pre-approval may also be given as part of the Audit Committee’s approval of the scope of the engagement of the independent auditor or on an individual, explicit, case-by-case basis before the independent auditor is

PROPOSAL 3

Approval of the gain therapeutics, inc. 2022 equity incentive plan

We are asking our stockholders to approve the Gain Therapeutics Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2022 Plan, at the Annual Meeting. The 2022 Plan was approved by our Board of Directors, or Board, on May 12, 2022, subject to approval by our stockholders. The 2022 Plan is intended to be the successor to the Gain Therapeutics Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, or the 2020 Plan.

Currently, we maintain the 2020 Plan to provide long-term incentives to our employees, consultants, and directors. Our Board decided to adopt and seek approval for the 2022 Plan as the successor to and continuation of the 2020 Plan in order to allow us to continue to utilize a broad array of equity incentives in order to secure and retain the services of our employees, directors, and consultants, and that are intended to align the interests of our employees, directors, and consultants with the interests of our stockholders.

If this Proposal 3 is approved by our stockholders, the 2022 Plan will become effective as of the date of its approval by the Board, and no additional awards will be granted under the 2020 Plan (although all outstanding awards granted under the 2020 Plan will continue to be subject to the terms and conditions as set forth in the agreements evidencing such awards and the terms of the 2020 Plan). In the event that our stockholders do not approve this Proposal 3, the 2022 Plan will not become effective and the 2020 Plan will continue in effect in accordance with its terms until the earliest of its expiration, its termination by the Board or the date on which the remaining shares available for issuance thereunder are depleted, following which date we will no long have an equity-based compensation plan pursuant to which we may issue long-term incentive awards.

Requested Shares

Subject to adjustment for certain changes in our capitalization, if this Proposal 3 is approved by our stockholders, the aggregate number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under the 2022 Plan will not exceed the sum of (i) 646,173 new shares, (ii) the number of unallocated shares remaining available for the grant of new awards under the 2020 Plan as of the effective date of the 2022 Plan (which is equal to 238,811 shares as of May 1, 2022), and (iii) certain shares subject to outstanding awards granted under the 2020 Plan that may become available for grant under the 2022 Plan as such shares become available from time to time (as further described below in “Description of the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan — Authorized Shares”). In addition, beginning on January 1, 2023 and ending on (and including) January 1, 2032, the maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2022 Plan will cumulatively be increased by 6% of the number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding on the immediately preceding December 31st, or such lesser number of shares as determined by the Board.

Why You Should Vote to Approve the 2022 Plan

Equity Awards Are an Important Part of Our Compensation Philosophy

Our Board believes that our future success depends, in large part, on our ability to maintain a competitive position in attracting, retaining, and motivating key personnel, non-employee directors, consultants and advisors. The Board believes that the issuance of equity awards is a key element underlying our ability to attract, retain and motivate employees, directors and consultants, and better aligns their interests with those of our stockholders. The 2022 Plan will allow us to continue to provide equity-based incentives to our eligible employees, non-employee directors and consultants. Therefore, the Board believes that the 2022 Plan is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and recommends a vote in favor of this Proposal 3.

We Have Experienced, and Expect to Continue to Experience, Substantial Growth in Our Business

The Board believes that the 2022 Plan is necessary to ensure that the number of shares available for issuance pursuant to equity awards will be sufficient to allow us to continue to attract, retain and motivate the services of talented individuals essential to our long-term growth and financial success. Our Board strongly believes that the issuance of equity awards is a key element underlying our ability to attract, retain and

motivate our employees, including our executives, and our directors and consultants, and is a substantial contributing factor to our success and the growth of our business. We have relied primarily on equity awards in the form of stock options to attract, retain and motivate key employees, and we believe that equity awards are necessary for us to remain competitive in the marketplace for executive talent and other employees.

We Manage Our Equity Incentive Award Use Carefully, and Dilution Is Reasonable

We believe that equity awards are a vital part of our overall compensation program. Our compensation philosophy reflects broad-based eligibility for equity incentive awards, and we grant awards to substantially all of our employees. However, we recognize that equity awards dilute existing stockholders, and, therefore, we must responsibly manage the growth of our equity compensation program. We are committed to monitoring our equity compensation share reserve, including our “burn rate,” to ensure that we maximize stockholders’ value by granting the appropriate number of equity incentive awards necessary to attract, reward, and retain our employees, directors and consultants.

The Size of Our Share Reserve Request Is Reasonable

If this Proposal 3 is approved by our stockholders, we expect to have approximately 1,800,000 shares available for grant under the 2022 Plan after the Annual Meeting (based on shares available as of May 1, 2022 and subject to adjustment for certain changes in our capitalization). The Board believes that our request for 646,173 new shares under the 2022 Plan is necessary to provide an appropriate amount of equity awards for attracting, retaining, and motivating our employees, directors and consultants in accordance with our business plans, and is an amount that we believe a majority of our institutional investors would support.

Key Plan Features

The 2022 Plan includes provisions that are designed to protect our stockholders’ interests and to reflect corporate governance best practices including:

•

Flexibility in designing equity compensation arrangements. The 2022 Plan allows us to provide a broad array of equity incentives, including traditional option grants, stock appreciation rights, or SARs, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, or RSUs, performance stock awards and other stock awards. By providing this flexibility, we can quickly and effectively react to trends in compensation practices and continue to offer competitive compensation arrangements to attract and retain the talent necessary for the success of our business.

•

Limit on non-employee director compensation. The aggregate value of all compensation granted or paid, as applicable, during any calendar year to any of our non-employee directors, including awards granted and cash fees paid by us to such non-employee director during such calendar year, will not exceed $1,000,000, calculating the value of any equity awards based on the grant date fair value of such equity awards for financial reporting purposes.

•

No single trigger accelerated vesting upon change in control. The 2022 Plan does not provide for any automatic mandatory vesting of awards upon a change in control.

•

Awards subject to forfeiture/clawback. Awards granted under the 2022 Plan will be subject to recoupment in accordance with any clawback policy that we are required to adopt pursuant to the listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which our securities are listed or as is otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law, and any other clawback policy that the Company may adopt or maintain. In addition, we may impose other clawback, recovery or recoupment provisions in an award agreement, including a reacquisition right in respect of previously acquired shares or other cash or property upon the occurrence of cause.

Description of the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan

The material features of the 2022 Plan are described below. The following description of the 2022 Plan is a summary only and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the 2022 Plan.

Stockholders are urged to read the actual text of the 2022 Plan in its entirety, which is attached to this proxy statement as Appendix A.

Purpose. The 2022 Plan is designed to secure and retain the services of our employees, directors and consultants, provide incentives for our employees, directors and consultants to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and its affiliates, and provide a means by which our employees, directors and consultants may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in the value of our common stock.

Successor to 2020 Plan. The 2022 Plan is intended to be the successor to the 2020 Plan. If the 2022 Plan is approved by our stockholders, no additional awards will be granted under the 2020 Plan.

Types of Awards and Eligibility. The 2022 Plan will provide for the grant of incentive stock options, or ISOs, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code, or the Code, to our employees and our parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, or NSOs, SARs, restricted stock awards, RSU awards, performance awards and other awards to our employees, including officers, consultants and directors.

As of May 1, 2022, we (including our affiliates) had approximately 29 employees, 6 non-employee directors, and 10 consultants.

Authorized Shares. Initially, the maximum number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under our 2022 Plan after it becomes effective will not exceed 1,800,000 shares of our common stock, which is the sum of (1) 646,173 new shares, plus (2) shares that remain available for the issuance of awards under our 2020 Plan as of immediately prior to the time our 2022 Plan becomes effective, plus (3) shares of our common stock subject to outstanding stock options or other stock awards granted under our 2020 Plan that, on or after our 2022 Plan becomes effective, terminate or expire prior to exercise or settlement; are not issued because the award is settled in cash; are forfeited because of the failure to vest; or are reacquired or withheld (or not issued) to satisfy a tax withholding obligation or the purchase or exercise price, if any, as such shares become available from time to time. The maximum number of shares of our common stock that may be issued on the exercise of ISOs under our 2022 Plan will be 5,400,000 shares.

The following shares of our common stock will also become available again for issuance under the 2022 Plan: (i) any shares subject to a stock award granted under the 2022 Plan that are not issued because such stock award expires or otherwise terminates without all of the shares covered by such stock award having been issued; (ii) any shares subject to a stock award granted under the 2022 Plan that are not issued because such stock award is settled in cash; (iii) any shares issued pursuant to a stock award granted under the 2022 Plan that are forfeited back to or repurchased by us because of a failure to vest; and (iv) any shares used to pay the exercise or purchase price of a stock award or to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to a stock award.

In addition, the 2022 Plan contains an “evergreen” provision that provides that the share reserve will automatically increase for a period of not more than ten years, commencing on January 1, 2023 and ending on (and including) January 1, 2032, in an amount equal to 6% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may act prior to January 1st of a given year to provide that there will be no January 1st increase in the share reserve for such year or that the increase in the share reserve for such year will be a lesser number of shares of common stock than would otherwise occur pursuant to the preceding sentence.

Non-Employee Director Compensation Limit. The aggregate value of all compensation granted or paid, as applicable, during any calendar year to any of our non-employee directors, including awards granted and cash fees paid by us to such non-employee director during such calendar year, will not exceed $1,000,000, calculating the value of any equity awards based on the grant date fair value of such equity awards for financial reporting purposes.

Plan Administration. Our Board, or a duly authorized committee thereof, will administer our 2022 Plan and is referred to as the “plan administrator” herein. Our Board may also delegate to one or more of our officers the authority to (1) designate employees (other than officers) to receive specified stock awards and (2) determine the number of shares subject to such stock awards. Under our 2022 Plan, our Board will have the authority to determine award recipients, grant dates, the numbers and types of stock awards to be

granted, the applicable fair market value and the provisions of each stock award, including the period of exercisability and the vesting schedule applicable to a stock award.

The plan administrator will have the power to modify outstanding awards under our 2022 Plan. Subject to the terms of our 2022 Plan, the plan administrator will have the authority to reprice any outstanding stock award, cancel and re-grant any outstanding stock award in exchange for new stock awards, cash or other consideration or take any other action that is treated as a repricing under generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, with the consent of any adversely affected participant.

Stock Options. Our 2022 Plan allows for the grant of ISOs and NSOs pursuant to stock option agreements adopted by the plan administrator. The plan administrator will determine the exercise price for stock options, within the terms and conditions of our 2022 Plan, provided that the exercise price of a stock option generally cannot be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant for NSOs and 110% of the fair market value of the stock subject to the option on the date of grant for ISOs. Options granted under our 2022 Plan will vest at the rate specified in the stock option agreement as determined by the plan administrator. The plan administrator will determine the term of stock options granted under our 2022 Plan, up to a maximum of 10 years. Unless the terms of an optionholder’s stock option agreement, or other written agreement between us and the recipient approved by the plan administrator, provide otherwise, if an optionholder’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases for any reason other than disability, death, or cause, the optionholder may generally exercise any vested options for a period of three months following the cessation of service. This period may be extended in the event that either an exercise of the option or an immediate sale of shares acquired upon exercise of the option following such a termination of service is prohibited by applicable securities laws or our insider trading policy. If an optionholder’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases due to death, or an optionholder dies within a certain period following cessation of service, the optionholder or a beneficiary may generally exercise any vested options for a period of 18 months following the date of death. If an optionholder’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases due to disability, the optionholder may generally exercise any vested options for a period of 12 months following the cessation of service. In the event of a termination for cause, options generally terminate upon the termination date. In no event may an option be exercised beyond the expiration of its term.

Acceptable consideration for the purchase of common stock issued upon the exercise of a stock option will be determined by the plan administrator and may include (1) cash, check, bank draft or money order, (2) a broker-assisted cashless exercise, (3) the tender of shares of our common stock previously owned by the optionholder, (4) a net exercise of the option if it is an NSO or (5) other legal consideration approved by the plan administrator.

Unless the plan administrator provides otherwise, options or SARs generally are not transferable except by will or the laws of descent and distribution. Subject to approval of the plan administrator or a duly authorized officer, an option may be transferred pursuant to a domestic relations order, official marital settlement agreement or other divorce or separation instrument.

The closing price of a share of our common stock, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on May 9, 2022, was $3.11 per share.

Tax Limitations on ISOs. The aggregate fair market value, determined at the time of grant, of our common stock with respect to ISOs that are exercisable for the first time by an award holder during any calendar year under all of our stock plans may not exceed $100,000. Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit will generally be treated as NSOs. No ISO may be granted to any person who, at the time of the grant, owns or is deemed to own stock possessing more than 10% of our total combined voting power or that of any of our parent or subsidiary corporations unless (1) the option exercise price is at least 110% of the fair market value of the stock subject to the option on the date of grant and (2) the term of the ISO does not exceed five years from the date of grant.

SARs. Our 2022 Plan allows for the grant of SARs pursuant to SAR agreements adopted by the plan administrator. The plan administrator will determine the purchase price or strike price for a SAR, which generally will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. A SAR granted under our 2022 Plan will vest at the rate specified in the SAR agreement as determined by the

plan administrator. SARs may be settled in cash or shares of common stock or in any other form of payment as determined by our Board and specified in the SAR agreement.

The plan administrator will determine the term of SARs granted under our 2022 Plan, up to a maximum of 10 years. If a participant’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases for any reason other than cause, disability or death, the participant may generally exercise any vested SAR for a period of three months following the cessation of service. This period may be further extended in the event that exercise of the SAR following such a termination of service is prohibited by applicable securities laws. If a participant’s service relationship with us, or any of our affiliates, ceases due to disability or death, or a participant dies within a certain period following cessation of service, the participant or a beneficiary may generally exercise any vested SAR for a period of 12 months in the event of disability and 18 months in the event of death. In the event of a termination for cause, SARs generally terminate immediately upon the occurrence of the event giving rise to the termination of the individual for cause. In no event may a SAR be exercised beyond the expiration of its term.

Restricted Stock Awards. Our 2022 Plan allows for the grant of restricted stock awards pursuant to restricted stock award agreements adopted by the plan administrator. A restricted stock award may be awarded in consideration for cash, check, bank draft or money order, past or future services to us or any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to our Board and permissible under applicable law. The plan administrator will determine the terms and conditions of restricted stock awards, including vesting and forfeiture terms. If a participant’s service relationship with us ends for any reason, we may receive any or all of the shares of common stock held by the participant that have not vested as of the date the participant terminates service with us through a forfeiture condition or a repurchase right.

RSU Awards. Our 2022 Plan allows for the grant of RSU awards pursuant to RSU award agreements adopted by the plan administrator. RSU awards may be granted in consideration for any form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to our Board and permissible under applicable law. An RSU award may be settled by cash, delivery of stock, a combination of cash and stock as deemed appropriate by the plan administrator or in any other form of consideration set forth in the RSU award agreement. Additionally, dividend equivalents may be credited in respect of shares covered by an RSU award. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement or other written agreement between us and the recipient approved by the plan administrator, RSU awards that have not vested will be forfeited once the participant’s continuous service ends for any reason.

Performance Awards. Our 2022 Plan will permit the grant of performance awards that may be settled in stock, cash, or other property. Performance awards may be structured so that the stock or cash will be issued or paid only following the achievement of certain pre-established performance goals during a designated performance period. Performance awards that are settled in cash or other property are not required to be valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, the common stock.

The performance goals may be based on anyone of, or combination of, the following as determined by the plan administrator: earnings (including earnings per share and net earnings); earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; total stockholder return; return on equity or average stockholder’s equity; return on assets, investment, or capital employed; stock price; margin (including gross margin); income (before or after taxes); operating income; operating income after taxes; pre-tax profit; operating cash flow; sales or revenue targets; increases in revenue or product revenue; expenses and cost reduction goals; improvement in or attainment of working capital levels; economic value added (or an equivalent metric); market share; cash flow; cash flow per share; share price performance; debt reduction; customer satisfaction; stockholders’ equity; capital expenditures; debt levels; operating profit or net operating profit; workforce diversity; growth of net income or operating income; billings; financing; regulatory milestones; stockholder liquidity; corporate governance and compliance; intellectual property; personnel matters; progress of internal research; progress of partnered programs; partner satisfaction; budget management; partner or collaborator achievements; internal controls, including those related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; investor relations, analysts and communication; implementation or completion of projects or processes; employee retention; number of users, including unique users; strategic partnerships or transactions (including in-licensing and out-licensing of intellectual property); establishing relationships with respect to the marketing, distribution and sale of the Company’s products; supply chain achievements; co-development, co-marketing, profit sharing, joint venture or

other similar arrangements; individual performance goals; corporate development and planning goals; and other measures of performance selected by the plan administrator. The performance goals may be based on company-wide performance or performance of one or more business units, divisions, affiliates, or business segments, and may be either absolute or relative to the performance of one or more comparable companies or the performance of one or more relevant indices. Unless specified otherwise by the Board at the time the performance award is granted, the Board will appropriately make adjustments in the method of calculating the attainment of performance goals as follows: (1) to exclude restructuring and/or other nonrecurring charges; (2) to exclude exchange rate effects; (3) to exclude the effects of changes to GAAP; (4) to exclude the effects of any statutory adjustments to corporate tax rates; (5) to exclude the effects of items that are “unusual” in nature or occur “infrequently” as determined under GAAP; (6) to exclude the dilutive effects of acquisitions or joint ventures; (7) to assume that any portion of our business which is divested achieved performance objectives at targeted levels during the balance of a performance period following such divestiture; (8) to exclude the effect of any change in the outstanding shares of our common stock by reason of any stock dividend or split, stock repurchase, reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination or exchange of shares or other similar corporate change or any distributions to common stockholders other than regular cash dividends; (9) to exclude the effects of stock based compensation and the award of bonuses under our bonus plans; (10) to exclude costs incurred in connection with potential acquisitions or divestitures that are required to be expensed under GAAP; and (11) to exclude the goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges that are required to be recorded under GAAP.

Other Stock Awards. The plan administrator will be permitted to grant other awards based in whole or in part by reference to our common stock. The plan administrator will set the number of shares under the stock award (or cash equivalent) and all other terms and conditions of such awards.

Changes to Capital Structure. In the event there is a specified type of change in our capital structure, such as a stock split, reverse stock split or recapitalization, appropriate adjustments will be made to (1) the class and maximum number of shares reserved for issuance under our 2022 Plan, (2) the class and maximum number of shares by which the share reserve may increase automatically each year, (3) the class and maximum number of shares that may be issued on the exercise of ISOs and (4) the class and number of shares and exercise price, strike price or purchase price, if applicable, of all outstanding stock awards.

