EX-10.16



 Exhibit 10.16 

CRISPR THERAPEUTICS AG 

2016 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN1 

The purpose of the CRISPR Therapeutics AG 2016 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“the Plan”) is to provide eligible employees of CRISPR
Therapeutics AG (the “Company”) and each Designated Subsidiary (as defined in Section 11) with opportunities to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, par value CHF 0.03 per share (the “Common Stock”).
413,226 shares of Common Stock in the aggregate have been approved and reserved for this purpose. The Plan is intended to constitute an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423(b) of the U.S. Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (the “U.S. Code”), and shall be interpreted in accordance with that intent. 
 1. Administration.
The Plan will be administered by the person or persons (the “Administrator”) appointed by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) for such purpose. The Administrator has authority at any time to: (i) adopt, alter
and repeal such rules, guidelines and practices for the administration of the Plan and for its own acts and proceedings as it shall deem advisable; (ii) interpret the terms and provisions of the Plan; (iii) make all determinations it deems
advisable for the administration of the Plan; (iv) decide all disputes arising in connection with the Plan; and (v) otherwise supervise the administration of the Plan. All interpretations and decisions of the Administrator shall be binding
on all persons, including the Company and the Participants. No member of the Board or individual exercising administrative authority with respect to the Plan shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to the Plan
or any option granted hereunder. 
  
  

	1 	All share numbers in the Plan are on a post-split basis to reflect the 1:31/3 forward share split to be
effected prior to the Initial Public Offering. 








 2. Offerings. The Company will make one or more offerings to eligible employees to
purchase Common Stock under the Plan (“Offerings”). The initial Offering will begin and end on dates to be determined by the Administrator. Thereafter, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, an Offering will begin on the first
business day occurring on or after each January 1st and July 1st and will end on the last business day occurring on or before the
following June 30th and December 31st, respectively. The Administrator may, in its discretion, designate a different period for any
Offering, provided that no Offering shall exceed one year in duration or overlap any other Offering. 
 3. Eligibility. All
individuals classified as employees on the payroll records of the Company and each Designated Subsidiary are eligible to participate in any one or more of the Offerings under the Plan, provided that as of the first day of the applicable Offering
(the “Offering Date”) they are customarily employed by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for more than 20 hours a week and have completed at least 30 days of employment. Notwithstanding any other provision herein, individuals who are
not contemporaneously classified as employees of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for purposes of the Company’s or applicable Designated Subsidiary’s payroll system are not considered to be eligible employees of the Company or any
Designated Subsidiary and shall not be eligible to participate in the Plan. In the event any such individuals are reclassified as employees of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for any purpose, including, without limitation, common law or
statutory employees, by any action of any third party, including, without limitation, any government agency, or as a result of any private lawsuit, action or administrative proceeding, such individuals shall, notwithstanding such reclassification,
remain ineligible for participation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exclusive means for individuals who are not 

  
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contemporaneously classified as employees of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary on the Company’s or Designated Subsidiary’s payroll system to become eligible to participate in this
Plan is through an amendment to this Plan, duly executed by the Company, which specifically renders such individuals eligible to participate herein. 

4. Participation. 
 (a)
Participants in Offerings. An eligible employee who is not a Participant in any prior Offering may participate in a subsequent Offering by submitting an enrollment form to his or her appropriate payroll location at least 15 business days
before the Offering Date (or by such other deadline as shall be established by the Administrator for the Offering). 
 (b) Enrollment.
The enrollment form will (a) state a whole percentage to be deducted from an eligible employee’s Compensation (as defined in Section 11) per pay period, (b) authorize the purchase of Common Stock in each Offering in accordance
with the terms of the Plan and (c) specify the exact name or names in which shares of Common Stock purchased for such individual are to be issued pursuant to Section 10. An employee who does not enroll in accordance with these procedures
will be deemed to have waived the right to participate. Unless a Participant files a new enrollment form or withdraws from the Plan, such Participant’s deductions and purchases will continue at the same percentage of Compensation for future
Offerings, provided he or she remains eligible. 
 (c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, participation in the Plan will neither be permitted nor
be denied contrary to the requirements of the U.S. Code. 
 5. Employee Contributions. Each eligible employee may authorize payroll
deductions at a minimum of 1 percent up to a maximum of 15 percent of such employee’s Compensation for each pay period. The Company will maintain book accounts showing the amount of payroll deductions made by each Participant for each
Offering. No interest will accrue or be paid on payroll deductions. 

