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MUSTANG BIO INC

For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Mar 11, 2024.

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FY2023 · Filed Mar 11, 2024

MBIO$0.39-0.8%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

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Contents

Item 11. Executive Compensation

Named Executive Officers

As determined in accordance with SEC rules, our “named executive officers” (“NEOs”) for the year ended December 31, 2023, are the individuals set forth below:

Manuel Litchman, M.D., our President and Chief Executive Officer; and

Eliot Lurier, our Interim Chief Financial Officer.

The following table sets forth information concerning compensation paid by us to our NEOs for their services rendered to us in all capacities during the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022.

Summary Compensation Table

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Non-Equity​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​​​​Stock​​Option​​Incentive Plan​​All Other​​​
​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · Salary · ​ · Bonus · ​ · ​ · Awards(1) · ​ · ​ · Awards · ​ · ​ · Compensation · ​ · ​ · Compensation · ​ · ​ · Total
Name and Principal Position · Year · ​ · ($) · ($) · ​ · ($) · ​ · ($) · ​ · ($) · ​ · ($) · ​ · ($)
Manuel Litchman, M.D.​2023​$480,788​$—(2)​$21,050​$—​$—​$—​$501,838
President and Chief Executive Officer​2022​$448,269​$150,000​$37,820​$—​$—​$—​$636,089
Eliot Lurier (3)​2023​​—​​—​​—​​—​​—​​244,283​​244,283
Interim Chief Financial Officer​2022​​—​​—​​—​​—​​—​​282,825​​282,825
(1)The amounts in the “Stock Awards” column reflect the aggregate grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted during the year computed in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 718. The assumptions used in calculating these amounts are incorporated by reference to Note 9 to the financial statements included in this Form 10-K.
(2)As of March 11, 2024, Dr. Litchman’s 2023 annual cash incentive has not yet been approved by the Compensation Committee.
(3)Effective April 18, 2022, Mr. Lurier was appointed as our Interim Chief Financial Officer, although he remained a consultant employed by Danforth Advisors, LLC (“Danforth”) and was contracted to work for us on a part time basis, as described under “Narrative to Summary Compensation Table” below. The amount shown represents fees and expenses payable to Danforth in connection with the Chief Financial Officer services provided by Mr. Lurier based on a negotiated hourly rate. On December 8, 2023, Mr. Lurier passed away unexpectedly.

Narrative to Summary Compensation Table

Employment Agreements

Dr. Litchman

In April 2017, we entered into an employment agreement with Dr. Litchman, our President and Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to which he received an initial annual base salary of $395,000. As part of his annual review in January 2023, the Board increased Dr. Litchman’s annual base salary to $485,500 effective as of April 1, 2023. The employment agreement further provides eligibility for an incentive bonus linked to the realization of certain corporate milestones to be established annually by the Board or the Compensation Committee. Dr. Litchman’s target annual bonus is equal to fifty percent (50%) of his annual salary, and the Board or the Compensation Committee will determine the actual payout amount each year. Dr. Litchman’s annual bonus for 2023 is described under “Annual Incentive Bonus” below. The employment agreement provides that if we terminate Dr. Litchman without cause or if he resigns for good reason, as those terms are defined in the employment agreement, he will be entitled to: (i) severance payments at a rate equal to his base salary then in effect for a period of 12 months following his termination date; (ii) a pro-rata share of the annual incentive bonus for the year in which the termination occurred, to be paid when and if such bonus would have been paid under the employment agreement; (iii) accelerated partial vesting of all unvested time-based equity awards with respect to the same number of shares that would have vested if Dr. Litchman had continued in employment for one year following the termination date; and (iv) if Dr. Litchman timely elects continued health insurance coverage under COBRA, the entire premium necessary to continue such coverage for Dr. Litchman and Dr. Litchman’s eligible dependents until the conclusion of the time when Dr. Litchman is receiving continuation of base salary payments or until Dr. Litchman becomes eligible for group health insurance coverage under another employer’s plan, whichever occurs first, provided however that we have the right to terminate