Corporate Transactions. In the event of a corporate transaction, unless otherwise provided in a participant’s stock award agreement or other written agreement with us or one of our affiliates or unless otherwise expressly provided by the plan administrator at the time of grant, any stock awards outstanding under our 2022 Plan may be assumed, continued or substituted for by any surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company), and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by us with respect to the stock award may be assigned to the successor (or its parent company). If the surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume, continue or substitute for such stock awards, then (1) with respect to any such stock awards that are held by participants whose continuous service has not terminated prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, or current participants, the vesting (and exercisability, if applicable) of such stock awards will be accelerated in full to a date prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction (contingent upon the effectiveness of the corporate transaction), with any such stock awards that are subject to performance-vesting requirements being deemed earned at 100% of target, and such stock awards will terminate if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by us with respect to such stock awards will lapse (contingent upon the effectiveness of the corporate transaction), and (2) any such stock awards that are held by persons other than current participants will terminate if not exercised (if applicable) prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, except that any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by us with respect to such stock awards will not terminate and may continue to be exercised notwithstanding the corporate transaction.

In the event a stock award will terminate if not exercised prior to the effective time of a corporate transaction, the plan administrator may provide, in its sole discretion, that the holder of such stock award may not exercise such stock award but instead will receive a payment equal in value to the excess (if any) of (1) the per share amount payable to holders of common stock in connection with the corporate transaction, over (2) any per share exercise price payable by such holder, if applicable. In addition, any escrow, holdback, earn out or similar provisions in the definitive agreement for the corporate transaction may apply to such payment to the same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply to the holders of common stock.

Under our 2022 Plan, a corporate transaction is generally defined as the consummation of: (1) a sale of all or substantially all of our assets, (2) the sale or disposition of at least 50% of our outstanding securities, (3) a merger or consolidation where we do not survive the transaction or (4) a merger or consolidation where we do survive the transaction but the shares of our common stock outstanding immediately before such transaction are converted or exchanged into other property by virtue of the transaction.

Change in Control. Awards granted under our 2022 Plan may be subject to acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon or after a change in control as may be provided in the applicable stock award agreement or in any other written agreement between us or any affiliate and the participant, but in the absence of such provision, no such acceleration will automatically occur.

Under our 2022 Plan, a change in control is generally defined as: (1) the acquisition by any person or company of more than 50% of the combined voting power of our then outstanding stock; (2) a consummated merger, consolidation or similar transaction in which our stockholders immediately before the transaction do not own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the combined voting power of the surviving entity (or the parent of the surviving entity) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership immediately prior to such transaction; (3) a consummated sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of our assets other than to an entity more than 50% of the combined voting power of which is owned by our stockholders in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of our outstanding voting securities immediately prior to such transaction; or (4) when a majority of our Board becomes comprised of individuals who were not serving on our Board on the date our 2022 Plan was adopted by the Board, or the incumbent board, or whose nomination, appointment, or election was not approved by a majority of the incumbent board still in office.

Plan Amendment or Termination. Our Board has the authority to amend, suspend or terminate our 2022 Plan, provided that such action does not materially impair the existing rights of any participant without such participant’s written consent. Certain material amendments also require the approval of our stockholders. No ISOs may be granted after the tenth anniversary of the date our Board adopts our 2022 Plan. No stock awards may be granted under our 2022 Plan while it is suspended or after it is terminated.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a summary of the principal United States federal income tax consequences to participants and us with respect to participation in the 2022 Plan. This summary is not intended to be exhaustive and does not discuss the income tax laws of any local, state or foreign jurisdiction in which a participant may reside. The information set forth below is a summary only and does not purport to be complete. The information is based upon current federal income tax rules and therefore is subject to change when those rules change. Because the tax consequences to any recipient may depend on his or her particular situation, each recipient should consult the recipient’s tax adviser regarding the federal, state, local and other tax consequences of the grant or exercise of an award or the disposition of stock acquired as a result of an award under the 2022 Plan. The 2022 Plan is not qualified under the provisions of Section 401(a) of the Code and is not subject to any of the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Our ability to realize the benefit of any tax deductions described below depends on our generation of taxable income, as well as the requirement of reasonableness, the provisions and limitations of Section 162(m) of the Code and the satisfaction of our tax reporting obligations. Section 162(m) of the Code generally limits the deductible amount of total annual compensation paid by a public company to each “covered employee” to no more than $1 million.

NSOs. Generally, there is no taxation upon the grant of an NSO if the option is granted with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the underlying stock on the grant date. On exercise, an optionholder will recognize ordinary income equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value on the date of exercise of the stock over the exercise price. If the optionholder is employed by us or one of our affiliates, that income will be subject to withholding tax. The optionholder’s tax basis in those shares will be equal to their fair market value on the date of exercise of the option, and the optionholder’s capital gain holding period for those shares will begin on that date. We will generally be entitled to a tax deduction equal to the taxable ordinary income realized by the optionholder.

Incentive Stock Options. The 2022 Plan provides for the grant of stock options that are intended to qualify as “incentive stock options,” as defined in Section 422 of the Code. Under the Code, an optionholder generally is not subject to ordinary income tax upon the grant or exercise of an ISO. If the optionholder holds a share received on exercise of an ISO for more than two years from the date the option was granted and more than one year from the date the option was exercised, which is referred to as the required holding period, the difference, if any, between the amount realized on a sale or other taxable disposition of that share and the holder’s tax basis in that share will be a long-term capital gain or loss.

If, however, an optionholder disposes of a share acquired on exercise of an ISO before the end of the required holding period, which is referred to as a disqualifying disposition, the optionholder generally will recognize ordinary income in the year of the disqualifying disposition equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the share on the date the ISO was exercised over the exercise price. However, if the sales proceeds are less than the fair market value of the share on the date of exercise of the stock option, the amount of ordinary income recognized by the optionholder will not exceed the gain, if any, realized on the sale. If the amount realized on a disqualifying disposition exceeds the fair market value of the share on the date of exercise of the stock option, that excess will be a short-term or long-term capital gain, depending on whether the holding period for the share exceeds one year.

For purposes of the alternative minimum tax, the amount by which the fair market value of a share of stock acquired on exercise of an ISO exceeds the exercise price of the stock option generally will be an adjustment included in the optionholder’s alternative minimum taxable income for the year in which the option is exercised. If, however, there is a disqualifying disposition of the share in the year in which the stock option is exercised, there will be no adjustment for alternative minimum tax purposes with respect to that share. In computing alternative minimum taxable income, the tax basis of a share acquired on exercise of an ISO is increased by the amount of the adjustment taken into account with respect to that share for alternative minimum tax purposes in the year the option is exercised.

We are not allowed an income tax deduction with respect to the grant or exercise of an ISO or the disposition of a share acquired on exercise of an ISO after the required holding period. If there is a disqualifying disposition of a share, however, we are allowed a deduction in an amount equal to the ordinary income includible in income by the optionholder, provided that either the employee includes that amount in income or we timely satisfy our reporting requirements with respect to that amount.

SARs. Generally, if a SAR is granted with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the underlying stock on the date of grant, the recipient will recognize ordinary income equal to the fair market value of stock or cash received upon such exercise. If the recipient is employed by us or one of our affiliates, that income will be subject to withholding taxes. We will generally be entitled to an income tax deduction equal to the amount of ordinary income realized by the recipient of the SAR.

Restricted Stock Awards. Generally, the recipient of a restricted stock award will recognize ordinary income at the time the stock is received equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock received over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the stock. If, however, the stock is not vested when it is received (for example, if the employee is required to work for a period of time in order to have the right to sell the stock), the recipient generally will not recognize income until the stock becomes vested, at which time the recipient will recognize ordinary income equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock on the date it becomes vested over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the stock. A recipient may, however, file an election with the Internal Revenue Service, within 30 days after his or her receipt of the stock award, to recognize ordinary income, as of the date the recipient receives the award, equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock on the date the award is granted over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the stock. The recipient’s basis for the determination of gain or loss upon the subsequent disposition of shares acquired from stock awards will be the amount paid for such shares plus any ordinary income recognized either when the stock is received or when the stock becomes vested. We will generally be entitled to a tax deduction equal to the taxable ordinary income realized by the recipient of the stock award.

RSUs. Generally, the recipient of an RSU award structured to conform to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code or an exception to Section 409A of the Code will recognize ordinary income at the time the shares are delivered to the participant in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market

value of the shares received over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the shares. If an RSU award is subject to Section 409A of the Code, the shares subject to an RSU award may generally only be delivered upon one of the following events: a fixed calendar date (or dates), separation from service, death, disability, or a change in control. If delivery occurs on another date, unless the RSU awards otherwise comply with or qualify for an exception to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, in addition to the tax treatment described above, the recipient will owe an additional 20% federal tax and interest on any taxes owed. The recipient’s basis for the determination of gain or loss upon the subsequent disposition of shares acquired from an RSU award will be the amount paid, if any, for shares plus any ordinary income recognized when the stock is delivered. We will generally be entitled to an income tax deduction equal to the amount of ordinary income realized by the participant.

New Plan Benefits

The benefits and amounts that will be received by or allocated to participants under the 2022 Plan are not yet determinable because the types and amounts of awards and selection of participants are subject to the Compensation Committee’s discretion and future determination. However, please refer to the “Executive Compensation” section of this proxy statement, which provides information on the grants made to our named executive officers under the 2020 Plan in 2021, and the “Non-Employee Director Compensation” section of this proxy statement, which provides information on the grants made to our non-employee directors under the 2020 Plan in 2021.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of shares present (either in person or by proxy) and entitled to vote on the matter at the Annual Meeting will be required to approve this Proposal 3. Abstentions will be counted toward the tabulation of votes cast on proposals presented to the stockholders and will have the same effect as negative votes. Broker non-votes are counted towards a quorum but are not counted for any purpose in determining whether this Proposal 3 has been approved.

the board of directors recommends
a vote in favor of proposal 3.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table provides certain information with respect to our equity compensation plans in effect as of December 31, 2021.

Plan Category	Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (a)		Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b)		Number of securities remaining available for issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))(c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan(1)		760,216		3.25		547,920
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
2021 Inducement Plan(2)		400,000		4.24		600,000

(1)

On September 24, 2020, the Board of Directors adopted the 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, or the 2020 Plan. The maximum number of shares to be issued under the 2020 Plan is 1,310,000. The exercise price for a stock option awarded under the 2020 Plan shall not be less than the fair market value of our common stock on the date of the grant.

(2)

On December 23, 2021, to facilitate inducement awards to new hires under Nasdaq Listing

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table identifies certain information about our executive officers as of April 29, 2022. Our executive officers are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, our Board.

Name	Age	Principal Position
Eric I. Richman	61	Chief Executive Officer and Director
Matthias Alder	57	Chief Operating Officer
Salvatore Calabrese	52	Chief Financial Officer

Eric I. Richman Biographical information for Mr. Richman is included above with the director biographies under the caption “Information Regarding Director Nominees and Current Directors.”

Matthias Alder has served as our Chief Operating Officer since October 2021. Prior to joining us, he served as Chief Business Officer at Autolus Therapeutics plc from 2017 to 2021. Prior to then, from 2014 to 2017, Mr. Alder held various executive management positions at Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company which was subsequently acquired by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, including executive vice president of Business Development and Licensing, and general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to 2014, Mr. Alder served as executive vice president of corporate development and legal affairs and corporate secretary at Cytos Biotechnology AG, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted immunotherapies, from 2013 to October 2014. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Alder held various executive management roles at Micromet, Inc., serving as senior vice president for administration, general counsel and secretary at the time of the acquisition of Micromet by Amgen Inc. in 2012. He was also a partner in the Life Sciences Transactions Practice at Cooley LLP from 2000 to 2006, where he represented biotech companies in strategic transactions with pharmaceutical companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Alder was in-house counsel at Ciba-Geigy and Novartis. Mr. Alder holds law degrees from the University of Basel and the University of Miami and is qualified to practice law in Switzerland and the United States.

Salvatore Calabrese has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2020. Prior to joining us, Mr. Calabrese served as the Chief Financial Officer of Molmed S.p.A., a cell & gene company, from September 2018 to September 2020. Prior to joining Molmed S.p.A, Mr. Calabrese served as General Manager and Site Leader for the Italian Operation of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from 2014 to 2018. From February 2005 to August 2014, he held various positions of increasing responsibility at Gentium S.p.A., most recently holding the position of Chief Operating Officer. From December 2003 until February 2005, he served as Accounting and Finance Manager for Novuspharma, S.p.A., a development stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of cancer drugs and a subsidiary of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. From 1996 until 2003, Mr. Calabrese was employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers as an accountant and was a Manager in Assurance Business Advisory Services at the time of his departure. He earned a B.A. in Economics at the University of Messina and a M.S. in Accounting, Audit and Financial Control at the University of Pavia. He is also listed in the Italian National Audit Register held by the National Justice Department in the Republic of Italy.

There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Our named executive officers, consisting of our principal executive officer and the next two most highly compensated executive officers, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 were:

•

Eric I. Richman, our President and Chief Executive Officer;

•

Matthias Alder, our Chief Operating Officer; and

•

Salvatore Calabrese, our Chief Financial Officer.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table shows, for the fiscal years ended 2021 and 2020, compensation awarded to or paid to, or earned by, our named executive officers.

Summary Compensation Table

Name and Principal Position	Year		Salary ($)(1)		Bonus ($)		Stock Awards		Option Awards ($)(2)		Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)(3)		All Other Compensation ($)		Total ($)
Eric I. Richman(4) Chief Executive Officer		2021		373,458		80,000(5)		—		—		120,000		26,707(6)		600,165
Eric I. Richman(4) Chief Executive Officer		2020		131,250		30,000(7)		—		63,843		37,500(8)		14,540		277,133
Matthias Alder(9) Chief Operating Officer								0(10)
Matthias Alder(9) Chief Operating Officer		2021		83,333		—		—		848,826		21,875(11)		—		954,034
Salvatore Calabrese Chief Financial Officer		2021		268,000(12)		40,000(13)		—		—		37,389		—		345,389
Salvatore Calabrese Chief Financial Officer		2020		41,810		21,095(14)		—		202,253		25,086(15)		29,116(16)		319,360

(1)

Salary amounts represent actual amounts earned during the periods presented. See “— Narrative to the Summary Compensation Table-Annual Base Salary” below.

(2)

In accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the option awards granted during the periods presented computed in accordance with ASC 718 for stock-based compensation transactions. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. These amounts do not reflect the actual economic value that will be realized by the named executive officer upon the vesting of the options, the exercise of the options or the sale of shares of common stock underlying such options.

(3)

Reflects performance-based cash bonuses awarded to our named executive officers during the periods presented. See “— Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” below for a description of the material terms of the program pursuant to which this compensation was awarded.

(4)

Mr. Richman was appointed our Chief Executive Officer in July 2020. He also serves as a member of our board of directors but does not receive any additional compensation for his service as a director.

(5)

Represents a one-time bonus payment in the amount of $80,000 awarded in April 2021 in recognition of the successful completion of our initial public offering.

(6)

Represents reimbursement of medical, dental and vision benefits.

(7)

Represents a one-time signing bonus payment in the amount of $30,000.

(8)

Mr. Richman’s bonus payment was pro-rated for the portion of fiscal year 2020 which he was employed by us.

(9)

Mr. Alder commenced employment with us on October 15, 2021.

(10)

Partner” (as such term is defined in his employment agreement), and (b) a resulting extension of our cash runway by one year or more with one or more transactions; and (ii) the second tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will vest upon the initiation (which we define as the dosing of a first patient) of a Phase 1b clinical trial conducted in the United States. The grant date fair value for this award was determined to be $0 under ASC 718 based upon a determination that, as of the grant date, it was not probable that the performance conditions will be achieved.

(11)

Mr. Alder’s bonus payment was pro-rated for the portion of fiscal year 2021 which he was employed by us.

(12)

Mr. Calabrese’s 2021 annual compensation was €226,600 which for reporting purposes has been converted into U.S. dollars at the 2021 average exchange rate of $1.18.

(13)

Represents a one-time bonus payment in the amount of $40,000 awarded in April 2021 in recognition of the successful completion of our initial public offering.

(14)

Represents a one-time signing bonus of €18,500 ($21,095), which for reporting purposes was converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of $1.14.

(15)

Mr. Calabrese’s bonus payment of €22,000 ($25,086) was pro-rated for the portion of fiscal year 2020 which he was employed by us, and for reporting purposes was converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of $1.14.

(16)

Amount reflects consulting fees paid to Mr. Calabrese prior to his appointment as our Chief Financial Officer in November 2020.

Narrative To Summary Compensation Table

Our Board of Directors reviews compensation annually for all employees, including our named executive officers. In setting executive base salaries and bonuses and granting equity incentive awards, we consider compensation for comparable positions in the market, the historical compensation levels of our executives, individual performance as compared to our expectations and objectives, our desire to motivate our employees to achieve short- and long-term results that are in the best interests of our stockholders and a long-term commitment to our company.

Our Board of Directors has historically determined the compensation of our executives, upon recommendation of the compensation committee. The compensation committee has reviewed and recommended to the board for approval the compensation and other terms of employment of our Chief Executive Officer, and evaluates the Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of relevant corporate goals and objectives. Our Chief Executive Officer has typically discussed his recommendations for all other executives (other than himself) with the compensation committee and the board. Based on those discussions and its discretion, the Compensation Committee has recommended the compensation of each executive officer to the board, and the Board has then approved.

Annual Base Salary

The annual base salaries of our named executive officers are generally reviewed, determined and approved by the Board periodically upon the recommendation of the compensation committee in order to compensate our named executive officers for the satisfactory performance of duties to our company. Annual base salaries are intended to provide a fixed component of compensation to our named executive officers, reflecting their skill sets, experience, roles and responsibilities. Base salaries for our named executive officers have generally been set at levels deemed necessary to attract and retain individuals with superior talent.

The following table sets forth the annual base salaries for each of our named executive officers for 2021 and 2022, as determined by the Board upon the recommendation of the compensation committee:

Name	2021 Base Salary ($)		2022 Base Salary ($)
Eric I. Richman		400,000(1)		420,000(2)
Matthias Alder		400,000		420,000
Salvatore Calabrese		268,000(3)		281,400(4)

(1)

Mr. Richman’s base salary is pro-rated from an annual base salary of $500,000 for his 80% work schedule.

