Exhibit 10.1

NitroMed, Inc.

Restricted Stock Agreement

NitroMed, Inc. (the “Company”) has selected you to receive the restricted stock award described above, which is subject to the provisions of the Company’s Amended and Restated 2003 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the terms and conditions contained in this Restricted Stock Agreement.  Please confirm your acceptance of this restricted stock award and of the terms and conditions of this Agreement by signing a copy of this Agreement where indicated below.

NitroMed, Inc.

Restricted Stock Agreement

The terms and conditions of the award of shares of restricted common stock of the Company (the “Restricted Shares”) made to the Recipient, as set forth on the cover page of this Agreement, are as follows:

1.             Issuance of Restricted Shares.

(a)           The Restricted Shares are issued to the Recipient, effective as of the Grant Date (as set forth on the cover page of this Agreement), in consideration of employment services rendered and to be rendered by the Recipient to the Company.

(b)           As promptly as practicable following the Grant Date, the Company shall issue one or more certificates in the name of the Recipient for the Restricted Shares.  Such certificate(s) shall initially be held on behalf of the Recipient by the Secretary of the Company.  Following the vesting of any Restricted Shares pursuant to Section 2 below, the Secretary shall, if requested by the Recipient, deliver to the Recipient a certificate representing the vested Restricted Shares.  The Recipient agrees that the Restricted Shares shall be subject to the forfeiture provisions set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement and the restrictions on transfer set forth in Section 4 of this Agreement.

2.             Vesting.

(a)           Vesting Schedule.  Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement or the Plan, the Restricted Shares shall vest in accordance with the following vesting schedule:  [_______________].  Any fractional number of Restricted Shares resulting from the application of the foregoing percentages shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number of Restricted Shares.

(b)           Acceleration of Vesting.  Notwithstanding the foregoing vesting schedule, all unvested Restricted Shares shall vest effective immediately prior to (i) a Change in Control Event (as defined below) or (ii) upon termination of employment without Cause (as defined below) of the Recipient.

(c)           Definitions.

(i)            A “Change in Control” shall mean:

(A)                              the acquisition by an individual, entity or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)) (a “Person”) of beneficial ownership of any capital stock of the Company if, after such acquisition, such Person beneficially owns (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) 50% or more of

either (x) the then-outstanding shares of common stock of the Company (the “Outstanding Company Common Stock”) or (y) the combined voting power of the then-outstanding securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “Outstanding Company Voting Securities”); provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection (i), the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (A) any acquisition directly from the Company (excluding an acquisition pursuant to the exercise, conversion or exchange of any security exercisable for, convertible into or exchangeable for common stock or voting securities of the Company, unless the Person exercising, converting or exchanging such security acquired such security directly from the Company or an underwriter or agent of the Company), or (B) any acquisition by any corporation pursuant to a Business Combination (as defined below) which complies with clauses (x) and (y) of subsection (C) of this definition; or

(B)                                such time as the Continuing Directors (as defined below) do not constitute a majority of the Board (or, if applicable, the Board of Directors of a successor corporation to the Company), where the term “Continuing Director” means at any date a member of the Board (x) who was a member of the Board on the effective date of this Agreement by the Board or (y) who was nominated or elected subsequent to such date by at least a majority of the directors who were Continuing Directors at the time of such nomination or election or whose election to the Board was recommended or endorsed by at least a majority of the directors who were Continuing Directors at the time of such nomination or election; provided, however, that there shall be excluded from this clause (y) any individual whose initial assumption of office occurred as a result of an actual or threatened election contest with respect to the election or removal of directors or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents, by or on behalf of a person other than the Board; or

