Company: DARE
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001401914-25-000014
Chunk: 55

Company: Dare Bioscience, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 55
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 stockholders to approve an amendment to the 2022 Plan to increase the number of shares of our common stock available for issuance under the 2022 Plan by 600,000 (the “2022 Plan Amendment”).

Our Board, upon the recommendation of its Compensation Committee, adopted the 2022 Plan Amendment, subject to stockholder approval. The text of the 2022 Plan Amendment is set forth on Appendix A to this Proxy Statement.

#### Why You Should Approve the 2022 Plan Amendment
Having a stock incentive plan with an adequate number of shares available for future grants is necessary to promote our long-term success and the creation of stockholder value by:

• enabling us to continue to attract and retain the services of key service providers who would be eligible to receive awards under the 2022 Plan;

• aligning participants’ interests with stockholders’ interests through incentives that are based upon the performance of our common stock;

• motivating participants, through equity incentive awards, to achieve long-term growth in our business, in addition to short-term financial performance; and

• providing a long-term stock incentive program that is competitive as compared to other companies with whom we compete for talent.

Our Board believes that our ability to attract and retain the services of employees, consultants, and directors depends in great part on our ability to provide the kind of incentives that are derived from the ownership of stock and stock options that are offered by other biotech companies. As of the record date for the Annual Meeting, the 2022 Plan has only 230,075 unissued shares available for future awards. Therefore, if the 2022 Plan Amendment is not approved by our stockholders, we will soon lose our ability to grant equity compensation awards to key employees, which will reduce our ability to further align our employees’ long-term economic interests with those of our stockholders, and we believe that we will be placed at a competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining key contributors to our business, including our employees, consultants, and directors. If the 2022 Plan Amendment is not approved by our stockholders, we will have to reevaluate the design of our compensation programs.

#### We Manage Our Equity Award Use Carefully
We continue to believe that equity awards such as stock options are a vital part of our overall compensation program. Our compensation philosophy reflects broad-based eligibility for equity awards, and we grant equity awards to all of our employees. We believe we have demonstrated our commitment to sound equity compensation practices. Recognizing that equity compensation has a dilutive effect on stockholders