Description of Securities

Exhibit 4.2

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

As of December 31, 2019, Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) had one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our Common Stock.

Description of Common Stock

The following description of our Common Stock is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”) and our Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”), each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.2 is a part, and by applicable law. We encourage you to read our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law for additional information.

Authorized Capital Stock

Our authorized capital stock consists of 150,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), all of which shares of Preferred Stock are undesignated.

Common Stock

The holders of our Common Stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. The holders of our Common Stock do not have any cumulative voting rights. Holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by our board of directors (the “Board”) out of funds legally available for that purpose, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any outstanding Preferred Stock. Our Common Stock has no preemptive rights, conversion rights or other subscription rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our Common Stock will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of all debts and other liabilities and any liquidation preference of any outstanding Preferred Stock. All outstanding shares are fully paid and nonassessable.

Our Common Stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “GBT.”

The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock is Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Company.

Preferred Stock — Limitations on Rights of Holders of Common Stock

Our Board is authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of undesignated Preferred Stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our Board may determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of Preferred Stock. The purpose of authorizing our Board to issue Preferred Stock in one or more series and determine the number of shares in the series and its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. Examples of rights and preferences that the Board may fix are: dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of our Common Stock. The rights of holders of our Common Stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of any Preferred Stock that we may designate and issue in the future. The issuance of shares of undesignated Preferred Stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of shares of Common Stock. The issuance may also adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of these holders and may have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us.

Antitakeover Effects of Delaware Law and Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions, which are summarized below, are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and, as a consequence, they might also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our Common Stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions are also designed in part to encourage anyone seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our Board. These provisions might also have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. However, we believe that the advantages gained by protecting our ability to negotiate with any unsolicited and potentially unfriendly acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging such proposals, including those priced above the then-current market value of our Common Stock, because, among other reasons, the negotiation of such proposals could improve their terms.

Delaware Takeover Statute

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that this stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Under Section 203, a business combination between a corporation and an interested stockholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions:

Section 203 defines a business combination to include:

In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by the entity or person.

Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us and encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral takeover proposals to negotiate with our Board rather than pursue non-negotiated takeover attempts. These provisions include the items described below.

Board composition and filling vacancies. In accordance with our Certificate of Incorporation, our Board is divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms, with one class being elected each year. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that directors may be removed only for cause and then only by the affirmative vote of the holders of 75% or more of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors. Furthermore, any vacancy on our Board, however occurring, including a vacancy resulting from an increase in the size of our Board, may only be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of our directors then in office even if less than a quorum.

No written consent of stockholders. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that all stockholder actions are required to be taken by a vote of the stockholders at an annual or special meeting, and that stockholders may not take any action by written consent in lieu of a meeting. This limit may lengthen the amount of time required to take stockholder actions and would prevent the amendment of our Bylaws or removal of directors by our stockholders without holding a meeting of stockholders.

Meetings of stockholders. Our Bylaws provide that only a majority of the members of our Board then in office may call special meetings of stockholders and only those matters set forth in the notice of the special meeting may be considered or acted upon at a special meeting of stockholders. Our Bylaws limit the business that may be conducted at an annual meeting of stockholders to those matters properly brought before the meeting.

Advance notice requirements. Our Bylaws establish advance notice procedures with regard to stockholder proposals relating to the nomination of candidates for election as directors or new business to be brought before meetings of our stockholders. These procedures provide that notice of stockholder proposals must be timely given in writing to our corporate secretary prior to the meeting at which the action is to be taken. Generally, to be timely, notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days or more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the annual meeting for the preceding year. The notice must contain certain information specified in our Bylaws.

Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws. As required by the Delaware General Corporation Law, any amendment of our Certificate of Incorporation must first be approved by a majority of our Board, and if required by law or our Certificate of Incorporation, must thereafter be approved by a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, and a majority of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class, except that the amendment of the provisions relating to stockholder action, directors, limitation of liability and the amendment of our Certificate of Incorporation must be approved by not less than 75% of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, and not less than 75% of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class. Our Bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, subject to any limitations set forth in the Bylaws; and may also be amended by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, or, if the Board recommends that the stockholders approve the amendment, by the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, in each case voting together as a single class.