Bellerophon Therapeutics Reports Inducement Grant Under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

WARREN, N.J., March 02, 2016 -- Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLPH), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, today reported that in connection with the appointment of Fabian Tenenbaum as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer, the Company entered into an employment arrangement with Mr. Tenenbaum which provided for the grant of an inducement equity award outside the Company's 2015 Equity Incentive Plan in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). 

On February 29, 2016, the Company granted Mr. Tenenbaum a stock option to purchase 130,000 shares of the Company's common stock with an exercise price of $2.30 per share (the closing price per share of the Company’s common stock on February 29, 2016) as an inducement to Mr. Fabian in connection with his employment. The inducement equity award was approved and recommended by Bellerophon’s Compensation Committee, approved by the Board of Directors and was made as an inducement material to Mr. Tenenbaum's acceptance of employment with the Company in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The inducement grant will expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date and vests over four years, with 25% of the original number of shares vesting one year after the commencement date and an additional 25% of the shares vesting annually on the next three anniversaries of the commencement date, subject to Mr. Tenenbaum’s continued service with the Company through the applicable vesting dates.   The shares underlying the option will vest upon a change of control. 

About Bellerophon

Bellerophon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on developing innovative therapies at the intersection of drugs and devices that address significant unmet medical needs in the treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases. The Company is currently developing three product candidates under its INOpulse® program, a proprietary pulsatile nitric oxide delivery device. The first is for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), for which the Company intends to commence Phase 3 clinical trials in 2016. The second is for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD), which is in Phase 2 development and the third candidate is for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (PH-IPF). The Company’s plans also call for the completion of further work on the use of INOpulse to treat PH-COPD and PH-IPF during 2016.  For more information, please visit www.bellerophon.com. 

Forward-looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about Bellerophon’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including statements about the clinical development of its product candidates, regulatory actions with respect to the Company’s clinical trials and expectations regarding the sufficiency of the Company’s cash balance to fund clinical trials, operating expenses and capital expenditures, and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation of future clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing and future clinical trials and the results of such trials, whether preliminary or interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of that trial or whether results of early clinical trials will be indicative of the results of later clinical trials, expectations for regulatory approvals, the FDA’s substantial discretion in the approval process, availability of funding sufficient for our foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Bellerophon’s views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release.

Contact
At Bellerophon:		
Amy Edmonds, Vice President	
(908) 574-4765			

At Rx Communications Group:
Melody Carey
(917) 322-2571