Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Stock-Based Compensation

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Stock-Based Compensation
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock-Based Compensation Stock-Based Compensation
Stock Incentive Plan
On October 31, 2014, the Board of Directors approved the Company’s 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan. On June 14, 2022, the Board approved the 2014 Amended and Restated Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2014 Amended and Restated Plan”) which replaced the 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan in its entirety.
On September 29, 2023, the Board and Majority Stockholders adopted and approved Amendment No. 1 to the 2014 Amended and Restated Plan. Amendment No. 1 to the 2014 Amended and the Restated Plan became effective on November 6, 2023. As of March 31, 2024, 2,464,345 shares were authorized for the issuance under the 2014 Plan.
The Company has reserved shares for issuance under our equity incentive plan upon share option exercise. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had 127,034 shares available for future grant under the 2014 Plan.
Stock Options
The following is a summary of option activities under the Company’s 2014 Amended and Restated Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2024:
Number of
Shares		 Weighted
Average
Exercise Price		 Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (Years)		 Aggregate Intrinsic Value*
Outstanding, December 31, 2023 498,298  $ 8.96  7.24 $ 20,441 
Granted 703,100  14.56 
Outstanding, March 31, 2024 1,201,398  $ 12.23  9.37 $ 5,678,677 
Exercisable, March 31, 2024 218,793  $ 16.09  7.82 $ 1,442,967 
*The aggregate intrinsic value is the sum of the amounts by which the quoted market price of the Company’s stock exceeded the exercise price of the stock options at March 31, 2024 for those stock options for which the quoted market price was in excess of the exercise price ("in-the-money options").
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of stock options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2024, was $11.60.
The fair value of the Company's stock option grants were estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model under the following assumptions:
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2024
Dividend yield 0.00%
Volatility factor
99.58% - 99.96%
Risk-free interest rate 4.26%
Expected term (years)
5.27 - 6.08
Restricted Stock Units
On February 29, 2024, the Company granted RSUs to its executive management team and to certain members of the Board with market based vesting conditions. The RSUs are eligible to vest subject to the achievement and attainment of certain market capitalization target goals and share price targets (market-based vesting conditions). The Company used the Monte Carlo Simulation model to evaluate the derived service period and fair value of awards with market and performance conditions, including assumptions of historical volatility and risk-free interest rate commensurate with the vesting term.
The fair value of the Company's market-based RSUs were estimated on the date of grant under the following assumptions:
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2024
Dividend yield 0.00%
Volatility factor 93.71%
Risk-free interest rate 4.16%
Derived service periods (years)
1.27 - 2.48
The following is a summary of restricted stock unit activity during the year ended March 31, 2024:
Number of
Shares		 Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, December 31, 2023 847,777  $ 3.66 
Granted 275,000  14.10 
Unvested, March 31, 2024 1,122,777  $ 6.21 
Stock-Based Compensation Expense
The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense using the straight-line method over the requisite service period or derived service period. The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense for the stock options and the RSUs discussed above, in its Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as follows:
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2024 2023
Research and development $ 391,611  $ 44,468 
General and administrative 2,086,568  87,111 
$ 2,478,179  $ 131,579 
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the first three market based conditions of the RSUs granted in August 2023 were met and the Company recognized $1,777,673 in stock based compensation related to these awards.
The total amount of unrecognized compensation cost was $14,398,828 as of March 31, 2024. This amount will be recognized over a weighted average period of 4.75 years.