Form of Performance Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement

EX-10.1 2 vygr-20250331xex10d1.htm EX-10.1

Exhibit 10.1

PERFORMANCE RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
FOR COMPANY EMPLOYEES
UNDER VOYAGER THERAPEUTICS, INC.
2015 STOCK OPTION AND INCENTIVE PLAN

Pursuant to the Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. 2015 Stock Option and Incentive Plan as amended through the date hereof (the “Plan”), Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby grants an award of the number of Performance Restricted Stock Units listed on the cover page hereof (an “Award”) to the Grantee named on the cover page hereof. Each Performance Restricted Stock Unit shall relate to one share of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Stock”) of the Company.

1.Restrictions on Transfer of Award. This Award may not be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned or otherwise encumbered or disposed of by the Grantee, and any shares of Stock issuable with respect to the Award may not be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned or otherwise encumbered or disposed of until (i) the Performance Restricted Stock Units have vested as provided in Paragraph 2 of this Agreement and (ii) shares of Stock have been issued to the Grantee in accordance with the terms of the Plan and this Agreement.

2.Vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units. The restrictions and conditions of Paragraph 1 of this Agreement shall lapse on the Vesting Date or Vesting Dates specified on Exhibit A so long as the Grantee remains an employee of the Company or a Subsidiary on such Vesting Dates. If a series of Vesting Dates is specified, then the restrictions and conditions in Paragraph 1 shall lapse only with respect to the number of Performance Restricted Stock Units specified as vested on such date. The Administrator may at any time accelerate the vesting schedule specified in this Paragraph 2.

3.Termination of Employment. If the Grantee’s employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries terminates for any reason (including death or disability) prior to the satisfaction of the vesting conditions set forth in Paragraph 2 above, any Performance Restricted Stock Units that have not vested as of such date shall automatically and without notice terminate and be forfeited, and neither the Grantee nor any of his or her successors, heirs, assigns, or personal representatives will thereafter have any further rights or interests in such unvested Performance Restricted Stock Units.

4.Issuance of Shares of Stock. As soon as practicable following each Vesting Date (but in no event later than two and one-half months after the end of the year in which the Vesting Date occurs), the Company shall issue to the Grantee the number of shares of Stock equal to the aggregate number of Performance Restricted Stock Units that have vested pursuant to Paragraph 2 of this Agreement on such date and the Grantee shall thereafter have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to such shares.

5.Incorporation of Plan. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Agreement shall be subject to and governed by all the terms and conditions of the Plan, including the powers of the Administrator set forth in Section 2(b) of the Plan. Capitalized terms in this Agreement shall have the meaning specified in the Plan, unless a different meaning is specified herein.

6.Tax Withholding. The Grantee acknowledges and agrees that the Company has the right to deduct from payments of any kind otherwise due to the Grantee any federal, state, local or other taxes of any kind required by law to be withheld with respect to the vesting of the Performance Restricted Stock Units. At

such time as the Grantee is not aware of any material nonpublic information about the Company or the Stock, the Grantee shall execute the instructions set forth in Schedule 1 attached hereto (the “Durable Automatic Sale Instructions”) as the means of satisfying such tax obligation. If the Grantee does not execute the Durable Automatic Sale Instructions prior to an applicable Vesting Date, then the Grantee agrees that if under applicable law the Grantee will owe taxes at such Vesting Date on the portion of the Award then vested the Company shall be entitled to immediate payment from the Grantee of the amount of any tax required to be withheld by the Company. The Company shall not deliver any shares of Stock to the Participant until it is satisfied that all required withholdings have been made.

7.Section 409A of the Code. This Agreement shall be interpreted in such a manner that all provisions relating to the settlement of the Award are exempt from the requirements of Section 409A of the Code as “short-term deferrals” as described in Section 409A of the Code.

8.No Obligation to Continue Employment. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is obligated by or as a result of the Plan or this Agreement to continue the Grantee in employment and neither the Plan nor this Agreement shall interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any Subsidiary to terminate the employment of the Grantee at any time.

9.Integration. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to this Award and supersedes all prior agreements and discussions between the parties concerning such subject matter.

10.Data Privacy Consent. In order to administer the Plan and this Agreement and to implement or structure future equity grants, the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates and certain agents thereof (together, the “Relevant Companies”) may process any and all personal or professional data, including but not limited to Social Security or other identification number, home address and telephone number, date of birth and other information that is necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan and/or this Agreement (the “Relevant Information”). By entering into this Agreement, the Grantee (i) authorizes the Company to collect, process, register and transfer to the Relevant Companies all Relevant Information; (ii) waives any privacy rights the Grantee may have with respect to the Relevant Information; (iii) authorizes the Relevant Companies to store and transmit such information in electronic form; and (iv) authorizes the transfer of the Relevant Information to any jurisdiction in which the Relevant Companies consider appropriate. The Grantee shall have access to, and the right to change, the Relevant Information. Relevant Information will only be used in accordance with applicable law.

