Form of Vermillion, Inc.s Stock Option Award

1. Specific Terms.  Your Option has the following terms:

2. Manner of Exercise.  This Option shall be exercised in the manner set forth in the Plan, using the exercise form attached hereto as Exhibit B.  The amount of Shares for which this Option may be exercised is cumulative; that is, if you fail to exercise this Option for all of the Shares vested under this Option during any period set forth above, then any Shares subject hereto that are not exercised during such period may be exercised during any subsequent period, until the expiration or termination of this Option pursuant to Sections 1 and 4 of this Award Agreement and the terms of the Plan.  Fractional Shares may not be purchased.

3. Special ISO Provisions.  If designated as an ISO, this Option shall be treated as an ISO to the extent allowable under Section 422 of the Code, and shall otherwise be treated as a Non-ISO.  If you sell or otherwise dispose of Shares acquired upon the exercise of an ISO within 1 year from the date such Shares were acquired or 2 years from the Grant Date, you agree to deliver a written report to the Company within 10 days following the sale or other disposition of such Shares detailing the net proceeds of such sale or disposition.

4. Termination of Continuous Service.  Subject to the terms of any employment agreement between you and the Company (and/or any Affiliate) that is in effect when your Continuous Service terminates, this Award shall be canceled and become automatically null and void immediately after termination of your Continuous Service for any reason, but only to the extent you have not become vested, pursuant to the terms of Section 1 above, on or before your Continuous Service ends.

5. Designation of Beneficiary.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or in the Plan, following the execution of this Award Agreement, you may expressly designate a death beneficiary (the “Beneficiary”) to your interest if any, in this Award and any underlying Shares.  You shall designate the Beneficiary by completing and executing a designation of beneficiary agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “Designation of Death Beneficiary”) and delivering an executed copy of the Designation of Beneficiary to the Company.  To the extent you do not duly designate a beneficiary who survives you, your estate will automatically be your beneficiary.

6. Restrictions on Transfer of Award. Your rights under this Award Agreement may not be sold, pledged, or otherwise transferred without the prior written consent of the Committee, except as hereinafter provided.

7. Taxes.  Except to the extent otherwise specifically provided in an employment or consulting agreement between you and your employer, by signing this Award Agreement, you acknowledge that you shall be solely responsible for the satisfaction of any taxes that may arise pursuant to this Award (including taxes arising under Sections 409A (regarding deferred compensation) or 4999 (regarding golden parachute excise taxes), and that neither the Company nor the Administrator shall have any obligation whatsoever to pay such taxes or to otherwise indemnify or hold you harmless from any or all of such taxes.  The Committee shall have the sole discretion to interpret the requirements of the Code, including Section 409A, for purposes of the Plan and this Award Agreement.

8. Not a Contract of Employment.  By executing this Award, you acknowledge and agree that (i) any person who is terminated before full vesting of an award, such as the one granted to you by this Award Agreement, could claim that he or she was terminated to preclude vesting; (ii) you promise never to make such a claim; (iii) nothing in this Award Agreement or the Plan confers on you any right to continue an employment, service or consulting relationship with the Company, nor shall it affect in any way your right or the Company’s right to terminate your employment, service, or consulting relationship at any time, with or without Cause; and (iv) the Company would not have granted this Award to you but for these acknowledgements and agreements.

9. Investment Purposes. By executing this Award Agreement, you represent and warrant that any Shares issued to you pursuant to your Option will be held for investment purposes only for your own account, and not with a view to, for resale in connection with, or with an intent in participating directly or indirectly in, any distribution of such Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

10. Securities Law Restrictions.  Regardless of whether the offering and sale of this Option or Shares under the Plan have been registered under the Securities Act, or have been registered or qualified under the securities laws of any state, the Company at its discretion may impose restrictions upon the sale, pledge or other transfer of such Shares (including the placement of appropriate legends on stock certificates or the imposition of stop-transfer instructions) if, in the judgment of the Company, such restrictions are necessary or desirable in order to achieve compliance with the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state or any other law or to enforce the intent of this Award.

11. Headings.  Section and other headings contained in this Award Agreement are for reference purposes only and are not intended to describe, interpret, define, or limit the scope or intent of this Award Agreement or any provision hereof.

12. Severability.  Every provision of this Award Agreement and of the Plan is intended to be severable.  If any term hereof is illegal or invalid for any reason, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect the validity or legality of the remaining terms of this Award Agreement.

13. Counterparts.  This Award Agreement may be executed by the parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered shall be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. 

14. Notices.  Any notice or communication required or permitted by any provision of this Award Agreement to be given to you shall be in writing and shall be delivered electronically, personally, or sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to you at the last address that the Company

15. Binding Effect.  Except as otherwise provided in this Award Agreement or in the Plan, every covenant, term, and provision of this Award Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors, transferees, and assigns.

16. Modifications.  This Award Agreement may be modified or amended at any time, in accordance with Section 18 of the Plan.

17. Plan Governs.  By signing this Award Agreement, you acknowledge that you have received a copy of the Plan and that your Award Agreement is subject to all the provisions contained in the Plan, the provisions of which are made a part of this Award Agreement and your Award is subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations which from time to time may be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Plan.  In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Award Agreement and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.

18. Governing Law.  The laws of the State of California shall govern the validity of this Award Agreement, the construction of its terms, and the interpretation of the rights and duties of the parties hereto.