(2)

Mr. Richman’s base salary is pro-rated from an annual base salary of $525,000 for his 80% work schedule.

(3)

Mr. Calabrese’s 2021 base salary was set at €226,600, which for reporting purposes has been converted into U.S. dollars at the 2021 average exchange rate of $1.1827.

(4)

Mr. Calabrese’s 2022 base salary was increased by 5% to €237,930. Assuming the 2021 average exchange rate of $1.1827, Mr. Calabrese’s 2022 base salary would be equivalent to $281,400.

Bonus

In April 2021, Mr. Richman and Mr. Calabrese were awarded one-time, discretionary bonus payments of $80,000 and $40,000, respectively, in recognition of the successful completion of our initial public offering.

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation

In accordance with the terms of their respective employment agreements, our named executive officers are eligible to receive discretionary annual bonuses of up to a percentage of each executive’s gross base salary based on individual performance, company performance or as otherwise determined appropriate, as determined by the Compensation Committee.

Name	2021 Bonus Target (%)		2022 Bonus Target (%)
Eric I. Richman		40		50
Matthias Alder		35		40
Salvatore Calabrese		30		35

In April 2022, the Compensation Committee completed an evaluation of our overall performance for 2021 and the named executive officers’ respective contributions in achieving this performance. The Compensation Committee’s review was based on company performance against corporate objectives previously approved by the Board. Following such review, the Compensation Committee determined that the corporate performance objectives were achieved at approximately the 50% achievement level. The Compensation Committee also determined that Mr. Richman had earned 75% of his target bonus for 2021 based on additional achievements and his overall performance, equal to a bonus of $120,000; Mr. Alder had earned 75% of his target bonus for 2021 based on additional achievements and his overall performance, equal to a bonus of $21,875 which was pro-rated for the portion of 2021 which he was employed by us; and Mr. Calabrese had earned 50% of his target bonus for 2021, equal to a bonus of $37,389.

Equity-Based Incentive Awards

Our equity-based incentive awards granted to our named executive officers are designed to align our interests and those of our stockholders with those of our employees and consultants, including our executive officers.

Historically, we have used stock options as an incentive for long-term compensation to our executive officers because the options allow our executive officers to profit from this form of equity compensation only if our stock price increases relative to the option’s exercise price, which exercise price is set at the fair market value of our shares of common stock on the date of grant. However, in December 2021, our Board granted a performance-based restricted stock unit award to Mr. Alder, the vesting of which is based on the achievement of the following milestones: (i) the first tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will vest upon (a) the closing of an exclusive license deal for one or more Company pipeline programs and/or research, development and commercialization of a collaboration deal with a “Validating Industry Partner” (as such term is defined in his employment agreement), and (b) a resulting extension of our cash runway by one year or more with one or more transactions; and (ii) the second tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will

vest upon the initiation (which we define as the dosing of a first patient) of a Phase 1b clinical trial conducted in the United States. We may consider using restricted stock unit awards again in the future as long-term incentives for our executive officers, in combination with or without stock option awards.

Vesting of equity awards is generally tied to each officer’s continuous service with us and serves as an additional retention measure. We may grant equity awards at such times as our Board or Compensation Committee determines appropriate. Our executives generally are awarded an initial grant in the form of an option in connection with their commencement of employment with us. Additional grants may occur periodically in order to specifically incentivize executives with respect to achieving certain corporate goals or to reward executives for exceptional performance.

All options are granted with an exercise price per share that is no less than the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant of such award. Our option awards generally vest over a four-year period and may be subject to acceleration of vesting and exercisability under certain termination and change in control events. See “— Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End for further information regarding option and stock awards granted during fiscal 2021.”

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

The following table sets forth certain information regarding outstanding equity awards granted to our named executive officers that remain outstanding as of December 31, 2021.

	Option Awards												Stock Awards
Name	Grant Date		Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable		Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable		Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Unearned Options (#)		Option Exercise Price ($)		Option Expiration Date		Equity Incentive Plan Awards; Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (#)		Equity Incentive Plan Awards; Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights that Have Not Vested ($)
Eric I. Richman Chief Executive Officer		12/15/20		10,007		16,417(3)		—		3.38		12/15/2030		—		—
Matthias Alder Chief Operating Officer		12/23/21		0		200,000(4)		—		5.86		12/23/2031		—		—
Matthias Alder Chief Operating Officer		12/23/21		—		—		—		—		—		200,000(5)		1,086,000
Salvatore Calabrese Chief Financial Officer		9/25/20		34,870		48,804(6)		—		3.38		9/25/2030		—		—

(1)

All of the awards in this table granted to Mr. Richman and Mr. Calabrese were granted under the Gain Therapeutics Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, or the 2020 Plan. In December 2021, the Board amended the 2020 Plan to reserve an additional 1,000,000 shares of our common stock to be used for grants to individuals who were not previously employees of the Company, which we refer to as the “2021 Inducement Award Subplan.” The awards granted to Mr. Alder were granted under the 2021 Inducement Award Subplan to the 2020 Plan.

(2)

All of the option awards listed in the table with a grant date up to March 17, 2021 were granted with an exercise price per share that is no less than the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant of such award, as determined in good faith by our Board. All of the option awards granted as of March 17, 2021 onwards are granted with an exercise price per share that is the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant.

(3)

One-third of the shares underlying this award vested on December 15, 2021, and the remaining shares vested in 24 equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to officer’s continued service through each vesting date.

(4)

Twenty-five percent of the common stock subject to this award shall vest on October 15, 2022, and the remaining shares vested in 36 equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to the officer’s continued service through each vesting date.

(5)

The performance-based restricted stock unit award granted to Mr. Alder in December 2021 will vest upon the achievement of the following milestones: (i) the first tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will vest upon (a) the closing of an exclusive license deal for one or more Company pipeline programs and/or research, development and commercialization of a collaboration deal with a “Validating Industry Partner” (as such term is defined in his employment agreement), and (b) a resulting extension of our cash runway by one year or more with one or more transactions; and (ii) the second tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will vest upon the initiation (which we define as the dosing of a first patient) of a Phase 1b clinical trial conducted in the United States. The grant date fair value for this award was determined to be $0 under ASC 718 based upon a determination that as of the grant date, it was not probable that the performance conditions will be achieved. The maximum potential fair value as of December 31, 2021 for the performance-based restricted stock unit award, based on achieving the maximum level of performance under the award as of the grant date, was calculated to be $1,086,000, using the closing price of our common stock on December 31, 2021 ($5.43).

(6)

One-third of the shares underlying this award vested on September 25, 2021, and the remaining shares vested in 24 equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to officer’s continued service through each vesting date.

Health and Welfare and Retirement Benefits

Our named executive officers are eligible to participate in benefits available generally to salaried employees, such as participation in our 401(k) plan in the United States, paid time off, and holiday, in each case on the same basis as our other employees.

The Compensation Committee periodically reviews the levels of benefits provided to executive officers to ensure that they remain reasonable and consistent with its compensation philosophy. Our Board may elect to adopt qualified or nonqualified benefit plans in the future, if it determines that doing so is in our best interests.

Perquisites

We generally do not provide significant perquisites or personal benefits to our named executive officers.

Employment Agreements and Severance Benefits

We provide certain of our named executive officers with certain severance protections in their employment agreements in order to attract and retain an appropriate caliber of talent for such positions. Our employment agreements with the named executive officers and the severance provisions set forth therein are summarized below under “— Employment Arrangements with our Named Executive Officers” and “— Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination or Change in Control.” Our compensation committee intends to periodically review the level of the benefits in these agreements

Employment Arrangements with our Named Executive Officers

We have entered into employment agreements with each of our named executive officers. The agreements set forth the terms and conditions of each executive’s employment with us, including base salary, bonus opportunity and eligibility for employee benefits. Additionally, either in their employment agreements or the ancillary agreements thereunder, the named executive officers have certain continuing obligations set forth in certain non-solicitation and non-competition provisions. Our agreements with Mr. Alder and Mr. Calabrese set forth certain severance benefits upon a qualifying termination of employment. Any potential payments and benefits due upon a qualifying termination of employment or a change in control are further described below under “— Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination or Change in Control.”

The employment of each of our named executive officers may be terminated at any time in accordance with the terms of the respective agreements. In addition, each of our named executive officers has executed

a form of our standard proprietary information and inventions agreement. The material terms of each agreement are described below.

Eric I. Richman

We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Richman in July 2020 in connection with his appointment as our President and Chief Executive Officer for a two-year term. He will devote approximately 80% of his time to the affairs of the Company. Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Richman was initially eligible to receive an annual base salary of $300,000 and a signing bonus of $30,000, which was paid in July 2020. He is also eligible to receive an annual performance incentive bonus subject to review and adjustment each year by the Board, and for additional equity awards under our equity compensation plans, as may be granted from time to time. In April 2021, his annual base salary was increased to $400,000. As of January 1, 2022, Mr. Richman’s base salary was increased to $420,000 (pro-rated from an annual base salary of $525,000 for his 80% work schedule), with an annual target bonus set at 50% of his annual base salary, subject to review and adjustment each year by the Board.

Matthias Alder

We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Alder in October 2021 in connection with his employment as our Chief Operating Officer. Under his employment agreement, Mr. Alder was eligible to receive an initial annual base salary of $400,000 as may be adjusted from time to time by the Compensation Committee of the Board. As of January 1, 2022, Mr. Alder’s base salary was increased to $420,000. He is also eligible to receive an annual performance incentive bonus with a target amount in 2022 set at 40% of his annual base salary and, in certain termination scenarios, certain severance benefits, as described below under “— Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination or Change of Control.”

Under the employment agreement, in December 2021, we granted Mr. Alder an option to acquire 200,000 shares of common stock pursuant to the 2020 Plan, with an exercise price of $5.86, as described in “— Outstanding Equity Awards as of December 31, 2021” above. We also granted Mr. Alder a performance-based restricted stock unit award to acquire up to 200,000 shares of common stock which will vest in two tranches upon the achievement of the following milestones: (i) the first tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will vest upon (a) the closing of an exclusive license deal for one or more Company pipeline programs and/or research, development and commercialization of a collaboration deal with a “Validating Industry Partner” (as such term is defined in his employment agreement), and (b) a resulting extension of our cash runway by one year or more with one or more transactions; and (ii) the second tranche of 100,000 restricted stock units will vest upon the initiation (which we define as the dosing of a first patient) of a Phase 1b clinical trial conducted in the United States or any clinical efficacy study dosing under a United States Food & Drug Administration Investigational New Drug Application. Mr. Alder is also eligible for additional equity awards under our equity compensation plans, as may be granted from time to time.

Salvatore Calabrese

We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Calabrese in November 2020 in connection with his employment as our Chief Financial Officer. Under his employment agreement, which is with our subsidiary GT Gain Therapeutics SA, Mr. Calabrese was eligible to receive an initial annual base salary of €226,600 ($268,000, converted into U.S. dollars using the 2021 average foreign exchange rate of 1.1827) and a signing bonus of €18,500. Mr. Calabrese is also eligible to receive an annual bonus with a target amount in 2022 equal to 35% of his annual base salary and certain severance benefits, as described below under “— Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination or Change of Control.” As of January 1, 2022, Mr. Calabrese’s base salary was increased by 5% to €237,930. Assuming the 2021 average exchange rate of $1.1827, Mr. Calabrese’s 2022 base salary would be equivalent to $281,400.

Mr. Calabrese is also eligible for additional equity awards under our equity compensation plans, as may be granted from time to time. Under his employment agreement, we also agreed to grant Mr. Calabrese a certain amount of equity representing 1% of our share capital, with anti-dilution protection in the event our share capital increases such Mr. Calabrese shall retain at least 1% of our fully-diluted ownership. On

September 25, 2020, we granted Mr. Calabrese an initial option to acquire 83,674 shares of common stock pursuant to the 2020 Plan, with an exercise price of $3.37, as described in “— Outstanding Equity Awards as of December 31, 2021” above.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

Our named executive officers, other than Mr. Richman, are entitled to any severance benefits upon a termination of employment.

Matthias Alder

Mr. Alder’s employment is at-will. In the event of termination of Mr. Alder’s employment by us without “Cause”, by Mr. Alder with “Good Reason” or Mr. Alder’s employment terminates upon death or his “Disability” (as such terms are defined in Mr. Alder’s employment agreement), he would be eligible to receive cash severance equal to twelve (12) months of base salary, or if within three (3) months prior to twenty-four (24) months following a “Change of Control” of the company (as such term is defined in Mr. Alder’s employment agreement), Mr. Alder’s severance period would be increased to twenty four (24) months from the date of termination. As an additional component of severance, Mr. Alder is also eligible to receive an annual cash bonus equal to his pro-rated annual target bonus opportunity for the year in which the termination of employment occurs, or upon a “Change of Control,” Mr. Alder would be eligible to receive (i) an annual cash bonus equal to his pro-rated annual target bonus opportunity for the year in which the termination of employment occurs, and (ii) an annual cash bonus equal to his annual target bonus opportunity that would accrue during the severance (i.e. the year following in which the termination of employment occurs). In addition, if Mr. Alder timely elects to receive continued coverage under our group health care plan pursuant to COBRA, then he will be eligible to receive payment of the employee portion of his COBRA premiums until the earlier of (x) the applicable severance period (i.e. twelve (12) months or twenty four (24) months depending on whether the qualifying termination occurred during the Change in Control period) or (y) the date he obtains or becomes eligible for health care coverage from a new employer or otherwise.

Salvatore Calabrese

Under the terms of our employment agreement with Mr. Calabrese, Mr. Calabrese’s employment is terminable by us or Mr. Calabrese upon six months’ written notice. If Mr. Calabrese’s employment is terminated within 24 months following a “Change in Control” either by us without “Cause” or by Mr. Calabrese’s resignation within 24 months following a change in control for “Good Reason” (each term as defined in his employment agreement), Mr. Calabrese is eligible to severance pay equal to the sum of (i) two times his base salary, plus (ii) two times the greater of (x) the average of the bonuses received in the three years prior to his separation date or (y) the target bonus for the year of Mr. Calabrese’s termination, plus (iii) a pro-rated target bonus for the year of Mr. Calabrese’s termination. In addition, all unvested stock options will fully vest and be exercisable for 90 days following Mr. Calabrese’s termination. Mr. Calabrese would also be eligible to reimbursement of any legal expenses incurred in the course of enforcing such payments. Severance is in lieu of any notice pay, and is contingent on Mr. Calabrese’s execution of a waiver and release in a form established by us. Mr. Calabrese’s employment agreement is governed by Swiss law.

Non-Employee Director Compensation

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned by or paid to our non-employee directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Mr. Richman, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is also a member of our board of directors but does not receive any additional compensation for his service as a director.

Name	Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($)		Option Awards ($)(1)		Total ($)
Khalid Islam, Ph.D.		60,000		93,500		153,500
Dov Goldstein, M.D.		47,000		70,647		117,647
Hans Peter Hasler		41,000		70,647		111,647
Gwen Melincoff		35,000		70,647		105,647
Claude Nicaise, M.D.		40,000		70,647		110,647
Jeffrey Riley		43,000		70,647		113,647

(1)

In accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the option awards granted during the periods presented computed in accordance with ASC 718 for stock-based compensation transactions. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. These amounts do not reflect the actual economic value that will be realized by the director upon the vesting of the options, the exercise of the options or the sale of the shares of common stock underlying such options.

(2)

The following table provides information regarding the number of shares of common stock underlying options granted to our non-employee directors that were outstanding as of December 31, 2021:

Name	Option Awards Outstanding at Year-End (#)
Khalid Islam, Ph.D.		32,770
Dov Goldstein, M.D.		19,558
Hans Peter Hasler		19,558
Gwen Melincoff		19,558
Claude Nicaise, M.D.		19,558
Jeffrey Riley		45,982

Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy

We do not have a formal non-employee director compensation policy. Our Board intends to adopt a formal policy in the future, based upon market research and advice from our compensation consultant. We have reimbursed and will continue to reimburse all of our non-employee directors for their travel, lodging and other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with their attendance at Board and committee meetings.

Equity Compensation

On January 22, 2021, we granted an option award to purchase 8,808 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.37 to each of our non-executive directors, other than Dr. Islam. On the same date, we granted Dr. Islam an option award to purchase 22,020 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.37 in recognition of his service as our chairman. On May 10, 2021, we granted an option award to purchase 10,750 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $10.03 to each of our non-executive directors in recognition of service as a director.

These awards have one year cliff vesting, subject to the director’s continued service with us through the applicable vesting date. Notwithstanding any vesting schedule, for each non-employee director who remains in continuous service with us until immediately prior to the closing of a change in control, the shares subject to his or her then-outstanding equity awards that were granted pursuant to directors as director compensation will become fully vested immediately prior to the closing of such change in control.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the ownership of our common stock as of March 31, 2022 by:

•

each of our named executive officers;

•

each of our directors;

•

all of our executive officers and directors as a group; and

•

each person or entity known by us to be beneficial owners of more than five percent of our common stock.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe, based on information furnished to us, that the persons and entities named in the table below have sole voting and sole investment power with respect to all shares that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws.

Applicable percentage ownership is based on 11,883,368 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2022. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of such person, we deemed to be outstanding all shares subject to options held by the person that are currently exercisable, or exercisable or would vest based on service-based vesting conditions within 60 days of March 31, 2022. However, except as described above, we did not deem such shares outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

Unless otherwise indicated, the address for each beneficial owner listed in the table below is c/o Gain Therapeutics, Inc., 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

	Beneficial Ownership(1)
Name of Beneficial Owner	Number of Shares		Percent of Total
5% of Greater Stockholders:
Shawn Milmore Titcomb(2)		729,737		6.1%
TiVenture S.A.(3)		854,572		7.2
1MM & 1PP AG(4)		880,784		7.4
Named Executive Officers:
Eric I. Richman(5)		230,247		1.9
Matthias Alder		—		*
Sal Calabrese		46,490		*
Directors:
Khalid Islam(6)		913,554		7.7
Dov Goldstein		19,558		*
Hans Peter Hasler		19,558		*
Gwen Melincoff		19,558		*
Claude Nicaise		19,558		*
Jeffrey Riley		34,238		*
All executive officers and directors as a group (9 persons)(7)		1,302,761		11%

Less than one percent.

