Company: INKT
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-055881
Chunk: 38

Company: MiNK Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 38
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 the interests of these individuals more fully with the interests of our stockholders.

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Our equity program primarily consists of time-based stock options, performance-based stock options, and time-based restricted stock units. In addition, in 2024 we used stock options as a way to further tie the interests of our executive officers and other key employees with those of our stockholders through the payment of their 2023 annual incentive bonuses in the form of time-based options in lieu of cash. Option grants can serve as a powerful retentive tool based on stock price appreciation. In the last several years we have experienced a significant decline in our stock price causing the vast majority of our outstanding options to have exercise prices that exceed the recent trading prices of our common stock. As of April 24, 2025, [ ]% of outstanding stock options held by Eligible Holders were underwater and [ ]% have an exercise price of $8.50 per share or higher. The significant decline in the price of our common stock has a meaningful impact on the total compensation actually earned by our employees, consultants, and non-employee directors. This impact on total compensation negatively affects our ability to retain and motivate our employees and consultants, whom we rely on to achieve our business plans and strategic objectives. Similarly, this impact on compensation negatively impacts our ability to retain and appropriately compensate our non-employee directors.

We believe that equity compensation has been, and will continue to be, a critical component of our compensation package because it (i) contributes to a culture of ownership among our employees and other service providers, (ii) aligns our employees’ interests with the interests of our other stockholders and (iii) preserves our cash resources. It has been our practice to grant equity awards to substantially all of our full-time employees upon hire and on an annual basis. In 2024, our Board also determined to pay our employees, including our executive officers, their annual incentive bonuses for 2023 in the form of time-based options. Certain of our non-employee directors also take a portion of their fees in restricted stock units. The significant decline in the price of our common stock has a meaningful negative impact on the total compensation earned by our key talent, which we believe to be a considerable challenge to our talent retention. The labor market in the pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive and our competitors could offer equity incentives that are more attractive, which will impact our ability to retain talent. An effective and competitive equity incentive program is critical to retaining these employees