  
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 6. Deduction Changes. Except as may be determined by the Administrator in advance of an
Offering, a Participant may not increase or decrease his or her payroll deduction during any Offering, but may increase or decrease his or her payroll deduction with respect to the next Offering (subject to the limitations of Section 5) by
filing a new enrollment form at least 15 business days before the next Offering Date (or by such other deadline as shall be established by the Administrator for the Offering). The Administrator may, in advance of any Offering, establish rules
permitting a Participant to increase, decrease or terminate his or her payroll deduction during an Offering. 
 7. Withdrawal. A
Participant may withdraw from participation in the Plan by delivering a written notice of withdrawal to his or her appropriate payroll location. The Participant’s withdrawal will be effective as of the next business day. Following a
Participant’s withdrawal, the Company will promptly refund such individual’s entire account balance under the Plan to him or her (after payment for any Common Stock purchased before the effective date of withdrawal). Partial withdrawals
are not permitted. Such an employee may not begin participation again during the remainder of the Offering, but may enroll in a subsequent Offering in accordance with Section 4. 

8. Grant of Options. On each Offering Date, the Company will grant to each eligible employee who is then a Participant in the Plan an
option (“Option”) to purchase on the last day of such Offering (the “Exercise Date”), at the Option Price hereinafter provided for, the lowest of (a) a number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing such
Participant’s accumulated payroll deductions on such Exercise Date by the lower of (i) 85 percent of the Fair Market Value 

  
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of the Common Stock on the Offering Date, or (ii) 85 percent of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on the Exercise Date, (b) 1,500 shares; or (c) such other lesser maximum
number of shares as shall have been established by the Administrator in advance of the Offering; provided, however, that such Option shall be subject to the limitations set forth below. Each Participant’s Option shall be exercisable only to the
extent of such Participant’s accumulated payroll deductions on the Exercise Date. The purchase price for each share purchased under each Option (the “Option Price”) will be 85 percent of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on
the Offering Date or the Exercise Date, whichever is less. 
 Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Participant may be granted an option
hereunder if such Participant, immediately after the option was granted, would be treated as owning stock possessing 5 percent or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company or any Parent or
Subsidiary (as defined in Section 11). For purposes of the preceding sentence, the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the U.S. Code shall apply in determining the stock ownership of a Participant, and all stock which the Participant
has a contractual right to purchase shall be treated as stock owned by the Participant. In addition, no Participant may be granted an Option which permits his or her rights to purchase stock under the Plan, and any other employee stock purchase plan
of the Company and its Parents and Subsidiaries, to accrue at a rate which exceeds $25,000 of the fair market value of such stock (determined on the option grant date or dates) for each calendar year in which the Option is outstanding at any time.
The purpose of the limitation in the preceding sentence is to comply with Section 423(b)(8) of the U.S. Code and shall be applied taking Options into account in the order in which they were granted. 

  
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 9. Exercise of Option and Purchase of Shares. Each employee who continues to be a
Participant in the Plan on the Exercise Date shall be deemed to have exercised his or her Option on such date and shall acquire from the Company such number of whole shares of Common Stock reserved for the purpose of the Plan as his or her
accumulated payroll deductions on such date will purchase at the Option Price, subject to any other limitations contained in the Plan. Any amount remaining in a Participant’s account at the end of an Offering solely by reason of the inability
to purchase a fractional share will be carried forward to the next Offering; any other balance remaining in a Participant’s account at the end of an Offering will be refunded to the Participant promptly. 

10. No Delivery of Stock Certificates. No stock certificates shall be delivered under the Plan, as all shares are recorded in the
Company’s share register or in book entry form as uncertified securities (Wertrechte). Shares recorded in the Company’s share register or in book entry form under the Plan may be recorded only in the name of the employee, in the
name of the employee and another person of legal age as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, or in the name of a broker authorized by the employee to be his, her or their, nominee for such purpose. 

11. Definitions. 
 The term
“Compensation” means the amount of base pay, prior to salary reduction pursuant to Sections 125, 132(f) or 401(k) of the U.S. Code, but excluding overtime, commissions, incentive or bonus awards, allowances and reimbursements for
expenses such as relocation allowances or travel expenses, income or gains on the exercise of Company stock options, and similar items. 

  
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 The term “Designated Subsidiary” means any present or future Subsidiary (as defined
below) that has been designated by the Board to participate in the Plan. The Board may so designate any Subsidiary, or revoke any such designation, at any time and from time to time, either before or after the Plan is approved by the stockholders.
The current list of Designated Subsidiaries is attached hereto as Appendix A. 
 The term “Fair Market Value of the Common Stock”
on any given date means the fair market value of the Common Stock determined in good faith by the Administrator; provided, however, that if the Common Stock is admitted to quotation on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated
Quotation System (“NASDAQ”), NASDAQ Global Market or another national securities exchange, the determination shall be made by reference to the closing price on such date. If there is no closing price for such date, the determination shall
be made by reference to the last date preceding such date for which there is a closing price. 
 The term “Parent” means a
“parent corporation” with respect to the Company, as defined in Section 424(e) of the U.S. Code. 
 The term
“Participant” means an individual who is eligible as determined in Section 3 and who has complied with the provisions of Section 4. 