(1)

This table is based upon information supplied by officers, directors and principal shareholders and Schedules 13D and 13G filed with the SEC. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property laws where applicable, we believe that each of the stockholders named in this table has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated as

beneficially owned. Applicable percentages are based on 11,883,368 shares outstanding on March 31, 2022, adjusted as required by rules promulgated by the SEC.

(2)

Consists of 729,737 shares of common stock held by Shawn Milemore Titcomb, of which 14,829 shares are wholly owned by the Shawn Milemore Titcomb Revocable Trust, over which Mr. Titcomb is the trustee. The address of Shawn Milemore Titcomb is c/o Allele Capital Ptners LLC, 900 N Federal Highway, Suite 400, Boca Raton, FL 33432.

(3)

The directors of TiVenture S.A. are Renato Boldini, Sergio Magistri, Fabio Selmoni. Each of these individuals may be deemed to share voting and dispositive power with regard to the common stock directly held by TiVenture S.A. The address for each of these individuals and TiVenture S.A. is c/o Via Pietro Peri 9D, 69100 Lugano, Switzerland.

(4)

Consists of shares of our common stock held by 1 MM & 1 PP AG. Dr. Islam, a member of our Board of Directors, is the ultimate shareholder of 1 MM & 1 PP AG. Dr. Islam has the power to vote, acquire, hold and dispose of the shares held by 1 MM & 1 PP AG. The address for 1 MM & 1 PP AG and Khalid Islam is c/o Financial Consulting & Accounting Group GmbH, Flurstrasse 1. Hagendorn, Switzerland 6332.

(5)

Consists of (a) 201,991 shares of common stock held by Mr. Richman, (b) 13,427 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Mr. Richman that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2022, and (c) 14,829 shares of common stock held by the Eric I Richman Living Trust. Mr. Richman is the trustee for the Eric I Richman Living Trust and has sole voting and investment power over the shares held by the Eric I Richman Living Trust.

(6)

Consists of (a) 880,784 shares of common stock held by 1 MM & 1 PP AG, of with Dr. Islam is the ultimate shareholder, and (b) 32,770 shares of common stock held by Dr. Islam in his individual name.

(7)

Consists of (a) 1,097,604 shares of common stock held by our directors and executive officers, and (b) 205,157 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to our directors and executive officers that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2022.

Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers, and persons who own more than ten percent of a registered class of our equity securities, to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of common stock and other equity securities of the Company. Officers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.

To our knowledge, based solely on a review of the copies of such reports filed on the SEC’s EDGAR system and written representations that no other reports were required, during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to our officers, directors, and greater than ten percent beneficial owners were complied with, except that: during fiscal 2021, Mr. Richman timely reported all transactions but reported his ownership incorrectly on his initial report of ownership and a transaction by Mr. Richman was incorrectly reported on a Form 4. These errors were corrected by amending a previously filed Form 3 report and a previously filed Form 4 report.

TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS AND INDEMNIFICATION

Policies and Procedures for Related Party Transactions

In connection with our initial public offering, our Board adopted a written related-party transaction policy, setting forth the policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of transactions involving us and “related persons.” For the purposes of this policy, “related persons” will include our executive officers, directors, director nominees, and their immediate family members, and stockholders owning five percent or more of our outstanding common stock and their immediate family members. The policy covers with certain exceptions set forth in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, any transaction, arrangement, or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements, or relationships in which we were or are to be a participant, where the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and a related person has or will have a direct or indirect material interest, including, without limitation, purchases of goods or services by or from the related person or entities in which the related person has a material interest, indebtedness, guarantees of indebtedness, and employment by us of a related person. In reviewing and approving any such transactions, our audit committee is tasked to consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in an arm’s length transaction with an unrelated party and the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction. All related-party transactions may only be consummated if our audit committee has approved or ratified such transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. Any member of the audit committee who is a related person with respect to a transaction under review will not be permitted to participate in the deliberations or vote respecting approval or ratification of the transaction. However, such director may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the audit committee that considers the transaction.

All of the transactions described in this section were entered into prior to the adoption of this policy. Although we did not have a written policy for the review and approval of transactions with related persons prior to the adoption of our related party transaction policy, our board of directors has historically reviewed and approved any transaction where a director or officer had a financial interest, including the transactions described above. Prior to approving such a transaction, the material facts as to a director’s or officer’s relationship or interest in the agreement or transaction were disclosed to our board of directors. Our board of directors took this information into account when evaluating the transaction and in determining whether such transaction was fair to us and in the best interest of all our stockholders.

Certain Related Person Transactions

The following is a summary of transactions since January 1, 2020, to which we have been a participant in which:

•

the amount involved exceeded or will exceed the lesser of (i) $120,000 or (ii) 1% of the average of our total assets as of December 31, 2020 and 2021, and

•

any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of any class of our capital stock at the time of such transaction, or any members of their immediate family, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Corporate Reorganization with GT Gain Therapeutics SA

On July 20, 2020, we engaged in a series of transactions, which we refer to collectively as the “Corporate Reorganization”. Following the Corporate Reorganization, GT Gain Therapeutics SA became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. We, GT Gain Therapeutics SA, and the holders of all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of GT Gain Therapeutics SA entered into exchange agreements, dated as of July 20, 2020, pursuant to which the Corporate Reorganization was effected. Following the incorporation of the Company and prior to the Corporate Reorganization, we issued an aggregate of 1,772,736 shares of common stock at par value $0.0001.

In connection with the Corporate Reorganization, each holder of GT Gain Therapeutics SA’s equity interests contributed, transferred, granted, assigned and delivered to us all of its right, title and interest in and to all GT Gain Therapeutics SA equity interests owned by such holder which resulted in us issuing an

aggregate of 2,250,000 shares of our common stock and 1,346,390 shares of our Series A preferred stock. The common stock and Series A Preferred Stock issued in connection with the Corporate Reorganization reflects a 10:1 forward-stock split.

The Corporate Reorganization was treated as a recapitalization by us for financial reporting purposes and the historical financial statements of GT Gain Therapeutics SA, adjusted to give effect to the share exchange transaction for all periods presented, are our historical financial statements. The Corporate Reorganization was treated as a “plan of reorganization” under Section 368(a) of the Code. The exchange agreements contained customary representations and warranties and pre- and post-closing covenants of each party and customary closing conditions. A condition to the Corporate Reorganization was the simultaneous closing of the Series B Private Placement, described below.

Private Placements of Securities

Series B Private Placement

In July 2020, we sold an aggregate of 3,366,999 shares of our Series B convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $2.97 per share for an aggregate amount of $10 million. In connection with the Series B private placement, we also entered into a preferred stock purchase agreement and warrant agreement with certain investors, including beneficial owners of greater than 5% of our capital stock, members of our Board of Directors and affiliates of members of our Board, pursuant to which we issued and sold to such investors an aggregate of 33,672 shares of our Series B convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $2.97 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $100,005.84. Such purchases were made on the same terms as the shares that were sold to other investors in the Series B private placement and not pursuant to any pre-existing contractual rights or obligations. The following table summarizes purchases of our Series B convertible preferred stock and placement agent warrants by related persons:

Name	Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (#)		Aggregate Purchase Price ($)		Placement Agent Warrants (#)		Strike Price ($)
Eric I Richman Living Trust(1)		16,836		50,002.92		—		—
Shawn Milemore Titcomb(2)		16,836		50,002.92		101,599		4.46

(1)

Shawn Milemore Titcomb was a holder of more than 5% of our capital stock prior to this offering.

(2)

Mr. Richman is our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors. Mr. Richman is the trustee for the Eric I Richman Living Trust and has sole voting and investment power over the shares held by the Eric I Richman Living Trust. As such, Mr. Richman may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of such shares.

February 2020 Capital Raise

In February 2020, prior to the Corporate Reorganization, GT Gain Therapeutics SA sold 35,295 shares of Series A preferred stock, par value CHF 1.0 per share, to certain investors, including beneficial owners of greater than 5% of our capital stock, members of our Board of Directors and affiliates of members of our Board of Directors, pursuant to which we issued and sold to such investors an aggregate of 35,295 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock for aggregate gross proceeds of CHF 1,082,500 or $1,101,898. The following table summarizes purchases of our Series A convertible preferred stock by related persons:

Name	Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (#)		Aggregate Purchase Price (CHF)		Aggregate Purchase Price ($)
3B Future Health Fund S.A.(1)		18,748		575,000		585,304
VitaTech SA(2)		9,374		287,500		292,652
TiVenture SA(3)		7,173		220,000		223,942

(1)

3B Future Health Fund S.A. was a holder of more than 5% of our capital stock prior to this offering.

(2)

VitaTech SA was a holder of more than 5% of our capital stock prior to this offering.

(3)

TiVenture S.A. was a holder of more than 5% of our capital stock prior to this offering.

Investor Rights Agreement

In connection with the Corporate Reorganization and our convertible preferred stock financings, we entered into investor rights and stockholder agreements containing registration rights, information rights and rights of first refusal, among other things, with certain holders of our convertible preferred stock and certain holders of our common stock. these stockholder agreements terminated upon the closing of our initial public offering in March 2021, except for the registration rights granted under the investor rights agreement, dated as of July 20, 2020, which provides, among other things, that certain holders of our capital stock, including TiVenture SA, VitaTech SA, 3B Future Health Fund S.A. (f/k/a Helsinn Investment Fund) and Allele Capital Partners, LLC, have the right to demand that we file a registration statement or request that their shares of our capital stock be covered by a registration statement that we are otherwise filing. Lorenzo Leoni and Marianne Bjørdal, former members of our Board of Directors, are affiliated with TiVenture SA and VitaTech SA, and 3B Future Health Fund S.A. (f/k/a Helsinn Investment Fund), respectively. Eric Richman, our Chief Executive Officer and member of our Board of Directors, also has registration rights and is affiliated with Allele Capital Partners, LLC. Khalid Islam, a member of our Board of Directors, and Lorenzo Leoni, a former member of our Board of Directors, also have certain registration rights.

Agreements with Our Directors and Officers

Relationship with Minoryx

We have entered into a license agreement, dated December 20, 2017, or the Minoryx License Agreement, with Minoryx Therapeutics, S.L., a company organized under the laws of Spain, or Minoryx, pursuant to which we obtained exclusive worldwide license rights from Minoryx to use and exploit its intellectual property, including its SEE-Tx® discovery platform for the identification of non-competitive pharmacological chaperones and exclusive worldwide sublicense rights to certain IP licensed by Minoryx from the University of Barcelona and the Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats. Mr. Islam, one of our founders and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is the chairman of the board of directors of Minoryx, and as such, there may be times when there is a conflict of interest between us and Minoryx. As consideration for the license grant under the Minoryx License Agreement, we have agreed to pay Minoryx royalties on a product-by-product basis based on the licensed intellectual property used by us, ranging from a high single digit to low single digit percentage of net revenues of products during the royalty term commencing on the effective date of the Minoryx License Agreement and continuing until the 10th anniversary of the first product commercialization. Upon the expiration of the royalty term for a product or service in a country, the license with respect to the product or service, as the case may be, shall become royalty-free, fully-paid, irrevocable and perpetual. In addition to royalties, we have agreed to pay Minoryx certain milestones payments of 1.25% of any consideration received by us in the event of a sale of our Company or substantially all of our assets, including by merger, change of control, or reorganization. No such transactions took place in 2020 or 2021.

Employment Agreements

We have entered into employment agreements with our executive officers. For more information regarding these agreements with our named executive officers, see “Executive Compensation.” These agreements also contain customary provisions regarding non-competition, confidentiality of information and assignment of inventions. However, the enforceability of the non-competition provisions may be limited under applicable law.

Severance Arrangements

Certain of the employment agreements we have entered into with certain of our executive officers provide for certain severance arrangements. For more information regarding these arrangements with our named executive officers, see “Executive Compensation-Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control.”

Executive and Director Compensation

We have granted equity awards to certain of our directors and executive officers. For more information regarding the options granted to our named executive officers and directors, see “Executive Compensation” and “Non-Employee Director Compensation.”

Indemnification

We have entered into separate indemnity agreements with each of our directors and officers, in addition to the indemnification provided for in our Bylaws. These indemnity agreements provide our directors and executive officers with contractual rights to indemnification and, in some cases, expense advancement in any action or proceeding arising out of their services as one of our directors or executive officers or as a director or executive officer of any other company or enterprise to which the person provides services at our request. These agreements provide, among other things, that we will indemnify the officer or director, under the circumstances and to the extent provided for in the agreement, for expenses, damages, judgments, fines and settlements he or she may be required to pay in actions or proceedings which he or she is or may be made a party by reason of his or her position as a director, officer or other agent of the Company, and otherwise to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law and our Bylaws.

HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS

The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries (e.g., brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for notices of internet availability of proxy materials or other annual meeting materials with respect to two or more shareholders sharing the same address by delivering a single notice of internet availability of proxy materials or other annual meeting materials addressed to those shareholders. This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially means extra convenience for shareholders and cost savings for companies.

This year, a number of brokers with account holders who are our shareholders will be “householding” our proxy materials. A single set of proxy materials will be delivered to multiple shareholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected shareholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that they will be “householding” communications to your address, “householding” will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in “householding” and would prefer to receive a separate Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, please notify your broker or us. Direct your written request to c/o Gain Therapeutics, Inc., 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 220, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, Attention: Corporate Secretary or via email at ir@gaintherapeutics.com. Stockholders who currently receive multiple copies of proxy materials at their addresses and would like to request “householding” of their communications should contact their brokers.

Appendix A

Gain Therapeutics Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan

Adopted By The Board Of Directors: May 12, 2022
Approved By The Stockholders: [ ], 2022

General.

(a) Successor to and Continuation of Prior Plan. The Plan is the successor to and continuation of the Prior Plan. As of the Effective Date, (i) no additional awards may be granted under the Prior Plan; (ii) the Prior Plan’s Available Reserve plus any Returning Shares will become available for issuance pursuant to Awards granted under this Plan as described in Section 2(a) below; and (iii) all outstanding awards granted under the Prior Plan will remain subject to the terms of the Prior Plan (except to the extent such outstanding awards result in Returning Shares that become available for issuance pursuant to Awards granted under this Plan). All Awards granted under this Plan will be subject to the terms of this Plan.

(b) Plan Purpose. The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to secure and retain the services of Employees, Directors and Consultants, to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and any Affiliate and to provide a means by which such persons may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in value of the Common Stock through the granting of Awards.

(c) Available Awards. The Plan provides for the grant of the following Awards: (i) Incentive Stock Options; (ii) Nonstatutory Stock Options; (iii) SARs; (iv) Restricted Stock Awards; (v) RSU Awards; (vi) Performance Awards; and (vii) Other Awards.

(d) Adoption Date; Effective Date. The Plan will come into existence on the Adoption Date, but no Award may be granted prior to the Effective Date.

2. Shares Subject to the Plan.

(a) Share Reserve. Subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 2(c) and any adjustments as necessary to implement any Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Awards will not exceed 1,800,000 shares, which number is the sum of (i) 646,173 new shares, plus (ii) the Prior Plan’s Available Reserve, plus (iii) any Returning Shares, as such shares become available from time to time. In addition, subject to any adjustments as necessary to implement any Capitalization Adjustments, such aggregate number of shares of Common Stock will automatically increase on January 1st of each year for a period of ten years commencing on January 1, 2023 and ending on (and including) January 1, 2032, in an amount equal to six percent (6%) of the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding year; provided, however, that the Board may act prior to January 1st of a given year to provide that the increase for such year will be a lesser number of shares of Common Stock.

(b) Aggregate Incentive Stock Option Limit. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 2(a) and subject to any adjustments as necessary to implement any Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options is 5,400,000.

(i) Limit Applies to Common Stock Issued Pursuant to Awards. For clarity, the Share Reserve is a limit on the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Awards and does not limit the granting of Awards, except that the Company will keep available at all times the number of shares of Common Stock reasonably required to satisfy its obligations to issue shares pursuant to such Awards. Shares may be issued in connection with a merger or acquisition as permitted by, as applicable, Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c), NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.08, NYSE American Company Guide Section 711 or other applicable rule, and such issuance will not reduce the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan.

A-1

(ii) Actions that Do Not Constitute Issuance of Common Stock and Do Not Reduce Share Reserve. The following actions do not result in an issuance of shares under the Plan and accordingly do not reduce the number of shares subject to the Share Reserve and available for issuance under the Plan: (1) the expiration or termination of any portion of an Award without the shares covered by such portion of the Award having been issued; (2) the settlement of any portion of an Award in cash (i.e., the Participant receives cash rather than Common Stock); (3) the withholding of shares that would otherwise be issued by the Company to satisfy the exercise, strike or purchase price of an Award; or (4) the withholding of shares that would otherwise be issued by the Company to satisfy a tax withholding obligation in connection with an Award.

(iii) Reversion of Previously Issued Shares of Common Stock to Share Reserve. The following shares of Common Stock previously issued pursuant to an Award and accordingly initially deducted from the Share Reserve will be added back to the Share Reserve and again become available for issuance under the Plan: (1) any shares that are forfeited back to or repurchased by the Company because of a failure to meet a contingency or condition required for the vesting of such shares; (2) any shares that are reacquired by the Company to satisfy the exercise, strike or purchase price of an Award; and (3) any shares that are reacquired by the Company to satisfy a tax withholding obligation in connection with an Award.

Eligibility and Limitations.

(a) Eligible Award Recipients. Subject to the terms of the Plan, Employees, Directors and Consultants are eligible to receive Awards.

(b) Specific Award Limitations.

(i) Limitations on Incentive Stock Option Recipients. Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Employees of the Company or a “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof (as such terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and (f) of the Code).

(ii) Incentive Stock Option $100,000 Limitation. To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Optionholder during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any Affiliates) exceeds $100,000 (or such other limit established in the Code) or otherwise does not comply with the rules governing Incentive Stock Options, the Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) or otherwise do not comply with such rules will be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options, notwithstanding any contrary provision of the applicable Option Agreement(s).

(iii) Limitations on Incentive Stock Options Granted to Ten Percent Stockholders. A Ten Percent Stockholder may not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless (1) the exercise price of such Option is at least 110% of the Fair Market Value on the date of grant of such Option and (2) the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five years from the date of grant of such Option.

(iv) Limitations on Nonstatutory Stock Options and SARs. Nonstatutory Stock Options and SARs may not be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants unless the stock underlying such Awards is treated as “service recipient stock” under Section 409A or unless such Awards otherwise comply with the requirements of Section 409A.

(c) Aggregate Incentive Stock Option Limit. The aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options is the number of shares specified in Section 2(b).