such payment of COBRA premiums on behalf of Dr. Litchman and instead pay him a lump sum amount equal to the COBRA premium times the number of months remaining in the specified period if we determine in our discretion that continued payment of COBRA premiums is or may be discriminatory under Section 105(h) of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, if Dr. Litchman is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason within twelve months following a change in control, he will be entitled to the severance benefits described in (i), (ii) and (iv) of the immediately preceding sentence, as well as 100% accelerated vesting of the options and other equity awards granted to him. In the event Dr. Litchman’s employment is terminated due to his death or disability, he or his estate will receive continuing salary payments for ninety days and a pro-rata share of the annual incentive bonus for the year in which the termination occurred, to be paid when and if such bonus would have been paid under the employment agreement. In each case, the severance benefits are conditioned upon Dr. Litchman’s execution and non-revocation of a release of claims against us and compliance with certain non-solicitation and non-competition covenants during his employment and for a period of six months thereafter. Also, the severance benefits are subject to reduction to avoid the imposition of excise taxes under Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code, provided that such reduction would result in a better after-tax result for Dr. Litchman.

Mr. Lurier

Mr. Lurier provided consulting services to us pursuant to a consulting agreement between us and Danforth Advisors, LLC and received no compensation directly from us.

Annual Cash Incentive Bonus

In 2023, Dr. Litchman was eligible to earn a target annual cash incentive equal to 50% of his base salary per the terms of his Employment Agreement.

Dr. Litchman’s annual cash incentive bonus is based upon our performance against pre-established corporate goals and objectives, which included a combination of clinical and nonclinical goals related to our products (weighted at an aggregate of 90% of the target awards) as well as other corporate development goals (weighted at 10% of the target awards), and his individual performance based upon subjective performance reviews. Our corporate goals were achieved at an aggregate level of 96% reflecting the successful achievement of clinical, nonclinical, and corporate development goals. As of March 11, 2024, Dr. Litchman’s annual cash incentive bonus has not yet been approved by the Compensation Committee. The actual amounts paid to Dr. Litchman pursuant to his annual cash incentive award is reported in the “Summary Compensation Table” as non-equity incentive plan compensation.

Equity Awards

The Compensation Committee has granted Dr. Litchman equity awards under our Mustang Bio, Inc. 2016 Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”). In 2017, Dr. Litchman received an option to purchase 69,445 shares, and he received awards of 4,067 restricted stock units in 2022 and 5,000 restricted stock units in 2023, which vest as described in footnotes (2) and (3), respectively, to the Outstanding Equity Awards table below.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-Ended December 31, 2023

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​ · ​ · Option Awards · ​ · Stock Awards
​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · Market Value
​ · ​ · Number of · ​ · Number of · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · Number of · ​ · of Shares or
​ · ​ · securities · ​ · securities · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · Shares or · ​ · Units of Stock
​ · ​ · underlying · ​ · underlying · ​ · Option · ​ · ​ · ​ · Units of · ​ · That Have
​ · ​ · unexercised · ​ · unexercised · ​ · exercise · ​ · Option · ​ · Stock That · ​ · Not
​ · ​ · options (#) · ​ · options (#) · ​ · price · ​ · Expiration · ​ · Have Not · ​ · Vested(1)
Name · exercisable · unexercisable · ($) · Date · Vested (#) · ($)
Manuel Litchman M.D.43,403(2)​26,042(2)​$85.954/24/202711,102(3)​$14,988
Eliot Lurier​—​—​​—​—​—​​—
(1)Market value is based on $1.35 per share, the closing price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on December 29, 2023, the last trading day of the fiscal year.
(2)The option vests as follows: (i) one half of the option will vest over time, with 25% of such shares vesting after twelve months of employment, and the remaining shares vesting in twelve equal quarterly installments thereafter, subject to Dr. Litchman’s “continuous service” (as defined in the 2016 Plan) to the Company on each vesting date; (ii) the remaining one half of the option will vest and become exercisable upon the occurrence of the following milestones being achieved, in each case subject to Dr. Litchman’s continuous

service to the Company on the date of such occurrences: (A) 25% of such shares will vest upon the dosing of the first patient in the first Phase 2 clinical trial of any Company product candidate; (B) 25% of such shares will vest upon the dosing of the first patient in the first Phase 2 clinical trial of a second Company product candidate; (C) 25% of such shares will vest upon our achievement of a fully-diluted market capitalization of $500,000,000; and (D) 25% of such shares will vest upon our achievement of a fully-diluted market capitalization of $1 billion. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that a Phase 2 clinical trial for either of the Company product candidates referenced in subsections (i) or (ii) of this paragraph is bypassed, the corresponding percentage of the Performance Option grant that would have otherwise vested pursuant to subsections (i) or (ii) of this paragraph will vest upon the earlier of (x) the dosing of the first patient in the first Phase 3 clinical trial for that Company product candidate, or (y) the filing of a Biologics License Application or New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or alternatively the filing of an equivalent regulatory filing with a foreign regulatory agency, with respect to that Company product candidate.

