DND Pharmatech Co-Founders Exercise Stock Options, Reaffirming Confidence in Long-Term Growth

Three Former Johns Hopkins Medical School Co-Founders Participate

All Exercised Shares Locked Up Until May 2027

DND Pharmatech, a company developing new drugs in the GLP-1 class, announced on June 4 that its co-founders—former faculty members of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine—have exercised their stock options, reaffirming their confidence in the company’s growth potential.

DND Pharmatech company logo image. DND Pharmatech

This stock option exercise involved three co-founders who participated in the founding of DND Pharmatech and its subsidiaries. These individuals have been deeply involved in developing the company’s core pipelines and establishing global strategies, beyond simply serving as research advisors.

Among the participants, Professor Ted Dawson is a leading authority in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and currently serves as Director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He contributed to establishing the scientific foundation for DND Pharmatech’s Parkinson’s disease therapy, Pegsebranatide (NLY01). Alongside CEO Lee Seulki, he conducted research that clarified the neuroprotective mechanisms of GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Dr. Valina Dawson is a renowned scholar in neurodegenerative disease research. Together with Professor Ted Dawson, she is also a co-founder of Valtes Sequencing, DND Pharmatech’s big data and artificial intelligence subsidiary focused on brain diseases.

Dr. Martin Pomper, who is involved in developing the company’s radiopharmaceutical pipeline, also participated in the event. He is a co-founder of Z-Alpha, a U.S. company specializing in radiopharmaceutical therapeutics, and an expert in nuclear medicine. He is well known as the developer of PYLARIFY, a PSMA PET imaging agent for prostate cancer diagnosis.

According to the company, all shares acquired through this stock option exercise, as well as shares previously held by the co-founders, will be subject to a lock-up until May 2027. Despite potential tax liabilities under U.S. tax law for unrealized gains when exercising overseas stock options, the decision to opt for a long-term lock-up is cited as evidence of their trust in the company’s value.

A DND Pharmatech representative stated, “The co-founders’ exercise of their stock options demonstrates their confidence in the future value of the company,” adding, “We expect this will have a positive impact on our global research and development and commercialization efforts.”

DND Pharmatech recently announced the results of a phase 2 liver biopsy for its MASH treatment candidate, Zabofegdutide (DD01). Based on these results, the company is pursuing business development activities, including technology licensing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.