(d) Non-Employee Director Compensation Limit. The aggregate value of all compensation granted or paid, as applicable, to any individual for service as a Non-Employee Director with respect to any calendar year, including Awards granted and cash fees paid by the Company to such Non-Employee Director, will not exceed $1,000,000 in total value, calculating the value of any equity awards based on the grant date fair value of such equity awards for financial reporting purposes.

A-2

Options and Stock Appreciation Rights.

Each Option and SAR will have such terms and conditions as determined by the Board. Each Option will be designated in writing as an Incentive Stock Option or Nonstatutory Stock Option at the time of grant; provided, however, that if an Option is not so designated or if an Option designated as an Incentive Stock Option fails to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option, then such Option will be a Nonstatutory Stock Option, and the shares purchased upon exercise of each type of Option will be separately accounted for. Each SAR will be denominated in shares of Common Stock equivalents. The terms and conditions of separate Options and SARs need not be identical; provided, however, that each Option Agreement and SAR Agreement will conform (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the Award Agreement or otherwise) to the substance of each of the following provisions:

(a) Term. Subject to Section 3(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, no Option or SAR will be exercisable after the expiration of ten years from the date of grant of such Award or such shorter period specified in the Award Agreement.

(b) Exercise or Strike Price. Subject to Section 3(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise or strike price of each Option or SAR will not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value on the date of grant of such Award. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Option or SAR may be granted with an exercise or strike price lower than 100% of the Fair Market Value on the date of grant of such Award if such Award is granted pursuant to an assumption of or substitution for another option or stock appreciation right pursuant to a Corporate Transaction and in a manner consistent with the provisions of Sections 409A and, if applicable, 424(a) of the Code.

(c) Exercise Procedure and Payment of Exercise Price for Options. In order to exercise an Option, the Participant must provide notice of exercise to the Plan Administrator in accordance with the procedures specified in the Option Agreement or otherwise provided by the Company. The Board has the authority to grant Options that do not permit all of the following methods of payment (or otherwise restrict the ability to use certain methods) and to grant Options that require the consent of the Company to utilize a particular method of payment. The exercise price of an Option may be paid, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law and as determined by the Board, by one or more of the following methods of payment to the extent set forth in the Option Agreement:

(i) by cash or check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company;

(ii) pursuant to a “cashless exercise” program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board that, prior to the issuance of the Common Stock subject to the Option, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds;

(iii) by delivery to the Company (either by actual delivery or attestation) of shares of Common Stock that are already owned by the Participant free and clear of any liens, claims, encumbrances or security interests, with a Fair Market Value on the date of exercise that does not exceed the exercise price, provided that (1) at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded, (2) any remaining balance of the exercise price not satisfied by such delivery is paid by the Participant in cash or other permitted form of payment, (3) such delivery would not violate any Applicable Law or agreement restricting the redemption of the Common Stock, (4) any certificated shares are endorsed or accompanied by an executed assignment separate from certificate, and (5) such shares have been held by the Participant for any minimum period necessary to avoid adverse accounting treatment as a result of such delivery;

(iv) if the Option is a Nonstatutory Stock Option, by a “net exercise” arrangement pursuant to which the Company will reduce the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise by the largest whole number of shares with a Fair Market Value on the date of exercise that does not exceed the exercise price, provided that (1) such shares used to pay the exercise price will not be exercisable thereafter and (2) any remaining balance of the exercise price not satisfied by such net exercise is paid by the Participant in cash or other permitted form of payment; or

A-3

(v) in any other form of consideration that may be acceptable to the Board and permissible under Applicable Law.

(d) Exercise Procedure and Payment of Appreciation Distribution for SARs. In order to exercise any SAR, the Participant must provide notice of exercise to the Plan Administrator in accordance with the SAR Agreement. The appreciation distribution payable to a Participant upon the exercise of a SAR will not be greater than an amount equal to the excess of (i) the aggregate Fair Market Value on the date of exercise of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Common Stock equivalents that are vested and being exercised under such SAR, over (ii) the strike price of such SAR. Such appreciation distribution may be paid to the Participant in the form of Common Stock or cash (or any combination of Common Stock and cash) or in any other form of payment, as determined by the Board and specified in the SAR Agreement.

(e) Transferability. Options and SARs may not be transferred to third party financial institutions for value. The Board may impose such additional limitations on the transferability of an Option or SAR as it determines. In the absence of any such determination by the Board, the following restrictions on the transferability of Options and SARs will apply, provided that except as explicitly provided herein, neither an Option nor a SAR may be transferred for consideration and provided, further, that if an Option is an Incentive Stock Option, such Option may be deemed to be a Nonstatutory Stock Option as a result of such transfer:

(i) Restrictions on Transfer. An Option or SAR will not be transferable, except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and will be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant; provided, however, that the Board may permit transfer of an Option or SAR in a manner that is not prohibited by applicable tax and securities laws upon the Participant’s request, including to a trust if the Participant is considered to be the sole beneficial owner of such trust (as determined under Section 671 of the Code and applicable state law) while such Option or SAR is held in such trust, provided that the Participant and the trustee enter into a transfer and other agreements required by the Company.

(ii) Domestic Relations Orders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the execution of transfer documentation in a format acceptable to the Company and subject to the approval of the Board or a duly authorized Officer, an Option or SAR may be transferred pursuant to a domestic relations order.

(f) Vesting. The Board may impose such restrictions on or conditions to the vesting and/or exercisability of an Option or SAR as determined by the Board. Except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate, vesting of Options and SARs will cease upon termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service.

(g) Termination of Continuous Service for Cause. Except as explicitly otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate, if a Participant’s Continuous Service is terminated for Cause, the Participant’s Options and SARs will terminate and be forfeited immediately upon such termination of Continuous Service, and the Participant will be prohibited from exercising any portion (including any vested portion) of such Awards on and after the date of such termination of Continuous Service and the Participant will have no further right, title or interest in such forfeited Award, the shares of Common Stock subject to the forfeited Award or any consideration in respect of the forfeited Award.

(h) Post-Termination Exercise Period Following Termination of Continuous Service for Reasons Other than Cause. Subject to Section 4(i), if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates for any reason other than for Cause, the Participant may exercise his or her Option or SAR to the extent vested, but only within the following period of time or, if applicable, within such other period of time provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate; provided, however, that in no event may such Award be exercised after the expiration of its maximum term (as set forth in Section 4(a)):

(i) three months following the date of such termination if such termination is a termination without Cause (other than any termination due to the Participant’s Disability or death);

A-4

(ii) 12 months following the date of such termination if such termination is due to the Participant’s Disability;

(iii) 18 months following the date of such termination if such termination is due to the Participant’s death; or

(iv) 18 months following the date of the Participant’s death if such death occurs following the date of such termination but during the period such Award is otherwise exercisable (as provided in (i) or (ii) above).

Following the date of such termination, to the extent the Participant does not exercise such Award within the applicable Post-Termination Exercise Period (or, if earlier, prior to the expiration of the maximum term of such Award), such unexercised portion of the Award will terminate, and the Participant will have no further right, title or interest in the terminated Award, the shares of Common Stock subject to the terminated Award or any consideration in respect of the terminated Award.

(i) Restrictions on Exercise; Extension of Exercisability. A Participant may not exercise an Option or SAR at any time that the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon such exercise would violate Applicable Law. Except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate, if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates for any reason other than for Cause and, at any time during the last 30 days of the applicable Post-Termination Exercise Period: (i) the exercise of the Participant’s Option or SAR would be prohibited solely because the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon such exercise would violate Applicable Law, or (ii) the immediate sale of any shares of Common Stock issued upon such exercise would violate the Company’s Trading Policy, then the applicable Post-Termination Exercise Period will be extended to the last day of the calendar month that commences following the date the Award would otherwise expire, with an additional extension of the exercise period to the last day of the next calendar month to apply if any of the foregoing restrictions apply at any time during such extended exercise period, generally without limitation as to the maximum permitted number of extensions); provided, however, that in no event may such Award be exercised after the expiration of its maximum term (as set forth in Section 4(a)).

(j) Non-Exempt Employees. No Option or SAR, whether or not vested, granted to an Employee who is a non-exempt employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, will be first exercisable for any shares of Common Stock until at least six months following the date of grant of such Award. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in accordance with the provisions of the Worker Economic Opportunity Act, any vested portion of such Award may be exercised earlier than six months following the date of grant of such Award in the event of (i) such Participant’s death or Disability, (ii) a Corporate Transaction in which such Award is not assumed, continued or substituted, (iii) a Change in Control, or (iv) such Participant’s retirement (as such term may be defined in the Award Agreement or another applicable agreement or, in the absence of any such definition, in accordance with the Company’s then current employment policies and guidelines). This Section 4(j) is intended to operate so that any income derived by a non-exempt employee in connection with the exercise or vesting of an Option or SAR will be exempt from his or her regular rate of pay.

(k) Whole Shares. Options and SARs may be exercised only with respect to whole shares of Common Stock or their equivalents.

Awards Other Than Options and Stock Appreciation Rights.

(a) Restricted Stock Awards and RSU Awards. Each Restricted Stock Award and RSU Award will have such terms and conditions as determined by the Board; provided, however, that each Restricted Stock Award Agreement and RSU Award Agreement will conform (through incorporation of the provisions hereof by reference in the Award Agreement or otherwise) to the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i) Form of Award.

(1) Restricted Stock Awards: To the extent consistent with the Company’s Bylaws, at the Board’s election, shares of Common Stock subject to a Restricted Stock Award may be (A) held in book entry form subject to the Company’s instructions until such shares become vested or any

A-5

other restrictions lapse, or (B) evidenced by a certificate, which certificate will be held in such form and manner as determined by the Board. Unless otherwise determined by the Board, a Participant will have voting and other rights as a stockholder of the Company with respect to any shares subject to a Restricted Stock Award.

(2) RSU Awards: An RSU Award represents a Participant’s right to be issued on a future date the number of shares of Common Stock that is equal to the number of restricted stock units subject to the RSU Award. As a holder of an RSU Award, a Participant is an unsecured creditor of the Company with respect to the Company’s unfunded obligation, if any, to issue shares of Common Stock in settlement of such Award and nothing contained in the Plan or any RSU Agreement, and no action taken pursuant to its provisions, will create or be construed to create a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate or any other person. A Participant will not have voting or any other rights as a stockholder of the Company with respect to any RSU Award (unless and until shares are actually issued in settlement of a vested RSU Award).

(ii) Consideration.

(1) Restricted Stock Awards: A Restricted Stock Award may be granted in consideration for (A) cash or check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company, (B) services to the Company or an Affiliate, or (C) any other form of consideration as the Board may determine and permissible under Applicable Law.

(2) RSU Awards: Unless otherwise determined by the Board at the time of grant, an RSU Award will be granted in consideration for the Participant’s services to the Company or an Affiliate, such that the Participant will not be required to make any payment to the Company (other than such services) with respect to the grant or vesting of the RSU Award, or the issuance of any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the RSU Award. If, at the time of grant, the Board determines that any consideration must be paid by the Participant (in a form other than the Participant’s services to the Company or an Affiliate) upon the issuance of any shares of Common Stock in settlement of the RSU Award, such consideration may be paid in any form of consideration as the Board may determine and permissible under Applicable Law.

(iii) Vesting. The Board may impose such restrictions on or conditions to the vesting of a Restricted Stock Award or RSU Award as determined by the Board. Except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate, vesting of Restricted Stock Awards and RSU Awards will cease upon termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service.

(iv) Termination of Continuous Service. Except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or an Affiliate, if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates for any reason, (1) the Company may receive through a forfeiture condition or a repurchase right any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant under his or her Restricted Stock Award that have not vested as of the date of such termination as set forth in the Restricted Stock Award Agreement and the Participant will have no further right, title or interest in the Restricted Stock Award, the shares of Common Stock subject to the Restricted Stock Award or any consideration in respect of the Restricted Stock Award and (2) any portion of his or her RSU Award that has not vested will be forfeited upon such termination and the Participant will have no further right, title or interest in the RSU Award, the shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the RSU Award or any consideration in respect of the RSU Award.

(v) Dividends and Dividend Equivalents. Dividends or dividend equivalents may be paid or credited, as applicable, with respect to any shares of Common Stock subject to a Restricted Stock Award or RSU Award, as determined by the Board and specified in the Award Agreement.

(vi) Settlement of RSU Awards. An RSU Award may be settled by the issuance of shares of Common Stock or cash (or any combination thereof) or in any other form of payment, as determined

A-6

by the Board and specified in the RSU Award Agreement. At the time of grant, the Board may determine to impose such restrictions or conditions that delay such delivery to a date following the vesting of the RSU Award.

(b) Performance Awards. With respect to any Performance Award, the length of any Performance Period, the Performance Goals to be achieved during the Performance Period, the other terms and conditions of such Award and the measure of whether and to what degree such Performance Goals have been attained will be determined by the Board.

(c) Other Awards. Other Awards valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, Common Stock, including the appreciation in value thereof, may be granted either alone or in addition to Awards provided for under Section 4 and the preceding provisions of this Section 5. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Board will have sole and complete discretion to determine the persons to whom and the time or times at which such Other Awards will be granted, the number of shares of Common Stock (or the cash equivalent thereof) to be granted pursuant to such Other Awards and all other terms and conditions of such Other Awards.

6. Adjustments upon Changes in Common Stock; Other Corporate Events.

(a) Capitalization Adjustments. In the event of a Capitalization Adjustment, the Board shall appropriately and proportionately adjust: (i) the class(es) and maximum number of shares of Common Stock subject to the Plan and the maximum number of shares by which the Share Reserve may annually increase pursuant to Section 2(a); (ii) the class(es) and maximum number of shares that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options pursuant to Section 2(b); and (iii) the class(es) and number of securities and exercise price, strike price or purchase price of Common Stock subject to outstanding Awards. The Board shall make such adjustments, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no fractional shares or rights for fractional shares of Common Stock shall be created in order to implement any Capitalization Adjustment. The Board shall determine an appropriate equivalent benefit, if any, for any fractional shares or rights to fractional shares that might be created by the adjustments referred to in the preceding provisions of this Section.

(b) Dissolution or Liquidation. Except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, in the event of a dissolution or liquidation of the Company, all outstanding Awards (other than Awards consisting of vested and outstanding shares of Common Stock not subject to a forfeiture condition or the Company’s right of repurchase) will terminate immediately prior to the completion of such dissolution or liquidation, and the shares of Common Stock subject to the Company’s repurchase rights or subject to a forfeiture condition may be repurchased or reacquired by the Company notwithstanding the fact that the holder of such Award is providing Continuous Service, provided, however, that the Board may determine to cause some or all Awards to become fully vested, exercisable and/or no longer subject to repurchase or forfeiture (to the extent such Awards have not previously expired or terminated) before the dissolution or liquidation is completed but contingent on its completion.

(c) Corporate Transaction. The following provisions will apply to Awards in the event of a Corporate Transaction, except as set forth in Section 11, unless otherwise provided in the instrument evidencing the Award or any other written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant or unless otherwise expressly provided by the Board at the time of grant of an Award.

(i) Awards May Be Assumed. In the event of a Corporate Transaction, any surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or the surviving or acquiring corporation’s parent company) may assume or continue any or all Awards outstanding under the Plan or may substitute similar awards for Awards outstanding under the Plan (including but not limited to, awards to acquire the same consideration paid to the stockholders of the Company pursuant to the Corporate Transaction), and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company in respect of Common Stock issued pursuant to Awards may be assigned by the Company to the successor of the Company (or the successor’s parent company, if any), in connection with such Corporate Transaction. A surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or its parent) may choose to assume or continue only a portion of an Award or substitute a similar award for only a portion of an Award, or may choose to assume or continue the Awards held by some, but not all Participants. The terms of any assumption, continuation or substitution will be set by the Board.

A-7

(ii) Awards Held by Current Participants. In the event of a Corporate Transaction in which the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume or continue such outstanding Awards or substitute similar awards for such outstanding Awards, then with respect to Awards that have not been assumed, continued or substituted and that are held by Participants whose Continuous Service has not terminated prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction (referred to as the “Current Participants”), the vesting of such Awards (and, with respect to Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, the time when such Awards may be exercised) will be accelerated in full to a date prior to the effective time of such Corporate Transaction (contingent upon the effectiveness of the Corporate Transaction) as the Board determines (or, if the Board does not determine such a date, to the date that is five days prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction), and such Awards will terminate if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction, and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to such Awards will lapse (contingent upon the effectiveness of the Corporate Transaction). With respect to the vesting of Performance Awards that will accelerate upon the occurrence of a Corporate Transaction pursuant to this subsection (ii) and that have multiple vesting levels depending on the level of performance, unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, the vesting of such Performance Awards will accelerate at 100% of the target level upon the occurrence of the Corporate Transaction in which the Awards are not assumed, continued or substituted in accordance with Section 6(c)(i). With respect to the vesting of Awards that will accelerate upon the occurrence of a Corporate Transaction pursuant to this subsection (ii) and are settled in the form of a cash payment, such cash payment will be made no later than 30 days following the occurrence of the Corporate Transaction or such later date as required to comply with Section 409A.

(iii) Awards Held by Persons other than Current Participants. In the event of a Corporate Transaction in which the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume or continue such outstanding Awards or substitute similar awards for such outstanding Awards, then with respect to Awards that have not been assumed, continued or substituted and that are held by persons other than Current Participants, such Awards will terminate if not exercised (if applicable) prior to the occurrence of the Corporate Transaction; provided, however, that any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to such Awards will not terminate and may continue to be exercised notwithstanding the Corporate Transaction.

(iv) Payment for Awards in Lieu of Exercise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event an Award will terminate if not exercised prior to the effective time of a Corporate Transaction, the Board may provide, in its sole discretion, that the holder of such Award may not exercise such Award but will receive a payment, in such form as may be determined by the Board, equal in value, at the effective time, to the excess, if any, of (1) the value of the property the Participant would have received upon the exercise of the Award (including, at the discretion of the Board, any unvested portion of such Award), over (2) any exercise price payable by such holder in connection with such exercise.

(d) Appointment of Stockholder Representative. As a condition to the receipt of an Award under the Plan, a Participant will be deemed to have agreed that the Award will be subject to the terms of any agreement governing a Corporate Transaction involving the Company, including, without limitation, a provision for the appointment of a stockholder representative that is authorized to act on the Participant’s behalf with respect to any escrow, indemnities and any contingent consideration.

