The Company maintains the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2021 Plan, which provides for the granting of stock awards to employees, directors and consultants. As of March 31, 2026, there were 0.3 million shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2021 Plan. The Company also maintains the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or the ESPP, which allows eligible employees to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at a discount through payroll deductions of up to 15% of their eligible compensation, subject to plan limitations. As of March 31, 2026, there were approximately 0.1 million shares of common stock available for issuance under the ESPP. In August 2025, the Company adopted the 2025 Equity Inducement Plan, or the Inducement Plan, to grant share-based awards, including nonqualified stock options and restricted stock units, to newly hired employees as an inducement to such individuals’ entry into employment with the Company in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). As of March 31, 2026, there were approximately 0.2 million shares of common stock available for issuance under the Inducement Plan.

A summary of stock option activity is set forth below (shares in thousands):


	Options Outstanding
				Weighted		Average		Aggregate
				Average		Remaining		Intrinsic
	Number of			Exercise		Contractual Life		Value
	Options			Price		(In years)		(In thousands)
Outstanding – December 31, 2025		1,269		$	14.30		8.43
Granted		738			24.52
Exercised		(8	)		11.54
Forfeited		(43	)		16.11
Outstanding – March 31, 2026		1,956			18.13		8.77	$	22,958
Exercisable – March 31, 2026		532			18.83		7.18		6,910

The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding and exercisable are the difference between the exercise price of the options and the fair value of the Company’s common stock at March 31, 2026.

During the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, the Company granted options with a weighted-average grant-date fair value of $19.24 per share and $9.61 per share.

The intrinsic value of options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $0.1 million. No options were exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2025.

The fair value of options is estimated at the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2026			2025
Expected term (in years)		6.02			6.02
Expected volatility		95.4	%		97.0	%
Risk-free rate		3.7	%		4.5	%
Dividend yield		—			—

The following table summarizes the Company’s activity of restricted stock units, or RSUs (shares in thousands):


				Weighted
				Average
	Number of			Grant Date
	Shares			Fair Value
RSUs, unvested at December 31, 2025		115		$	10.27
Granted		734			24.53
Vested		(18	)		9.16
Cancelled		(20	)		21.46
RSUs, unvested at March 31, 2026		811			22.92

The fair value of RSUs vested during the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 was $0.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

Total stock-based compensation expense recorded in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss was as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2026		2025
Research and development	$	762	$	266
General and administrative		1,343		568
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	2,105	$	834

As of March 31, 2026, there was approximately $37.3 million of stock-based compensation expense to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 3.60 years.

Note 11. Stock-Based Compensation Plans