Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy



 Exhibit 10.51 
  
 SEQUENOM, INC. 
  
 NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR 
 COMPENSATION
POLICY 
  
 The Board of Directors (the
“Board”) of Sequenom, Inc. (the “Company”) and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board adopted the following compensation program for non-employee directors of the Board.
Pursuant to this program, each member of the Board who is not an employee or an officer of the Company will receive the following compensation for Board services, as applicable: 
  

	 	•	 	 a $25,000 annual retainer for service as a Board member; 


  


	 	•	 	 a $20,000 supplemental annual retainer for service as Chairman of the Board; 


  

	 	•	 	 a $12,000 supplemental annual retainer for service as Chairman of the Audit Committee; 


  

	 	•	 	 a $8,000 supplemental annual retainer for service as Chairman of the Compensation Committee; 


  

	 	•	 	 a $5,000 supplemental annual retainer for service as Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee; 


  
 At the election of each non-employee director of our Board made prior to the
commencement of a fiscal year, all or a specific percentage of the annual retainer for such year may be payable in either cash, nonqualified stock options to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, restricted shares of common stock or
restricted stock unit awards. In the event that the election is made to receive a nonqualified stock option, restricted stock, or restricted stock unit award in lieu of all or a portion of such cash compensation, such nonstatutory stock option,
restricted stock or restricted stock unit award will be granted pursuant to the Company’s 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, or any successor plan. The grant date of each such nonstatutory stock option, restricted stock or restricted stock unit award
will be the first trading day of the fiscal year for which such election is made and each award will vest in four equal quarterly installments on the last day of each quarter of the fiscal year for which such election is made, subject to such
director’s continued service as a member of the Board through the applicable vesting dates. 
  
 The exercise price per share of each nonstatutory stock option shall be equal to the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on
the grant date and will be exercisable for the number of shares of the Company’s common stock equal to a Black-Scholes value of such nonstatutory stock option divided into the amount of the annual retainer for which an election to receive a
nonstatutory stock option is made. Such calculation will be performed with the applicable inputs as if such calculation were performed on the first trading day of the December that precedes the fiscal year for which the election is made. In the
event that an election is made for restricted stock or restricted stock unit awards, the number of restricted stock or restricted stock unit awards granted will be determined using the average daily closing sales price per share as reported on the
Nasdaq Global Market for the month of November that precedes the fiscal year for which the election is made, divided into the portion of the annual retainer for which an election to receive the restricted stock or restricted stock unit award is
made. 
  
 Members of our Board will also be paid $1,500 and $1,000
in cash for attending special meetings in person or telephonically, respectively. For attending special meetings of committees of the Board, members of each committee will receive $1,000 in cash. 
  
 Additionally, members of the Board who are not employees or officers of the
Company receive a nonqualified stock option to purchase 40,000 shares of the Company’s common stock on the date of their election to the Board and also receive an annual nonqualified stock option to purchase 20,000 additional shares of the
Company’s common stock at the annual stockholders meeting.