(e) No Restriction on Right to Undertake Transactions. The grant of any Award under the Plan and the issuance of shares pursuant to any Award does not affect or restrict in any way the right or power of the Company or the stockholders of the Company to make or authorize any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change in the Company’s capital structure or its business, any merger or consolidation of the Company, any issue of stock or of options, rights or options to purchase stock or of bonds, debentures, preferred or prior preference stocks whose rights are superior to or affect the Common Stock or the rights thereof or which are convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, or the dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or any sale or transfer of all or any part of its assets or business or any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar character or otherwise.

A-8

Administration.

(a) Administration by Board. The Board will administer the Plan unless and until the Board delegates administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees, as provided in subsection (c) below.

(b) Powers of Board. The Board will have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:

(i) To determine from time to time (1) which of the persons eligible under the Plan will be granted Awards; (2) when and how each Award will be granted; (3) what type or combination of types of Award will be granted; (4) the provisions of each Award granted (which need not be identical), including the time or times when a person will be permitted to receive an issuance of Common Stock or other payment pursuant to an Award; (5) the number of shares of Common Stock or cash equivalent with respect to which an Award will be granted to each such person; (6) the Fair Market Value applicable to an Award; and (7) the terms of any Performance Award that is not valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, the Common Stock, including the amount of cash payment or other property that may be earned and the timing of payment.

(ii) To construe and interpret the Plan and Awards granted under it, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for its administration. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan or in any Award Agreement, in a manner and to the extent it deems necessary or expedient to make the Plan or Award fully effective.

(iii) To settle all controversies regarding the Plan and Awards granted under it.

(iv) To accelerate the time at which an Award may first be exercised or the time during which an Award or any part thereof will vest, notwithstanding the provisions in the Award Agreement stating the time at which it may first be exercised or the time during which it will vest.

(v) To prohibit the exercise of any Option, SAR or other exercisable Award during a period of up to 30 days prior to the consummation of any pending stock dividend, stock split, combination or exchange of shares, merger, consolidation or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to stockholders, or any other change affecting the shares of Common Stock or the share price of the Common Stock including any Corporate Transaction, for reasons of administrative convenience.

(vi) To suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Suspension or termination of the Plan will not Materially Impair rights and obligations under any Award granted while the Plan is in effect except with the written consent of the affected Participant.

(vii) To amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable; provided, however, that stockholder approval will be required for any amendment to the extent required by Applicable Law. Except as provided above, rights under any Award granted before amendment of the Plan will not be Materially Impaired by any amendment of the Plan unless (1) the Company requests the consent of the affected Participant, and (2) such Participant consents in writing.

(viii) To submit any amendment to the Plan for stockholder approval.

(ix) To approve forms of Award Agreements for use under the Plan and to amend the terms of any one or more Awards, including, but not limited to, amendments to provide terms more favorable to the Participant than previously provided in the Award Agreement, subject to any specified limits in the Plan that are not subject to Board discretion; provided however, that, a Participant’s rights under any Award will not be Materially Impaired by any such amendment unless (1) the Company requests the consent of the affected Participant, and (2) such Participant consents in writing.

(x) Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Board deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company and that are not in conflict with the provisions of the Plan or Award Agreements.

(xi) To adopt such procedures and sub-plans as are necessary or appropriate to permit and facilitate participation in the Plan by, or take advantage of specific tax treatment for Awards granted

A-9

to, Employees, Directors or Consultants who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States (provided that Board approval will not be necessary for immaterial modifications to the Plan or any Award Agreement to ensure or facilitate compliance with the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction).

(xii) To effect, at any time and from time to time, subject to the consent of any Participant whose Award is Materially Impaired by such action, (1) the reduction of the exercise price (or strike price) of any outstanding Option or SAR; (2) the cancellation of any outstanding Option or SAR and the grant in substitution therefor of (A) a new Option, SAR, Restricted Stock Award, RSU Award or Other Award under the Plan or another equity plan of the Company, covering the same or a different number of shares of Common Stock, (B) cash and/or (C) other valuable consideration (as determined by the Board); or (3) any other action that is treated as a repricing under generally accepted accounting principles.

(i) General. The Board may delegate some or all of the administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees. If administration of the Plan is delegated to a Committee, the Committee will have, in connection with the administration of the Plan, the powers theretofore possessed by the Board that have been delegated to the Committee, including the power to delegate to another Committee or a subcommittee of the Committee any of the administrative powers the Committee is authorized to exercise (and references in this Plan to the Board will thereafter be to the Committee or subcommittee), subject, however, to such resolutions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as may be adopted from time to time by the Board. Each Committee may retain the authority to concurrently administer the Plan with the Committee or subcommittee to which it has delegated its authority hereunder and may, at any time, revest in such Committee some or all of the powers previously delegated. The Board may retain the authority to concurrently administer the Plan with any Committee and may, at any time, revest in the Board some or all of the powers previously delegated.

(ii) Rule 16b-3 Compliance. To the extent an Award is intended to qualify for the exemption from Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act that is available under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, the Award will be granted by the Board or a Committee that consists solely of two or more Non-Employee Directors, as determined under Rule 16b-3(b)(3) of the Exchange Act and thereafter any action establishing or modifying the terms of the Award will be approved by the Board or a Committee meeting such requirements to the extent necessary for such exemption to remain available.

(d) Effect of Board’s Decision. All determinations, interpretations and constructions made by the Board or any Committee in good faith will not be subject to review by any person and will be final, binding and conclusive on all persons.

(e) Delegation to an Officer. The Board or any Committee may delegate to one or more Officers the authority to do one or both of the following: (i) designate Employees who are not Officers to be recipients of Options and SARs (and, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, other types of Awards) and, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, the terms thereof, and (ii) determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be subject to such Awards granted to such Employees; provided, however, that the resolutions or charter adopted by the Board or any Committee evidencing such delegation will specify the total number of shares of Common Stock that may be subject to the Awards granted by such Officer and that such Officer may not grant an Award to himself or herself. Any such Awards will be granted on the applicable form of Award Agreement most recently approved for use by the Board or the Committee, unless otherwise provided in the resolutions approving the delegation authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, neither the Board nor any Committee may delegate to an Officer who is acting solely in the capacity of an Officer (and not also as a Director) the authority to determine the Fair Market Value.

Tax Withholding

(a) Withholding Authorization. As a condition to acceptance of any Award under the Plan, a Participant authorizes withholding from payroll and any other amounts payable to such Participant, and otherwise agrees to make adequate provision for (including), any sums required to satisfy any U.S. federal, state, local and/or foreign tax or social insurance contribution withholding obligations of the Company or an Affiliate, if any, which arise in connection with the exercise, vesting or settlement of such Award, as

A-10

applicable. Accordingly, a Participant may not be able to exercise an Award even though the Award is vested, and the Company shall have no obligation to issue shares of Common Stock subject to an Award, unless and until such obligations are satisfied.

(b) Satisfaction of Withholding Obligation. To the extent permitted by the terms of an Award Agreement, the Company may, in its sole discretion, satisfy any U.S. federal, state, local and/or foreign tax or social insurance withholding obligation relating to an Award by any of the following means or by a combination of such means: (i) causing the Participant to tender a cash payment; (ii) withholding shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock issued or otherwise issuable to the Participant in connection with the Award; (iii) withholding cash from an Award settled in cash; (iv) withholding payment from any amounts otherwise payable to the Participant; (v) by allowing a Participant to effectuate a “cashless exercise” pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board; or (vi) by such other method as may be set forth in the Award Agreement.

(c) No Obligation to Notify or Minimize Taxes; No Liability to Claims. Except as required by Applicable Law, the Company has no duty or obligation to any holder of an Award to advise such holder as to the time or manner of exercising such Award. Furthermore, the Company has no duty or obligation to warn or otherwise advise such holder of a pending termination or expiration of an Award or a possible period in which the Award may not be exercised. The Company has no duty or obligation to minimize the tax consequences of an Award to the holder of such Award and will not be liable to any holder of an Award for any adverse tax consequences to such holder in connection with an Award. As a condition to accepting an Award under the Plan, each Participant (i) agrees to not make any claim against the Company, or any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates related to tax liabilities arising from such Award or other Company compensation and (ii) acknowledges that such Participant was advised to consult with his or her own personal tax, financial and other legal advisors regarding the tax consequences of the Award and has either done so or knowingly and voluntarily declined to do so. Additionally, each Participant acknowledges any Option or SAR granted under the Plan is exempt from Section 409A only if the exercise or strike price is at least equal to the “fair market value” of the Common Stock on the date of grant as determined by the Internal Revenue Service and there is no other impermissible deferral of compensation associated with the Award. Additionally, as a condition to accepting an Option or SAR granted under the Plan, each Participant agrees not make any claim against the Company, or any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates in the event that the Internal Revenue Service asserts that such exercise price or strike price is less than the “fair market value” of the Common Stock on the date of grant as subsequently determined by the Internal Revenue Service.

(d) Withholding Indemnification. As a condition to accepting an Award under the Plan, in the event that the amount of the Company’s and/or its Affiliate’s withholding obligation in connection with such Award was greater than the amount actually withheld by the Company and/or its Affiliates, each Participant agrees to indemnify and hold the Company and/or its Affiliates harmless from any failure by the Company and/or its Affiliates to withhold the proper amount.

Miscellaneous.

(a) Source of Shares. The stock issuable under the Plan will be shares of authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock, including shares repurchased by the Company on the open market or otherwise.

(b) Use of Proceeds from Sales of Common Stock. Proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to Awards will constitute general funds of the Company.

(c) Corporate Action Constituting Grant of Awards. Corporate action constituting a grant by the Company of an Award to any Participant will be deemed completed as of the date of such corporate action, unless otherwise determined by the Board, regardless of when the instrument, certificate or letter evidencing the Award is communicated to, or actually received or accepted by, the Participant. In the event that the corporate records (e.g., Board consents, resolutions or minutes) documenting the corporate action approving the grant contain terms (e.g., exercise price, vesting schedule or number of shares) that are inconsistent with those in the Award Agreement or related grant documents as a result of a clerical error in the Award Agreement or related grant documents, the corporate records will control and the Participant will have no legally binding right to the incorrect term in the Award Agreement or related grant documents.

A-11

(d) Stockholder Rights. No Participant will be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares of Common Stock subject to such Award unless and until (i) such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise of the Award pursuant to its terms, if applicable, and (ii) the issuance of the Common Stock subject to such Award is reflected in the records of the Company.

(e) No Employment or Other Service Rights. Nothing in the Plan, any Award Agreement or any other instrument executed thereunder or in connection with any Award granted pursuant thereto will confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Award was granted or affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate at will and without regard to any future vesting opportunity that a Participant may have with respect to any Award (i) the employment of an Employee with or without notice and with or without cause, (ii) the service of a Consultant pursuant to the terms of such Consultant’s agreement with the Company or an Affiliate, or (iii) the service of a Director pursuant to the Bylaws of the Company or an Affiliate, and any applicable provisions of the corporate law of the state or foreign jurisdiction in which the Company or the Affiliate is incorporated, as the case may be. Further, nothing in the Plan, any Award Agreement or any other instrument executed thereunder or in connection with any Award will constitute any promise or commitment by the Company or an Affiliate regarding the fact or nature of future positions, future work assignments, future compensation or any other term or condition of employment or service or confer any right or benefit under the Award or the Plan unless such right or benefit has specifically accrued under the terms of the Award Agreement and/or Plan.

(f) Change in Time Commitment. In the event a Participant’s regular level of time commitment in the performance of his or her services for the Company and any Affiliates is reduced (for example, and without limitation, if the Participant is an Employee of the Company and the Employee has a change in status from a full-time Employee to a part-time Employee or takes an extended leave of absence) after the date of grant of any Award to the Participant, the Board may determine, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, to (i) make a corresponding reduction in the number of shares or cash amount subject to any portion of such Award that is scheduled to vest or become payable after the date of such change in time commitment, and (ii) in lieu of or in combination with such a reduction, extend the vesting or payment schedule applicable to such Award. In the event of any such reduction, the Participant will have no right with respect to any portion of the Award that is so reduced or extended.

(g) Execution of Additional Documents. As a condition to accepting an Award under the Plan, the Participant agrees to execute any additional documents or instruments necessary or desirable, as determined in the Plan Administrator’s sole discretion, to carry out the purposes or intent of the Award, or facilitate compliance with securities and/or other regulatory requirements, in each case at the Plan Administrator’s request.

(h) Electronic Delivery and Participation. Any reference herein or in an Award Agreement to a “written” agreement or document will include any agreement or document delivered electronically, filed publicly at www.sec.gov (or any successor website thereto) or posted on the Company’s intranet (or other shared electronic medium controlled by the Company to which the Participant has access). By accepting any Award, the Participant consents to receive documents by electronic delivery and to participate in the Plan through any on-line electronic system established and maintained by the Plan Administrator or another third party selected by the Plan Administrator. The form of delivery of any Common Stock (e.g., a stock certificate or electronic entry evidencing such shares) shall be determined by the Company.

(i) Clawback/Recovery. All Awards granted under the Plan will be subject to recoupment in accordance with any clawback policy that the Company is required to adopt pursuant to the listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which the Company’s securities are listed or as is otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other Applicable Law and any clawback policy that the Company otherwise adopts or maintains from time to time, to the extent applicable and permissible under Applicable Law. In addition, the Board may impose such other clawback, recovery or recoupment provisions in an Award Agreement as the Board determines necessary or appropriate, including but not limited to a reacquisition right in respect of previously acquired shares of Common Stock or other cash or property upon the occurrence of Cause. No recovery of compensation under such a clawback policy will be an event giving rise to a Participant’s right to voluntarily terminate

A-12

employment upon a “resignation for good reason,” or for a “constructive termination” or any similar term under any plan of or agreement with the Company.

(j) Securities Law Compliance. A Participant will not be issued any shares in respect of an Award unless either (i) the shares are registered under the Securities Act; or (ii) the Company has determined that such issuance would be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Each Award also must comply with other Applicable Law governing the Award, and a Participant will not receive such shares if the Company determines that such receipt would not be in material compliance with Applicable Law.

(k) Transfer or Assignment of Awards; Issued Shares. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or the form of Award Agreement, Awards granted under the Plan may not be transferred or assigned by the Participant. After the vested shares subject to an Award have been issued, or in the case of Restricted Stock and similar awards, after the issued shares have vested, the holder of such shares is free to assign, hypothecate, donate, encumber or otherwise dispose of any interest in such shares provided that any such actions are in compliance with the provisions herein, the terms of the Trading Policy and Applicable Law.

(l) Effect on Other Employee Benefit Plans. The value of any Award granted under the Plan, as determined upon grant, vesting or settlement, shall not be included as compensation, earnings, salaries or other similar terms used when calculating any Participant’s benefits under any employee benefit plan sponsored by the Company or any Affiliate, except as such plan otherwise expressly provides. The Company expressly reserves its rights to amend, modify or terminate any of the Company’s or any Affiliate’s employee benefit plans.

(m) Deferrals. To the extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Board, in its sole discretion, may determine that the delivery of Common Stock or the payment of cash, upon the exercise, vesting or settlement of all or a portion of any Award may be deferred and may also establish programs and procedures for deferral elections to be made by Participants. Deferrals will be made in accordance with the requirements of Section 409A.

(n) Section 409A. Unless otherwise expressly provided for in an Award Agreement, the Plan and Award Agreements will be interpreted to the greatest extent possible in a manner that makes the Plan and the Awards granted hereunder exempt from Section 409A, and, to the extent not so exempt, in compliance with the requirements of Section 409A. If the Board determines that any Award granted hereunder is not exempt from and is therefore subject to Section 409A, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award will incorporate the terms and conditions necessary to avoid the consequences specified in Section 409A(a)(1) of the Code, and to the extent an Award Agreement is silent on terms necessary for compliance, such terms are hereby incorporated by reference into the Award Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Plan (and unless the Award Agreement specifically provides otherwise), if the shares of Common Stock are publicly traded, and if a Participant holding an Award that constitutes “deferred compensation” under Section 409A is a “specified employee” for purposes of Section 409A, no distribution or payment of any amount that is due because of a “separation from service” (as defined in Section 409A without regard to alternative definitions thereunder) will be issued or paid before the date that is six months and one day following the date of such Participant’s “separation from service” or, if earlier, the date of the Participant’s death, unless such distribution or payment can be made in a manner that complies with Section 409A, and any amounts so deferred will be paid in a lump sum on the day after such six month period elapses, with the balance paid thereafter on the original schedule.

(o) Choice of Law. This Plan and any controversy arising out of or relating to this Plan shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict of law principles that would result in any application of any law other than the law of the State of Delaware.

10.

Covenants of the Company.

The Company will seek to obtain from each regulatory commission or agency, as may be deemed to be necessary, having jurisdiction over the Plan such authority as may be required to grant Awards and to issue and sell shares of Common Stock upon exercise or vesting of the Awards; provided, however, that this undertaking will not require the Company to register under the Securities Act the Plan, any Award or any

A-13

Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any such Award. If, after reasonable efforts and at a reasonable cost, the Company is unable to obtain from any such regulatory commission or agency the authority that counsel for the Company deems necessary or advisable for the lawful issuance and sale of Common Stock under the Plan, the Company will be relieved from any liability for failure to issue and sell Common Stock upon exercise or vesting of such Awards unless and until such authority is obtained. A Participant is not eligible for the grant of an Award or the subsequent issuance of Common Stock pursuant to the Award if such grant or issuance would be in violation of any Applicable Law.

11.

Additional Rules for Awards Subject to Section 409A.

(a) Application. Unless the provisions of this Section of the Plan are expressly superseded by the provisions in the form of Award Agreement, the provisions of this Section shall apply and shall supersede anything to the contrary set forth in the Award Agreement for a Non-Exempt Award.

(b) Non-Exempt Awards Subject to Non-Exempt Severance Arrangements. To the extent a Non-Exempt Award is subject to Section 409A due to application of a Non-Exempt Severance Arrangement, the following provisions of this subsection (b) apply.

(i) If the Non-Exempt Award vests in the ordinary course during the Participant’s Continuous Service in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Award Agreement, and does not accelerate vesting under the terms of a Non-Exempt Severance Arrangement, in no event will the shares be issued in respect of such Non-Exempt Award any later than the later of: (i) December 31st of the calendar year that includes the applicable vesting date, or (ii) the 60th day that follows the applicable vesting date.