11.Notices. Notices hereunder shall be mailed or delivered to the Company at its principal place of business and shall be mailed or delivered to the Grantee at the address on file with the Company or, in either case, at such other address as one party may subsequently furnish to the other party in writing.

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SCHEDULE 1

DURABLE AUTOMATIC SELL-TO-COVER INSTRUCTION

This Durable Automatic Sell-to-Cover Instruction (this “Instruction”), which is being delivered to Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) by the undersigned on the date set forth below (the “Adoption Date”), relates to the Covered RSUs (as defined following my signature below). This Instruction provides for “eligible sell-to-cover transactions” (as described in Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(ii)(D)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)) and is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1) under the Exchange Act.

I acknowledge that upon vesting and settlement of any Covered RSUs in accordance with the applicable RSU’s terms, whether vesting is based on the passage of time or the achievement of performance goals, I will have compensation income equal to the fair market value of the shares of the Company’s common stock subject to the RSUs that are settled on such settlement date and that the Company is required to withhold income and employment taxes in respect of that compensation income.

I desire to establish a plan and process to satisfy such withholding obligation in respect of all Covered RSUs through an automatic sale of the number of the shares of the Company’s common stock that would otherwise be issuable to me on each applicable settlement date in an amount sufficient to satisfy the applicable withholding obligation, with the proceeds of the sale delivered to the Company in satisfaction of the applicable withholding obligation.

I understand that the Company has arranged for the administration and execution of its equity incentive programs and the sale of securities by participants thereunder pursuant to a platform administered by a third party (the “Administrator”) and the Administrator’s designated brokerage partner.

Upon the settlement of any of my Covered RSUs after the 30^th day following the Adoption Date (or if I am an officer of the Company on the Adoption Date, after the 120^th day following the Adoption Date) (the “Cooling-Off Period”), I hereby appoint the Administrator (or any successor administrator) to automatically sell such number of shares of the Company’s common stock issuable with respect to such RSUs that vested and settled as is sufficient to generate net proceeds sufficient to satisfy the Company’s minimum statutory withholding obligations with respect to the income recognized by me in connection with the vesting and settlement of such RSUs (based on minimum statutory withholding rates for all tax purposes, including payroll and social security taxes, that are applicable to such income), and the Company shall receive such net proceeds in satisfaction of such tax withholding obligation.

I hereby appoint the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and the General Counsel, and any of them acting alone and with full power of substitution, to serve as my attorneys-in-fact to arrange for the sale of shares of the Company’s common stock in accordance with this Instruction. I agree to execute and deliver such documents, instruments and certificates as may reasonably be required in connection with the sale of the shares of common stock pursuant to this Instruction.

Unless the third and final box in the definition of Covered RSUs below is checked, if I have previously adopted an automatic sale or sell-to-cover instruction relating to Covered RSUs, this Instruction shall be void ab initio.

I hereby certify that, as of the Adoption Date:

(i) I am not prohibited from entering into this Instruction by the Company’s insider trading policy or otherwise;

(ii) I am not aware of any material nonpublic information about the Company or its common stock; and

(iii) I am adopting this Instruction in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade the prohibitions of Rule 10b-5 under the Exchange Act.

________________________________

Print Name: _____________________

Date: __________________________

Covered RSUs:

The following restricted stock units (“RSUs”) are covered by this Instruction.

Check all applicable boxes:

☐ The first award of RSUs granted to me on or after ______________ [insert date of grant of current RSUs the grant of which is triggering the execution of this Instruction; if instruction is being executed in advance of a grant of RSUs, insert the Adoption Date] and any RSUs that may, from time to time following such date, be granted to me by the Company, other than any future granted RSUs which by the terms of the applicable award agreement require the Company to withhold shares for tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting and settlement of such RSUs, and therefore do not permit sell-to-cover transactions.

☐ Any outstanding RSUs that were granted to me by the Company prior to the Adoption Date that (1) are not subject to any prior automatic sale or sell-to-cover instruction and (2) for which the next vesting date is after the Cooling-Off Period, other than any previously granted RSUs which by the terms of the applicable award agreement require the Company to withhold shares for tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting and settlement of such RSUs, and therefore do not permit sell-to-cover transactions.

☐ With respect to any RSUs, whether or not granted to me by the Company prior to the Adoption Date, that already are subject to an automatic sale or sell-to-cover instruction (a “Prior Instruction”), I elect to have such sales effected pursuant to this Instruction and confirm that doing so does not modify or change the amount, price, or timing of such sales from those provided by the Prior Instruction (and, as a result the Cooling-Off Period is not applicable to sales pursuant to this Instruction that were previously subject to the Prior Instruction).