(3) Subject to Dr. Litchman’s continuous service, the restricted stock units vest as follows: (i) 4,301 shares will vest on April 24, 2024; (ii) 3,284 shares will vest on April 24, 2025; (iii) 2,267 shares will vest on April 24, 2026; and (iv) 1,250 shares will vest on April 24, 2027.

Clawback Policy

Pursuant to Nasdaq listing requirements, we have adopted a policy providing for the recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation received by our executive officers or the executive officers of one of our subsidiaries during an applicable recovery period (the “Clawback Policy”). Under the Clawback Policy, in the event that financial results upon which a cash or equity-based incentive award was based becomes the subject of a financial restatement that is required because of material non-compliance with financial reporting requirements, the Compensation Committee will conduct a review of awards covered by the Clawback Policy and recoup any erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation to ensure that the ultimate award reflects the financial results as restated. The Clawback Policy covers any cash or equity-based incentive compensation award that was paid, earned or granted to covered executive officers during the last completed three fiscal years immediately preceding the date on which we are required to prepare the accounting restatement.

Director Compensation

Directors who are also employees are not compensated separately for serving on the Board or any of its committees. Each of our non-employee directors receives cash compensation for his or her services. The Compensation Committee periodically conducts reviews of peer company director compensation practices, including before considering changes to our director compensation program and amounts. In addition, to better align the interests of our Board with our stockholders, the Compensation Committee considers and recommends to the Board long-term equity compensation.

Director Compensation Program

In January 2016, the Board adopted a Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan for our non-employee directors, which determines the cash and equity compensation payable to our non-employee directors. The Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan provides for our non-employee directors to receive the following compensation:

Cash Compensation:

●$50,000 annual retainer; and
●$10,000 additional annual retainer for the Audit Committee Chair.

However, for Mr. Weiss, in lieu of the cash compensation described above, $60,000 of annual cash compensation is paid to the Advisor according to the Advisory Agreement.

Equity Compensation:

●Initial Equity Grant: 50,000 shares of restricted stock, which shares shall vest and become non-forfeitable in equal annual installments over three years, beginning on the third (3rd) anniversary of the grant date, subject to the director’s continued service on the Board on such date.
●Re-Election Equity Grant: The greater of (i) a number of shares of restricted stock having a fair market value on the grant date of $50,000, or (ii) 10,000 shares of restricted stock, which shares shall vest and become non-forfeitable on the third (3rd) anniversary of the grant date, subject to the director’s continued service on the Board on such date.

In addition, each non-employee director receives reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses incurred in attending meetings of our Board and meetings of committees of our Board.

Director Compensation Table

The following table sets forth the cash and other compensation we paid to the non-employee members of our Board for all services in all capacities during 2023.

​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​
​ · Fees Earned or · Stock · ​ · ​
​​Paid in Cash​Awards​Total
Name​($)(1)​($)(2)​($)
Neil Herskowitz​$50,000​$50,000​$100,000
Lindsay A. Rosenwald, M.D.​$50,000​$50,000​$100,000
Michael S. Weiss(3)​$60,000​$50,000​$110,000
Adam J. Chill​$60,000​$50,000​$110,000
Michael J. Zelefsky, M.D.​$50,000​$50,000​$100,000
(1)Represents the cash retainer for serving on our Board and committees of the Board.
(2)As of December 31, 2023, each of Mr. Herskowitz, Dr. Rosenwald, Mr. Weiss, Mr. Chill and Dr. Zelefsky had 13,610 shares of unvested restricted stock pursuant to prior awards.
(3)Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor is paid an annual cash fee of $60,000, for the services of Mr. Weiss as Chairman of the Board and Executive Chairman in addition to any and all annual equity incentive grants paid to members of the Board.
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