(ii) If vesting of the Non-Exempt Award accelerates under the terms of a Non-Exempt Severance Arrangement in connection with the Participant’s Separation from Service, and such vesting acceleration provisions were in effect as of the date of grant of the Non-Exempt Award and, therefore, are part of the terms of such Non-Exempt Award as of the date of grant, then the shares will be earlier issued in settlement of such Non-Exempt Award upon the Participant’s Separation from Service in accordance with the terms of the Non-Exempt Severance Arrangement, but in no event later than the 60th day that follows the date of the Participant’s Separation from Service. However, if at the time the shares would otherwise be issued the Participant is subject to the distribution limitations contained in Section 409A applicable to “specified employees,” as defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, such shares shall not be issued before the date that is six months following the date of such Participant’s Separation from Service, or, if earlier, the date of the Participant’s death that occurs within such six month period.

(iii) If vesting of a Non-Exempt Award accelerates under the terms of a Non-Exempt Severance Arrangement in connection with a Participant’s Separation from Service, and such vesting acceleration provisions were not in effect as of the date of grant of the Non-Exempt Award and, therefore, are not a part of the terms of such Non-Exempt Award on the date of grant, then such acceleration of vesting of the Non-Exempt Award shall not accelerate the issuance date of the shares, but the shares shall instead be issued on the same schedule as set forth in the Grant Notice as if they had vested in the ordinary course during the Participant’s Continuous Service, notwithstanding the vesting acceleration of the Non-Exempt Award. Such issuance schedule is intended to satisfy the requirements of payment on a specified date or pursuant to a fixed schedule, as provided under Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A‑3(a)(4).

(c) Treatment of Non-Exempt Awards Upon a Corporate Transaction for Employees and Consultants. The provisions of this subsection (c) shall apply and shall supersede anything to the contrary set forth in the Plan with respect to the permitted treatment of any Non-Exempt Award in connection with a Corporate Transaction if the Participant was either an Employee or Consultant upon the applicable date of grant of the Non-Exempt Award.

(i) Vested Non-Exempt Awards. The following provisions shall apply to any Vested Non-Exempt Award in connection with a Corporate Transaction:

A-14

(1) If the Corporate Transaction is also a Section 409A Change in Control then the Acquiring Entity may not assume, continue or substitute the Vested Non-Exempt Award. Upon the Section 409A Change in Control the settlement of the Vested Non-Exempt Award will automatically be accelerated and the shares will be immediately issued in respect of the Vested Non-Exempt Award. Alternatively, the Company may instead provide that the Participant will receive a cash settlement equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares that would otherwise be issued to the Participant upon the Section 409A Change in Control.

(2) If the Corporate Transaction is not also a Section 409A Change in Control, then the Acquiring Entity must either assume, continue or substitute each Vested Non-Exempt Award. The shares to be issued in respect of the Vested Non-Exempt Award shall be issued to the Participant by the Acquiring Entity on the same schedule that the shares would have been issued to the Participant if the Corporate Transaction had not occurred. In the Acquiring Entity’s discretion, in lieu of an issuance of shares, the Acquiring Entity may instead substitute a cash payment on each applicable issuance date, equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares that would otherwise be issued to the Participant on such issuance dates, with the determination of the Fair Market Value of the shares made on the date of the Corporate Transaction.

(ii) Unvested Non-Exempt Awards. The following provisions shall apply to any Unvested Non-Exempt Award unless otherwise determined by the Board pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section:

(1) In the event of a Corporate Transaction, the Acquiring Entity shall assume, continue or substitute any Unvested Non-Exempt Award. Unless otherwise determined by the Board, any Unvested Non-Exempt Award will remain subject to the same vesting and forfeiture restrictions that were applicable to the Award prior to the Corporate Transaction. The shares to be issued in respect of any Unvested Non-Exempt Award shall be issued to the Participant by the Acquiring Entity on the same schedule that the shares would have been issued to the Participant if the Corporate Transaction had not occurred. In the Acquiring Entity’s discretion, in lieu of an issuance of shares, the Acquiring Entity may instead substitute a cash payment on each applicable issuance date, equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares that would otherwise be issued to the Participant on such issuance dates, with the determination of Fair Market Value of the shares made on the date of the Corporate Transaction.

(2) If the Acquiring Entity will not assume, substitute or continue any Unvested Non-Exempt Award in connection with a Corporate Transaction, then such Award shall automatically terminate and be forfeited upon the Corporate Transaction with no consideration payable to any Participant in respect of such forfeited Unvested Non-Exempt Award. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent permitted and in compliance with the requirements of Section 409A, the Board may in its discretion determine to elect to accelerate the vesting and settlement of the Unvested Non-Exempt Award upon the Corporate Transaction, or instead substitute a cash payment equal to the Fair Market Value of such shares that would otherwise be issued to the Participant, as further provided in subsection (e)(ii) below. In the absence of such discretionary election by the Board, any Unvested Non-Exempt Award shall be forfeited without payment of any consideration to the affected Participants if the Acquiring Entity will not assume, substitute or continue the Unvested Non-Exempt Awards in connection with the Corporate Transaction.

(3) The foregoing treatment shall apply with respect to all Unvested Non-Exempt Awards upon any Corporate Transaction, and regardless of whether or not such Corporate Transaction is also a Section 409A Change in Control.

(d) Treatment of Non-Exempt Awards Upon a Corporate Transaction for Non-Employee Directors. The following provisions of this subsection (d) shall apply and shall supersede anything to the contrary that may be set forth in the Plan with respect to the permitted treatment of a Non-Exempt Director Award in connection with a Corporate Transaction.

(i) If the Corporate Transaction is also a Section 409A Change in Control then the Acquiring Entity may not assume, continue or substitute the Non-Exempt Director Award. Upon the Section 409A Change in Control the vesting and settlement of any Non-Exempt Director Award will automatically

A-15

be accelerated and the shares will be immediately issued to the Participant in respect of the Non-Exempt Director Award. Alternatively, the Company may provide that the Participant will instead receive a cash settlement equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares that would otherwise be issued to the Participant upon the Section 409A Change in Control pursuant to the preceding provision.

(ii) If the Corporate Transaction is not also a Section 409A Change in Control, then the Acquiring Entity must either assume, continue or substitute the Non-Exempt Director Award. Unless otherwise determined by the Board, the Non-Exempt Director Award will remain subject to the same vesting and forfeiture restrictions that were applicable to the Award prior to the Corporate Transaction. The shares to be issued in respect of the Non-Exempt Director Award shall be issued to the Participant by the Acquiring Entity on the same schedule that the shares would have been issued to the Participant if the Corporate Transaction had not occurred. In the Acquiring Entity’s discretion, in lieu of an issuance of shares, the Acquiring Entity may instead substitute a cash payment on each applicable issuance date, equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares that would otherwise be issued to the Participant on such issuance dates, with the determination of Fair Market Value made on the date of the Corporate Transaction.

(e) If the RSU Award is a Non-Exempt Award, then the provisions in this Section 11(e) shall apply and supersede anything to the contrary that may be set forth in the Plan or the Award Agreement with respect to the permitted treatment of such Non-Exempt Award:

(i) Any exercise by the Board of discretion to accelerate the vesting of a Non-Exempt Award shall not result in any acceleration of the scheduled issuance dates for the shares in respect of the Non-Exempt Award unless earlier issuance of the shares upon the applicable vesting dates would be in compliance with the requirements of Section 409A.

(ii) The Company explicitly reserves the right to earlier settle any Non-Exempt Award to the extent permitted and in compliance with the requirements of Section 409A, including pursuant to any of the exemptions available in Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix).

(iii) To the extent the terms of any Non-Exempt Award provide that it will be settled upon a Change in Control or Corporate Transaction, to the extent it is required for compliance with the requirements of Section 409A, the Change in Control or Corporate Transaction event triggering settlement must also constitute a Section 409A Change in Control. To the extent the terms of a Non-Exempt Award provides that it will be settled upon a termination of employment or termination of Continuous Service, to the extent it is required for compliance with the requirements of Section 409A, the termination event triggering settlement must also constitute a Separation From Service. However, if at the time the shares would otherwise be issued to a Participant in connection with a “separation from service” such Participant is subject to the distribution limitations contained in Section 409A applicable to “specified employees,” as defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, such shares shall not be issued before the date that is six months following the date of the Participant’s Separation From Service, or, if earlier, the date of the Participant’s death that occurs within such six month period.

(iv) The provisions in this subsection (e) for delivery of the shares in respect of the settlement of an RSU Award that is a Non-Exempt Award are intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A so that the delivery of the shares to the Participant in respect of such Non-Exempt Award will not trigger the additional tax imposed under Section 409A, and any ambiguities herein will be so interpreted.

12.

Severability.

If all or any part of the Plan or any Award Agreement is declared by any court or governmental authority to be unlawful or invalid, such unlawfulness or invalidity shall not invalidate any portion of the Plan or such Award Agreement not declared to be unlawful or invalid. Any Section of the Plan or any Award Agreement (or part of such a Section) so declared to be unlawful or invalid shall, if possible, be construed in a manner which will give effect to the terms of such Section or part of a Section to the fullest extent possible while remaining lawful and valid.

A-16

13.

Termination of the Plan.

The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. No Incentive Stock Options may be granted after the tenth anniversary of the earlier of (i) the Adoption Date, or (ii) the date the Plan is approved by the Company’s stockholders. No Awards may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.

14.

Definitions.

As used in the Plan, the following definitions apply to the capitalized terms indicated below:

(a) “Acquiring Entity” means the surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) in connection with a Corporate Transaction.

(b) “Adoption Date” means the date the Plan is first approved by the Board.

(c) “Affiliate” means, at the time of determination, any “parent” or “subsidiary” of the Company as such terms are defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act. The Board may determine the time or times at which “parent” or “subsidiary” status is determined within the foregoing definition.

(d) “Applicable Law” means any applicable securities, federal, state, foreign, material local or municipal or other law, statute, constitution, principle of common law, resolution, ordinance, code, edict, decree, rule, listing rule, regulation, judicial decision, ruling or requirement issued, enacted, adopted, promulgated, implemented or otherwise put into effect by or under the authority of any Governmental Body (including under the authority of any applicable self-regulating organization such as the Nasdaq Stock Market, New York Stock Exchange or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).

(e) “Award” means any right to receive Common Stock, cash or other property granted under the Plan (including an Incentive Stock Option, a Nonstatutory Stock Option, a Restricted Stock Award, an RSU Award, a SAR, a Performance Award or any Other Award).

(f) “Award Agreement” means a written or electronic agreement between the Company and a Participant evidencing the terms and conditions of an Award. The Award Agreement generally consists of the Grant Notice and the agreement containing the written summary of the general terms and conditions applicable to the Award and which is provided, including through electronic means, to a Participant along with the Grant Notice.

(g) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company (or its designee). Any decision or determination made by the Board shall be a decision or determination that is made in the sole discretion of the Board (or its designee), and such decision or determination shall be final and binding on all Participants.

(h) “Capitalization Adjustment” means any change that is made in, or other events that occur with respect to, the Common Stock subject to the Plan or subject to any Award after the Effective Date without the receipt of consideration by the Company through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, large nonrecurring cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or any similar equity restructuring transaction, as that term is used in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (or any successor thereto). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the conversion of any convertible securities of the Company will not be treated as a Capitalization Adjustment.

(i) “Cause” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Award Agreement or in any individual employment, service or severance agreement with the Participant or, if any such agreement does not define “Cause,” Cause means (i) the commission of an act of fraud or dishonesty by the Participant in the course of the Participant’s employment or service; (ii) the indictment of, or conviction of, or entering of a plea of nolo contendere by, the Participant for a crime constituting a felony or in respect of any act of fraud or dishonesty; (iii) the commission of an act by the Participant which would make the Participant or the Company (including any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates) subject to being enjoined, suspended, barred or otherwise disciplined for violation of federal or state securities laws, rules or regulations, including a statutory disqualification; (iv) gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with the Participant’s performance

A-17

of his or her duties in connection with the Participant’s employment by or service to the Company (including any Subsidiary or Affiliate for whom the Participant may be employed by or providing services to at the time) or the Participant’s failure to comply with any of the restrictive covenants to which the Participant is subject; (v) the Participant’s willful failure to comply with any material policies or procedures of the Company as in effect from time to time, provided that the Participant shall have been delivered a copy of such policies or notice that they have been posted on a Company website prior to such compliance failure; or (vi) the Participant’s failure to perform the material duties in connection with the Participant’s position, unless the Participant remedies the failure referenced in this clause (vi) no later than ten (10) days following delivery to the Participant of a written notice from the Company (including any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates) describing such failure in reasonable detail (provided that the Participant shall not be given more than one opportunity in the aggregate to remedy failures described in this clause (vi)). The determination that a termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service is either for Cause or without Cause will be made by the Board with respect to Participants who are executive officers of the Company and by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer with respect to Participants who are not executive officers of the Company. Any determination by the Company that the Continuous Service of a Participant was terminated with or without Cause for the purposes of outstanding Awards held by such Participant will have no effect upon any determination of the rights or obligations of the Company or such Participant for any other purpose.

(j) “Change in Control” or “Change of Control” means the occurrence, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

(i) any Exchange Act Person becomes the Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities other than by virtue of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Change in Control shall not be deemed to occur (A) on account of the acquisition of securities of the Company directly from the Company, (B) on account of the acquisition of securities of the Company by an investor, any affiliate thereof or any other Exchange Act Person that acquires the Company’s securities in a transaction or series of related transactions the primary purpose of which is to obtain financing for the Company through the issuance of equity securities, or (C) solely because the level of Ownership held by any Exchange Act Person (the “Subject Person”) exceeds the designated percentage threshold of the outstanding voting securities as a result of a repurchase or other acquisition of voting securities by the Company reducing the number of shares outstanding, provided that if a Change in Control would occur (but for the operation of this sentence) as a result of the acquisition of voting securities by the Company, and after such share acquisition, the Subject Person becomes the Owner of any additional voting securities that, assuming the repurchase or other acquisition had not occurred, increases the percentage of the then outstanding voting securities Owned by the Subject Person over the designated percentage threshold, then a Change in Control shall be deemed to occur;

(ii) there is consummated a merger, consolidation or similar transaction involving (directly or indirectly) the Company and, immediately after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, the stockholders of the Company immediately prior thereto do not Own, directly or indirectly, either (A) outstanding voting securities representing more than 50% of the combined outstanding voting power of the Acquiring Entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction or (B) more than 50% of the combined outstanding voting power of the parent of the Acquiring Entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, in each case in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction;

(iii) there is consummated a sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, other than a sale, lease, license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries to an Entity, more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are Owned by stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such sale, lease, license or other disposition; or

A-18

(iv) individuals who, on the date the Plan is adopted by the Board, are members of the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board; provided, however, that if the appointment or election (or nomination for election) of any new Board member was approved or recommended by a majority vote of the members of the Incumbent Board then still in office, such new member shall, for purposes of this Plan, be considered as a member of the Incumbent Board.

Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Plan, (A) the term Change in Control shall not include a sale of assets, merger or other transaction effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company, (B) the definition of Change in Control (or any analogous term) in an individual written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant shall supersede the foregoing definition with respect to Awards subject to such agreement; provided, however, that if no definition of Change in Control or any analogous term is set forth in such an individual written agreement, the foregoing definition shall apply, and (C) with respect to any nonqualified deferred compensation that becomes payable on account of the Change in Control, the transaction or event described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) also constitutes a Section 409A Change in Control if required in order for the payment not to violate Section 409A.

(k) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including any applicable regulations and guidance thereunder.

(l) “Committee” means the Compensation Committee and any other committee of one or more Directors to whom authority has been delegated by the Board or Compensation Committee in accordance with the Plan.

(m) “Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.

(n) “Company” means Gain Therapeutics Inc., a Delaware corporation.

(o) “Compensation Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board.

(p) “Consultant” means any person, including an advisor, who is (i) engaged by the Company or an Affiliate to render consulting or advisory services and is compensated for such services, or (ii) serving as a member of the board of directors of an Affiliate and is compensated for such services. However, service solely as a Director, or payment of a fee for such service, will not cause a Director to be considered a “Consultant” for purposes of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person is treated as a Consultant under this Plan only if a Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act is available to register either the offer or the sale of the Company’s securities to such person.

(q) “Continuous Service” means that the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Director or Consultant, is not interrupted or terminated. A change in the capacity in which the Participant renders service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Director or Consultant or a change in the Entity for which the Participant renders such service, provided that there is no interruption or termination of the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, will not terminate a Participant’s Continuous Service; provided, however, that if the Entity for which a Participant is rendering services ceases to qualify as an Affiliate, as determined by the Board, such Participant’s Continuous Service will be considered to have terminated on the date such Entity ceases to qualify as an Affiliate. For example, a change in status from an Employee of the Company to a Consultant of an Affiliate or to a Director will not constitute an interruption of Continuous Service. To the extent permitted by law, the Board or the chief executive officer of the Company, in that party’s sole discretion, may determine whether Continuous Service will be considered interrupted in the case of (i) any leave of absence approved by the Board or chief executive officer, including sick leave, military leave or any other personal leave, or (ii) transfers between the Company, an Affiliate, or their successors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a leave of absence will be treated as Continuous Service for purposes of vesting in an Award only to such extent as may be provided in the Company’s leave of absence policy, in the written terms of any leave of absence agreement or policy applicable to the Participant, or as otherwise required by law. In addition, to the extent required for exemption from or compliance with Section 409A, the determination of whether there has been a termination of Continuous Service will be made, and such term will be construed, in a manner that is consistent with

A-19

the definition of “separation from service” as defined under Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h) (without regard to any alternative definition thereunder).

(r) “Corporate Transaction” means the consummation, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

(i) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all, as determined by the Board, of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries;

(ii) a sale or other disposition of at least 50% of the outstanding securities of the Company;

(iii) a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is not the surviving corporation; or

(iv) a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is the surviving corporation but the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately preceding the merger, consolidation or similar transaction are converted or exchanged by virtue of the merger, consolidation or similar transaction into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise.

Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Plan, (A) the term Corporate Transaction shall not include a sale of assets, merger or other transaction effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company, (B) the definition of Corporate Transaction (or any analogous term) in an individual written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant shall supersede the foregoing definition with respect to Awards subject to such agreement; provided, however, that if no definition of Corporate Transaction or any analogous term is set forth in such an individual written agreement, the foregoing definition shall apply, and (C) with respect to any nonqualified deferred compensation that becomes payable on account of the Corporate Transaction, the transaction or event described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) also constitutes a Section 409A Change in Control if required in order for the payment not to violate Section 409A.