The term “Subsidiary” means a “subsidiary corporation” with respect to the Company, as defined in Section 424(f) of
the U.S. Code. 
 12. Rights on Termination of Employment. If a Participant’s employment terminates for any reason before the
Exercise Date for any Offering, no payroll deduction will be taken from any pay due and owing to the Participant and the balance in the Participant’s account will be paid to such Participant or, in the case of such Participant’s death, to
his or her designated beneficiary as if such Participant had withdrawn from the Plan under Section 7. An employee will be deemed to have terminated employment, for this purpose, if the corporation that employs him or her, having been a
Designated Subsidiary, ceases to be a Subsidiary, or if the employee is 

  
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transferred to any corporation other than the Company or a Designated Subsidiary. An employee will not be deemed to have terminated employment for this purpose, if the employee is on an approved
leave of absence for military service or sickness or for any other purpose approved by the Company, if the employee’s right to reemployment is guaranteed either by a statute or by contract or under the policy pursuant to which the leave of
absence was granted or if the Administrator otherwise provides in writing. 
 13. Special Rules. Notwithstanding anything herein to
the contrary, the Administrator may adopt special rules applicable to the employees of a particular Designated Subsidiary, whenever the Administrator determines that such rules are necessary or appropriate for the implementation of the Plan in a
jurisdiction where such Designated Subsidiary has employees; provided that such rules are consistent with the requirements of Section 423(b) of the U.S. Code. Any special rules established pursuant to this Section 13 shall, to the extent
possible, result in the employees subject to such rules having substantially the same rights as other Participants in the Plan. 
 14.
Optionees Not Stockholders. Neither the granting of an Option to a Participant nor the deductions from his or her pay shall constitute such Participant a holder of the shares of Common Stock covered by an Option under the Plan until such
shares have been purchased by and issued to him or her. 
 15. Rights Not Transferable. Rights under the Plan are not transferable by
a Participant other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and are exercisable during the Participant’s lifetime only by the Participant. 

16. Application of Funds. All funds received or held by the Company under the Plan may be combined with other corporate funds and may be
used for any corporate purpose. 

  
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 17. Adjustment in Case of Changes Affecting Common Stock. In the event of a subdivision of
outstanding shares of Common Stock, the payment of a dividend in Common Stock or any other change affecting the Common Stock, the number of shares approved for the Plan and the share limitation set forth in Section 8 shall be equitably or
proportionately adjusted to give proper effect to such event. 
 18. Amendment of the Plan. The Board may at any time and from time to
time amend the Plan in any respect, except that without the approval within 12 months of such Board action by the stockholders, no amendment shall be made increasing the number of shares approved for the Plan or making any other change that would
require stockholder approval in order for the Plan, as amended, to qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” under Section 423(b) of the U.S. Code. 

19. Insufficient Shares. If the total number of shares of Common Stock that would otherwise be purchased on any Exercise Date plus the
number of shares purchased under previous Offerings under the Plan exceeds the maximum number of shares issuable under the Plan, the shares then available shall be apportioned among Participants in proportion to the amount of payroll deductions
accumulated on behalf of each Participant that would otherwise be used to purchase Common Stock on such Exercise Date. 
 20. Termination
of the Plan. The Plan may be terminated at any time by the Board. Upon termination of the Plan, all amounts in the accounts of Participants shall be promptly refunded. 

21. Governmental Regulations. The Company’s obligation to sell and deliver Common Stock under the Plan is subject to obtaining all
governmental approvals required in connection with the authorization, issuance, or sale of such stock. 

  
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 22. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. This Plan and all Options and actions taken thereunder
shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of Switzerland, and exclusive place of jurisdiction shall be Basel, Switzerland. 

23. Issuance of Shares. Shares may be issued upon exercise of an Option from authorized but unissued Common Stock, from shares held in
the treasury of the Company, or from any other proper source. 
 24. Tax Withholding. Participation in the Plan is subject to any
minimum required tax withholding on income of the Participant in connection with the Plan. Each Participant agrees, by entering the Plan, that the Company and its Subsidiaries shall have the right to deduct any such taxes from any payment of any
kind otherwise due to the Participant, including shares issuable under the Plan. 
 25. Notification Upon Sale of Shares. Each
Participant agrees, by entering the Plan, to give the Company prompt notice of any disposition of shares purchased under the Plan where such disposition occurs within two years after the date of grant of the Option pursuant to which such shares were
purchased or within one year after the date such shares were purchased. 
 26. Effective Date and Approval of Shareholders. The Plan
shall take effect on the later of the date it is adopted by the Board and the date it is approved by the holders of a majority of the votes cast at a meeting of stockholders at which a quorum is present. 

  
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 APPENDIX A 

Designated Subsidiaries 
 CRISPR
Therapeutics, Inc. 
 CRISPR Therapeutics Limited 

  
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