Company: HCWB
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-058961
Chunk: 29

Company: HCW Biologics Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 29
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-employee director who is elected or appointed for the first time to our board of directors is granted an equity award with a grant date value of $100,000. The initial grant fully vests on the one-year anniversary of the date of appointment to our board of directors.

On the date of our 2024 annual meeting, we granted each continuing non-employee director who has served on our board of directors for at least 6 months prior to such annual meeting a stock option to purchase shares of our common stock with a grant date fair value (disregarding estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting) of $10,570 The annual option grant will fully vest on the earlier of the one-year anniversary of the date of grant and the date of the next annual meeting of our stockholders, subject to the director’s continued service through the vesting date.

Our board of directors also has the discretion to continue the vesting of any non-employee director option beyond the date of the director’s termination of service, if warranted by the circumstances, and to make discretionary stock award grants to our non-employee directors.

All stock options granted to non-employee directors will be made pursuant to our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan and will vest in full immediately prior to, and contingent upon, the consummation of a change in control of our company, subject to the director’s continued service as a member of our board of directors through the change in control.

Expense Reimbursement

We also reimburse our directors for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attending meetings of our board of directors and committees.

The non-employee director compensation program is intended to provide a total compensation package that enables us to attract and retain qualified and experienced individuals to serve as directors and to align our directors’ interests with those of our stockholders.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROPOSAL TWO: RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM Our audit committee has selected Crowe LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to perform the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025 and recommends that our stockholders vote for the ratification of such selection. In the event that Crowe LLP is not ratified by our stockholders, the audit committee will review its future selection of Crowe LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm. Grant Thornton LLP and Crowe LLP audited our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31,