(s) “determine” or “determined” means as determined by the Board or the Committee (or its designee) in its sole discretion.

(t) “Director” means a member of the Board.

(u) “Disability” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Award Agreement or in any individual employment, service or severance agreement with the Participant or, if any such agreement does not define “Disability,” Disability means, with respect to any Participant, that such Participant, as determined by the Plan Administrator in its sole discretion, is (i) unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, or (ii) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, receiving income replacement benefits for a period of not less than three (3) months under an accident and health plan covering employees of the Company or an Affiliate thereof.

(v) “Effective Date” means the date on which the Plan was approved by the Company’s stockholders.

(w) “Employee” means any person employed by the Company or an Affiliate. However, service solely as a Director, or payment of a fee for such services, will not cause a Director to be considered an “Employee” for purposes of the Plan.

(x) “Employer” means the Company or the Affiliate of the Company that employs the Participant.

(y) “Entity” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity.

(z) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(aa) “Exchange Act Person” means any natural person, Entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act), except that “Exchange Act Person” will not include (i) the

A-20

Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to a registered public offering of such securities, (iv) an Entity Owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of stock of the Company; or (v) any natural person, Entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act) that, as of the Effective Date, is the Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities.

(bb) “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, unless otherwise determined by the Board, the value of the Common Stock (as determined on a per share or aggregate basis, as applicable) determined as follows:

(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange or traded on any established market, the Fair Market Value will be the closing sales price for such stock as quoted on such exchange or market (or the exchange or market with the greatest volume of trading in the Common Stock) on the date of determination, as reported in a source the Board deems reliable.

(ii) If there is no closing sales price for the Common Stock on the date of determination, then the Fair Market Value will be the closing selling price on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.

(iii) In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, or if otherwise determined by the Board, the Fair Market Value will be determined by the Board in good faith and in a manner that complies with Sections 409A and 422 of the Code.

(cc) “Governmental Body” means any: (i) nation, state, commonwealth, province, territory, county, municipality, district or other jurisdiction of any nature; (ii) federal, state, local, municipal, foreign or other government; (iii) governmental or regulatory body, or quasi-governmental body of any nature (including any governmental division, department, administrative agency or bureau, commission, authority, instrumentality, official, ministry, fund, foundation, center, organization, unit, body or Entity and any court or other tribunal, and for the avoidance of doubt, any Tax authority) or other body exercising similar powers or authority; or (iv) self-regulatory organization (including the Nasdaq Stock Market, New York Stock Exchange, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).

(dd) “Grant Notice” means the notice provided to a Participant that he or she has been granted an Award under the Plan and which includes the name of the Participant, the type of Award, the date of grant of the Award, number of shares of Common Stock subject to the Award or potential cash payment right, (if any), the vesting schedule for the Award (if any) and other key terms applicable to the Award.

(ee) “Incentive Stock Option” means an option granted pursuant to Section 4 of the Plan that is intended to be, and qualifies as, an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code.

(ff) “Materially Impair” means any amendment to the terms of the Award that materially adversely affects the Participant’s rights under the Award. A Participant’s rights under an Award will not be deemed to have been Materially Impaired by any such amendment if the Board, in its sole discretion, determines that the amendment, taken as a whole, does not materially impair the Participant’s rights. For example, the following types of amendments to the terms of an Award do not Materially Impair the Participant’s rights under the Award: (i) imposition of reasonable restrictions on the minimum number of shares subject to an Option or SAR that may be exercised; (ii) to maintain the qualified status of the Award as an Incentive Stock Option under Section 422 of the Code; (iii) to change the terms of an Incentive Stock Option in a manner that disqualifies, impairs or otherwise affects the qualified status of the Award as an Incentive Stock Option under Section 422 of the Code; (iv) to clarify the manner of exemption from, or to bring the Award into compliance with or qualify it for an exemption from, Section 409A; or (v) to comply with other Applicable Laws.

(gg) “Non-Employee Director” means a Director who either (i) is not a current employee or officer of the Company or an Affiliate, does not receive compensation, either directly or indirectly, from the Company or an Affiliate for services rendered as a consultant or in any capacity other than as a Director (except for

A-21

an amount as to which disclosure would not be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act (“Regulation S-K”)), does not possess an interest in any other transaction for which disclosure would be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, and is not engaged in a business relationship for which disclosure would be required pursuant to Item 404(b) of Regulation S-K; or (ii) is otherwise considered a “non-employee director” for purposes of Rule 16b-3.

(hh) “Non-Exempt Award” means any Award that is subject to, and not exempt from, Section 409A, including as the result of (i) a deferral of the issuance of the shares subject to the Award which is elected by the Participant or imposed by the Company, or (ii) the terms of any Non-Exempt Severance Agreement.

(ii) “Non-Exempt Director Award” means a Non-Exempt Award granted to a Participant who was a Director but not an Employee on the applicable grant date.

(jj) “Non-Exempt Severance Arrangement” means a severance arrangement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company that provides for acceleration of vesting of an Award and issuance of the shares in respect of such Award upon the Participant’s termination of employment or separation from service (as such term is defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Code (and without regard to any alternative definition thereunder) (“Separation from Service”) and such severance benefit does not satisfy the requirements for an exemption from application of Section 409A provided under Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(4), 1.409A-1(b)(9) or otherwise.

(kk) “Nonstatutory Stock Option” means any option granted pursuant to Section 4 of the Plan that does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.

(ll) “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

(mm) “Option” means an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Stock Option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to the Plan.

(nn) “Option Agreement” means a written or electronic agreement between the Company and the Optionholder evidencing the terms and conditions of the Option grant. The Option Agreement includes the Grant Notice for the Option and the agreement containing the written summary of the general terms and conditions applicable to the Option and which is provided, including through electronic means, to a Participant along with the Grant Notice. Each Option Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(oo) “Optionholder” means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.

(pp) “Other Award” means an award valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, Common Stock, including the appreciation in value thereof (e.g., options or stock rights with an exercise price or strike price less than 100% of the Fair Market Value at the time of grant) that is not an Incentive Stock Option, Nonstatutory Stock Option, SAR, Restricted Stock Award, RSU Award or Performance Award.

(qq) “Other Award Agreement” means a written or electronic agreement between the Company and a holder of an Other Award evidencing the terms and conditions of an Other Award grant. Each Other Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(rr) “Own,” “Owned,” “Owner,” “Ownership” means that a person or Entity will be deemed to “Own,” to have “Owned,” to be the “Owner” of, or to have acquired “Ownership” of securities if such person or Entity, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting, with respect to such securities.

(ss) “Participant” means an Employee, Director or Consultant to whom an Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Award.

(tt) “Performance Award” means an Award that may vest or may be exercised or a cash award that may vest or become earned and paid contingent upon the attainment during a Performance Period of

A-22

certain Performance Goals and which is granted under the terms and conditions of Section 5(b) pursuant to such terms as are approved by the Board. In addition, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement, the Board may determine that cash or other property may be used in payment of Performance Awards. Performance Awards that are settled in cash or other property are not required to be valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, the Common Stock.

(uu) “Performance Criteria” means one or more criteria that the Board will select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goals for a Performance Period. The Performance Criteria that will be used to establish such Performance Goals may be based on any one of, or combination of, the following as determined by the Board: earnings (including earnings per share and net earnings); earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; total stockholder return; return on equity or average stockholder’s equity; return on assets, investment, or capital employed; stock price; margin (including gross margin); income (before or after taxes); operating income; operating income after taxes; pre-tax profit; operating cash flow; sales or revenue targets; increases in revenue or product revenue; expenses and cost reduction goals; improvement in or attainment of working capital levels; economic value added (or an equivalent metric); market share; cash flow; cash flow per share; share price performance; debt reduction; customer satisfaction; stockholders’ equity; capital expenditures; debt levels; operating profit or net operating profit; workforce diversity; growth of net income or operating income; billings; financing; regulatory milestones; stockholder liquidity; corporate governance and compliance; intellectual property; personnel matters; progress of internal research; progress of partnered programs; partner satisfaction; budget management; partner or collaborator achievements; internal controls, including those related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; investor relations, analysts and communication; implementation or completion of projects or processes; employee retention; number of users, including unique users; strategic partnerships or transactions (including in-licensing and out-licensing of intellectual property); establishing relationships with respect to the marketing, distribution and sale of the Company’s products; supply chain achievements; co-development, co-marketing, profit sharing, joint venture or other similar arrangements; individual performance goals; corporate development and planning goals; and other measures of performance selected by the Board or Committee whether or not listed herein.

(vv) “Performance Goals” means, for a Performance Period, one or more goals established by the Board for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria. Performance Goals may be based on a Company-wide basis, with respect to one or more business units, divisions, Affiliates, or business segments, and in either absolute terms or relative to the performance of one or more comparable companies or the performance of one or more relevant indices. Unless specified otherwise by the Board (i) in the Award Agreement at the time the Award is granted or (ii) in such other document setting forth the Performance Goals at the time the Performance Goals are established, the Board will appropriately make adjustments in the method of calculating the attainment of Performance Goals for a Performance Period as follows: (1) to exclude restructuring and/or other nonrecurring charges; (2) to exclude exchange rate effects; (3) to exclude the effects of changes to generally accepted accounting principles; (4) to exclude the effects of any statutory adjustments to corporate tax rates; (5) to exclude the effects of items that are “unusual” in nature or occur “infrequently” as determined under generally accepted accounting principles; (6) to exclude the dilutive effects of acquisitions or joint ventures; (7) to assume that any business divested by the Company achieved performance objectives at targeted levels during the balance of a Performance Period following such divestiture; (8) to exclude the effect of any change in the outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company by reason of any stock dividend or split, stock repurchase, reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination or exchange of shares or other similar corporate change, or any distributions to common stockholders other than regular cash dividends; (9) to exclude the effects of stock based compensation and the award of bonuses under the Company’s bonus plans; (10) to exclude costs incurred in connection with potential acquisitions or divestitures that are required to be expensed under generally accepted accounting principles; and (11) to exclude the goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges that are required to be recorded under generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, the Board may establish or provide for other adjustment items in the Award Agreement at the time the Award is granted or in such other document setting forth the Performance Goals at the time the Performance Goals are established. The Board retains the discretion to reduce or eliminate the compensation or economic benefit due upon attainment of Performance Goals and to define the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for such Performance Period. Partial achievement of the specified criteria may

A-23

result in the payment or vesting corresponding to the degree of achievement as specified in the Award Agreement or the written terms of a Performance Cash Award.

(ww) “Performance Period” means the period of time selected by the Board over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to vesting or exercise of an Award. Performance Periods may be of varying and overlapping duration, at the sole discretion of the Board.

(xx) “Plan” means this Gain Therapeutics Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.

(yy) “Plan Administrator” means the person, persons, and/or third-party administrator designated by the Company to administer the day to day operations of the Plan and the Company’s other equity incentive programs.

(zz) “Post-Termination Exercise Period” means the period following termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service within which an Option or SAR is exercisable, as specified in Section 4(h).

(aaa) “Prior Plan” means the Gain Therapeutics Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended.

(bbb) “Prior Plan’s Available Reserve” means the number of shares available for the grant of new awards under the Prior Plan as of the Effective Date.

(ccc) “Restricted Stock Award” or “RSA” means an Award of shares of Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 5(a).

(ddd) “Restricted Stock Award Agreement” means a written or electronic agreement between the Company and a holder of a Restricted Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of a Restricted Stock Award grant. The Restricted Stock Award Agreement includes the Grant Notice for the Restricted Stock Award and the agreement containing the written summary of the general terms and conditions applicable to the Restricted Stock Award and which is provided, including by electronic means, to a Participant along with the Grant Notice. Each Restricted Stock Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(eee) “Returning Shares” means shares subject to outstanding stock awards granted under the Prior Plan and that following the Effective Date: (A) are not issued because such stock award or any portion thereof expires or otherwise terminates without all of the shares covered by such stock award having been issued; (B) are not issued because such stock award or any portion thereof is settled in cash; (C) are forfeited back to or repurchased by the Company because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required for the vesting of such shares; (D) are withheld or reacquired to satisfy the exercise, strike or purchase price; or (E) are withheld or reacquired to satisfy a tax withholding obligation.

(fff) “RSU Award” or “RSU” means an Award of restricted stock units representing the right to receive an issuance of shares of Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 5(a).

(ggg) “RSU Award Agreement” means a written or electronic agreement between the Company and a holder of an RSU Award evidencing the terms and conditions of an RSU Award grant. The RSU Award Agreement includes the Grant Notice for the RSU Award and the agreement containing the written summary of the general terms and conditions applicable to the RSU Award and which is provided, including by electronic means, to a Participant along with the Grant Notice. Each RSU Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(hhh) “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect from time to time.

(iii) “Rule 405” means Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act.

(jjj) “Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Code and the regulations and other guidance thereunder.

A-24

(kkk) “Section 409A Change in Control” means a change in the ownership or effective control of the Company, or in the ownership of a substantial portion of the Company’s assets, as provided in Section 409A(a)(2)(A)(v) of the Code and Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-3(i)(5) (without regard to any alternative definition thereunder).

(lll) “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(mmm) “Share Reserve” means the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan as set forth in Section 2(a).

(nnn) “Stock Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means a right to receive the appreciation on Common Stock that is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 4.

(ooo) “SAR Agreement” means a written or electronic agreement between the Company and a holder of a SAR evidencing the terms and conditions of a SAR grant. The SAR Agreement includes the Grant Notice for the SAR and the agreement containing the written summary of the general terms and conditions applicable to the SAR and which is provided, including by electronic means, to a Participant along with the Grant Notice. Each SAR Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(ppp) “Subsidiary” means, with respect to the Company, (i) any corporation of which more than 50% of the outstanding capital stock having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors of such corporation (irrespective of whether, at the time, stock of any other class or classes of such corporation will have or might have voting power by reason of the happening of any contingency) is at the time, directly or indirectly, Owned by the Company, and (ii) any partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company has a direct or indirect interest (whether in the form of voting or participation in profits or capital contribution) of more than 50%.

(qqq) “Ten Percent Stockholder” means a person who Owns (or is deemed to Own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Affiliate.

(rrr) “Trading Policy” means the Company’s policy permitting certain individuals to sell Company shares only during certain “window” periods and/or otherwise restricts the ability of certain individuals to transfer or encumber Company shares, as in effect from time to time.

(sss) “Unvested Non-Exempt Award” means the portion of any Non-Exempt Award that had not vested in accordance with its terms upon or prior to the date of any Corporate Transaction.

(ttt) “Vested Non-Exempt Award” means the portion of any Non-Exempt Award that had vested in accordance with its terms upon or prior to the date of a Corporate Transaction.

A-25

[MISSING IMAGE: tm2215140d1-px_01pagebw.jpg]

PLEASE DETACH ALONG PERFORATED LINE AND MAIL IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED.ttGAIN THERAPEUTICS, INC.PROXY SOLICITED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSFOR THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERSTO BE HELD ON JUNE 16, 2022The undersigned hereby appoints Eric I. Richman and Salvatore Calabrese, each of them as proxies and attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and hereby authorizes them to vote all of the shares of stock of Gain Therapeutics, Inc. which the undersigned may be entitled to vote at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Gain Therapeutics, Inc. to be held on June 16, 2022 at 10:00 AM Eastern time at the offices of Cooley LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001-2157 (the “2022 Gain Therapeutics Annual Meeting”), and at any and all postponements, continuations and adjournments thereof with all powers that the undersigned would possess if personally present, upon and in respect of the following matters and in accordance with the following instructions, with discretionary authority as to any and all other matters that may properly come before the 2022 Gain Therapeutics Annual Meeting.UNLESS A CONTRARY DIRECTION IS INDICATED, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR PROPOSALS 2 AND 3 AND FOR THE NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR LISTED IN PROPOSAL 1, AS MORE SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBED IN THE PROXY STATEMENT. IF SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ARE INDICATED, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE THEREWITH.(Continued and to be signed on the reverse side)Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for theAnnual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 16, 2022:The Proxy Statement and our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K (including Amendment No. 1)are available at: http://www.viewproxy.com/ganx/2022.

[MISSING IMAGE: tm2215140d1-px_02pagebw.jpg]

DO NOT PRINT IN THIS AREA(Stockholder Name & Address Data)PLEASE DETACH ALONG PERFORATED LINE AND MAIL IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED.ttOTHER MATTERS: The Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Gain Therapeutics, Inc. If any other matters are properly brought before the 2022 Annual Meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the proxy card to vote on such matters in accordance with their best judgment. This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed by the undersigned stockholder. If no specification is made, this proxy will be voted FOR the election of the named nominees as directors in Proposal 1, and FOR each of Proposals 2 and 3.Please sign exactly as name appears below. When shares are held by joint tenants, both should sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If a corporation, please sign in full corporate name by the President or other authorized officer. If a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person.Date _____________________________________________________________Signature __________________________________________________________Signature __________________________________________________________(Joint Owners)2. To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Ernst & Young AG as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.Address Change/Comments: (If you noted any Address Changes and/or Comments above, please mark box.) oVIRTUAL CONTROL NUMBERPROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONSPlease have your 11-digit control number ready when voting by Internet or TelephoneINTERNETVote Your Proxy on the Internet:Go to www.AALvote.com/ganxHave your proxy card available when you access the above website. Follow the prompts to vote your shares.TELEPHONEVote Your Proxy by Phone:Call 1 (866) 804-9616Use any touch-tone telephone to vote your proxy. Have your proxy card available when you call. Follow the voting instructions to vote your shares.MAILVote Your Proxy by Mail:Mark, sign, and date your proxy card, then detach it, and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided.VIRTUAL CONTROL NUMBERPlease mark your votes like this 3. To approve the Gain Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.4. To conduct any other business properly brought before the Annual Meeting.The Board of Directors recommends a vote “FOR” proposals 2 and 3 and “FOR” the nominees for director listed in Proposal 1.1. To elect the seven (7) nominees for director named in the accompanying proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) to hold office until the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified:FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN01 Dov Goldstein o o o 05 Claude Nicaise o o o02 Hans Peter Hasler o o o 06 Eric I. Richman o o o03 Khalid Islam o o o 07 Jeffrey Riley o o o04 Gwen Melincoff o o oFOR AGAINST ABSTAINo o oFOR AGAINST ABSTAINo o o