(C)                                the consummation of a merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization or share exchange involving the Company or a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (a “Business Combination”), unless, immediately following such Business Combination, each of the following two conditions is satisfied: (x) all or substantially all of the

individuals and entities who were the beneficial owners of the Outstanding Company Common Stock and Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the then-outstanding shares of common stock and the combined voting power of the then-outstanding securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, respectively, of the resulting or acquiring corporation in such Business Combination (which shall include, without limitation, a corporation which as a result of such transaction owns the Company or substantially all of the Company’s assets either directly or through one or more subsidiaries) (such resulting or acquiring corporation is referred to herein as the “Acquiring Corporation”) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the Outstanding Company Common Stock and Outstanding Company Voting Securities, respectively, immediately prior to such Business Combination and (y) no Person (excluding any employee benefit plan (or related trust) maintained or sponsored by the Company or by the Acquiring Corporation) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the then-outstanding shares of common stock of the Acquiring Corporation, or of the combined voting power of the then-outstanding securities of such corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (except to the extent that such ownership existed prior to the Business Combination); or

(D)                               the liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

(ii)           “Cause” is determined by the Company in its sole discretion, and can include, but is not limited to, (i) any act or omission by the employee that may have an adverse effect on the Company’s business or on the employee’s ability to perform services for the Company, including, without limitation, the commission of any crime (other than ordinary traffic violations); or (ii) any misconduct or neglect of duties by the employee in connection with the business or affairs of the Company, including, but not limited to, misappropriation of Company assets, or failure to perform reasonable assigned duties.

3.             Forfeiture of Unvested Restricted Shares Upon Employment Termination.

In the event that the Recipient ceases to be employed by the Company for any reason or no reason, except as provided in Section 2(b) above, all of the Restricted Shares that are unvested as of the time of such employment termination shall be forfeited immediately and automatically to the Company, without the payment of any consideration to the Recipient, effective as of such

termination of employment.  The Recipient hereby authorizes the Company to take any actions necessary or appropriate to cancel any certificate(s) representing forfeited Restricted Shares and transfer ownership of such forfeited Restricted Shares to the Company; and if the Company or its transfer agent requires an executed stock power or similar confirmatory instrument in connection with such cancellation and transfer, the Recipient shall promptly execute and deliver the same to the Company.  The Recipient shall have no further rights with respect to any Restricted Shares that are so forfeited.  If the Recipient is employed by a subsidiary of the Company, any references in this Agreement to employment with the Company shall instead be deemed to refer to employment with such subsidiary.

4.             Restrictions on Transfer.

The Recipient shall not sell, assign, transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of, by operation of law or otherwise (collectively “transfer”) any Restricted Shares, or any interest therein, until such Restricted Shares have vested, except that the Recipient may transfer such Restricted Shares: (a) to or for the benefit of any spouse, children, parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, grandchildren and any other relatives approved by the Board of Directors of the Company (collectively, “Approved Relatives”) or to a trust established solely for the benefit of the Recipient and/or Approved Relatives, provided that such Restricted Shares shall remain subject to this Agreement (including without limitation the forfeiture provisions set forth in Section 3 and the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Section 4) and such permitted transferee shall, as a condition to such transfer, deliver to the Company a written instrument confirming that such transferee shall be bound by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement; or (b) as part of the sale of all or substantially all of the shares of capital stock of the Company (including pursuant to a merger or consolidation).  The Company shall not be required (i) to transfer on its books any of the Restricted Shares which have been transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement or (ii) to treat as owner of such Restricted Shares or to pay dividends to any transferee to whom such Restricted Shares have been transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement.

5.             Restrictive Legends.

All certificates representing Restricted Shares shall have affixed thereto a legend in substantially the following form, in addition to any other legends that may be required under applicable law:

“These shares of stock are subject to forfeiture provisions and restrictions on transfer set forth in a certain Restricted Stock Agreement between the corporation and the registered owner of these shares (or his or her predecessor in interest), and such Agreement is available for inspection without charge at the office of the Secretary of the corporation.”

6.             Rights as a Shareholder.

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, for so long as the Recipient is the registered owner of the Restricted Shares, the Recipient shall have all rights as a shareholder with respect to the Restricted Shares, whether vested or unvested, including, without limitation,

any rights to receive dividends and distributions with respect to the Restricted Shares and to vote the Restricted Shares and act in respect of the Restricted Shares at any meeting of shareholders.

