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RIBOGENE, INC.
1998 NON-OFFICER EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Pursuant to the Grant Notice and this Stock Option Agreement, the
Company has granted you an option to purchase the number of shares of the
Company's common stock ("Common Stock") indicated in the Grant Notice at the
exercise price indicated in the Grant Notice. Defined terms not explicitly
defined in this Stock Option Agreement but defined in the Plan shall have the
same definitions as in the Plan.
The details of your option are as follows:
1. VESTING. Subject to the limitations contained herein, your option
will vest as provided in the Grant Notice, provided that vesting will cease upon
the termination of your Continuous Service.
2. METHOD OF PAYMENT.
(a) PAYMENT OPTIONS. Payment of the exercise price by cash or
check is due in full upon exercise of all or any part of your option, provided
that you may elect, to the extent permitted by applicable law and the Grant
Notice, to make payment of the exercise price under one of the following
alternatives:
(i) Pursuant to a program developed under
Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board which, prior to the
issuance of Common Stock, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by
the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the aggregate
exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds;
(ii) Provided that at the time of exercise the
Company's Common Stock is publicly traded and quoted regularly in The Wall
Street Journal, by delivery of already-owned shares of Common Stock, held for
the period required to avoid a charge to the Company's reported earnings, and
owned free and clear of any liens, claims, encumbrances or security interests,
which Common Stock shall be valued at its fair market value on the date of
exercise; or
(iii) Payment by a combination of the above
methods.
3. WHOLE SHARES. Your option may only be exercised for whole shares.
4. SECURITIES LAW COMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained herein, your option may not be exercised unless the shares issuable
upon exercise of your option are then registered under the Securities Act or, if
such shares are not then so registered, the Company has determined that such
exercise and issuance would be exempt from the registration requirements of the
Securities Act.
5. TERM. The term of your option commences on the Date of Grant and
expires upon the earliest of:
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(i) the Expiration Date indicated in the Grant
Notice;
(ii) the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Date of
Xxxxx;
(iii) eighteen (18) months after your death, if
you die during, or within three (3) months after the termination of, your
Continuous Service;
(iv) twelve (12) months after the termination of
your Continuous Service due to Disability;
(v) the termination of your Continuous Service
for Cause; or
(vi) three (3) months after the termination of
your Continuous Service for any other reason, provided that if during any part
of such three (3)-month period the option is not exercisable solely because of
the condition set forth in paragraph 4 (Securities Law Compliance), in which
event the option shall not expire until the earlier of the Expiration Date or
until it shall have been exercisable for an aggregate period of three (3) months
after the termination of Continuous Service.
For these purposes, "Cause" shall mean willful conduct that is
materially injurious to the Company (or any Affiliate) or any successor thereto,
whether financial or otherwise.
To obtain the federal income tax advantages associated with an
"incentive stock option," the Code requires that at all times beginning on the
grant date of the option and ending on the day three (3) months before the date
of the option's exercise, you must be an employee of the Company, except in the
event of your death or permanent and total disability. The Company cannot
guarantee that your option will be treated as an "incentive stock option" if you
exercise your option more than three (3) months after the date your employment
with the Company terminates.
6. EXERCISE.
(a) You may exercise the vested portion of your option during
its term (and the unvested portion of your option if the Grant Notice so
permits) by delivering a Notice of Exercise (in the form attached to your Grant
Notice or other form designated by the Company) together with the exercise price
to the Secretary of the Company, or to such other person as the Company may
designate, during regular business hours, together with such additional
documents as the Company may then require.
(b) By exercising your option you agree that as a condition to
any exercise of your option, the Company may require you to enter an arrangement
providing for the payment by you to the Company of any tax withholding
obligation of the Company arising by reason of (1) the exercise of your option;
(2) the lapse of any substantial risk of forfeiture to which the shares are
subject at the time of exercise; or (3) the disposition of shares acquired upon
such exercise.
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7. TRANSFERABILITY. Your option is not transferable, except by will or
by the laws of descent and distribution, and is exercisable during your life
only by you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by delivering written notice to the
Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, you may designate a third party
who, in the event of your death, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise your
option.
8. OPTION NOT A SERVICE CONTRACT. Your option is not an employment
contract and nothing in your option shall be deemed to create in any way
whatsoever any obligation on your part to continue in the employ of the Company,
or of the Company to continue your employment with the Company. In addition,
nothing in your option shall obligate the Company, its shareholders, Board of
Directors, officers or employees to continue any relationship which you might
have as a Director or Consultant for the Company.
9. NOTICES. Any notices provided for in your option or the Plan shall
be given in writing and shall be deemed effectively given upon receipt or, in
the case of notices delivered by the Company to you, five (5) days after deposit
in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to you at the last address
you provided to the Company.
10. GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT. Your option is subject to all the
provisions of the Plan, the provisions of which are hereby made a part of your
option, including without limitation the provisions of the Plan relating to
option provisions, and is further subject to all interpretations, amendments,
rules and regulations which may from time to time be promulgated and adopted
pursuant to the Plan. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of
your option and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.