7.             Provisions of the Plan.

This Agreement is subject to the provisions of the Plan, a copy of which is furnished to the Recipient with this Agreement.  As provided in the Plan, upon the occurrence of a Reorganization Event (as defined in the Plan), the rights of the Company hereunder (including the right to receive forfeited Restricted Shares) shall inure to the benefit of the Company’s successor and, unless the Board determines otherwise, shall apply to the cash, securities or other property which the Restricted Shares were converted into or exchanged for pursuant to such Reorganization Event in the same manner and to the same extent as they applied to the Restricted Shares under this Agreement.

8.             Tax Matters.

(a)           Acknowledgments; Section 83(b) Election.  The Recipient acknowledges that he or she is responsible obtaining the advice of the Recipient’s own tax advisors with respect to the acquisition of the Restricted Shares and the Recipient is relying solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the Company or any of its agents with respect to the tax consequences relating to the Restricted Shares.  The Recipient understands that the Recipient (and not the Company) shall be responsible for the Recipient’s tax liability that may arise in connection with the acquisition, vesting and/or disposition of the Restricted Shares.  The Recipient acknowledges that he or she has been informed of the availability of making an election under Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, with respect to the issuance of the Restricted Shares and that the Recipient has decided not to file a Section 83(b) election.

(b)           Withholding.  The Recipient acknowledges and agrees that the Company has the right to deduct from payments of any kind otherwise due to the Recipient any federal, state, local or other taxes of any kind required by law to be withheld with respect to the vesting of the Restricted Shares.  On each date on which Restricted Shares vest, the Company shall deliver written notice to the Recipient of the amount of withholding taxes due with respect to the vesting of the Restricted Shares that vest on such date; provided, however, that the total tax withholding cannot exceed the Company’s minimum statutory withholding obligations (based on minimum statutory withholding rates for federal and state tax purposes, including payroll taxes, that are applicable to such supplemental taxable income).  The Recipient shall satisfy such tax withholding obligations by transferring to the Company, on each date on which Restricted Shares vest under this Agreement, such number of Restricted Shares that vest on such date as have a fair market value (calculated using the last reported sale price of the common stock of the Company on the NASDAQ Global Market on the trading date immediately prior to such vesting date) equal to the amount of the Company’s tax withholding obligation in connection with the vesting of such Restricted Shares.  To effect such delivery of Restricted Shares, the Recipient hereby authorizes the Company to take any actions necessary or appropriate to cancel any certificate(s) representing such Restricted Shares and transfer ownership of such Restricted Shares to the Company; and if the Company or its transfer agent requires an executed stock power or similar

confirmatory instrument in connection with such cancellation and transfer, the Recipient shall promptly execute and deliver the same to the Company.

9.             Miscellaneous.

(a)           No Right to Continued Employment.  The Recipient acknowledges and agrees that, notwithstanding the fact that the vesting of the Restricted Shares is contingent upon his or her continued employment by the Company (i) this Agreement does not constitute an express or implied promise or guarantee of continued employment or confer upon the Recipient any rights with respect to continued or guaranteed employment by the Company and (ii) this Agreement does not supersede the Company’s policy of at will employment.

(b)           Governing Law.  This Agreement shall be construed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware without regard to any applicable conflicts of laws provisions.

(c)           Recipient’s Acknowledgments.  The Recipient acknowledges that he or she has read this Agreement, has received and read the Plan, and understands the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Plan.

NitroMed, Inc.

Schedule of Executive Officers Party to a Form of Restricted Stock Agreement

The executive officers of NitroMed, Inc. named below have entered into the attached form of Restricted Stock Agreement.  The following chart illustrates the material differences in the terms of the form of the Restricted Stock Agreement entered into by each such executive officer:

The vesting schedule with respect to the Restricted Shares for each of the above-named executive officers is as follows:  25% of the Restricted Shares will vest on the date that is six months after the Grant Date; 25% of the Restricted Shares will vest on the first anniversary of the Grant Date; and 50% of the Restricted Shares will vest on the second anniversary of the Grant Date.