In April 2014, the Company adopted the Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan”). Pursuant to the 2014 Plan, the Company’s Board of Directors may grant incentive and nonqualified stock options and restricted stock to employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisors. Pursuant to the terms of an annual evergreen provision in the 2014 Plan, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2014 Plan shall automatically increase on January 1 of each year by at least seven percent (7%) of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, or, pursuant to the terms of the 2014 Plan, in any year, the Board of Directors may determine that such increase will provide for a lesser number of shares. On January 1, 2018, pursuant to an annual evergreen provision contained in the 2014 Plan, the number of shares reserved for future grants was increased by 2,500,000 shares, which was less than seven percent (7%) of the outstanding shares of common stock on December 31, 2017. As of December 31, 2018, there was a total of 15,543,739 shares reserved for issuance under the 2014 Plan and there were 5,072,241 shares available for future grants. Options issued under the 2014 Plan generally vest over 4 years from the date of grant in multiple tranches and are exercisable for up to 10 years from the date of issuance.

In accordance with the terms of the 2014 Plan, effective as of January 1, 2019, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2014 Plan increased by 3,000,000 shares, which was less than seven percent (7%) of the outstanding shares of common stock on December 31, 2018. As of January 1, 2019, the 2014 Plan had a total reserve of 18,543,739 shares and there were 8,072,241 shares available for future grants.

Share-based Compensation

For stock options issued and outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company recorded non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of $7,609,508 ($7,500,888 for employees and $108,620 for non-employees) and $5,694,489 ($4,640,646 for employees and $1,053,843 for non-employees), respectively, net of estimated forfeitures.

The fair value of each option award for employees is estimated on the date of grant and for non-employees is estimated at the end of each reporting period until vested using the Black-Scholes option pricing model that uses the assumptions noted in the following table. The Company uses historical data, as well as subsequent events occurring prior to the issuance of the financial statements, to estimate option exercises and employee terminations in order to estimate its forfeiture rate. The expected term of options granted under the 2014 Plan, all of which qualify as “plain vanilla” per SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 107, is determined based on the simplified method due to the Company’s limited operating history, and is 6.25 years based on the average between the vesting period and the contractual life of the option. For non-employee options, the expected term is the contractual term. The risk-free rate is based on the yield of a U.S. Treasury security with a term consistent with the option.

The weighted average assumptions used principally in determining the fair value of options granted to employees were as follows:

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the assumptions used in determining the fair value of options granted to nonemployees included risk free interest rate ranging from 2.12%-2.38%, no expected dividend yield, expected term ranging from 4.91 years to 9.91 years, expected volatility ranging from 85.58% to 89.58%, and estimated forfeiture rate of 5%.

A summary of option activity for years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 is presented below:

The weighted average grant-date fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $5.63 and $6.22 per share, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was approximately $543,060 and $2,092,964, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, there was approximately $15,400,414 of total unrecognized compensation expense, related to non-vested share-based compensation arrangements. The unrecognized compensation expense is estimated to be recognized over a period of 2.55 years at December 31, 2018.

As summary of non-vested stock options for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 is presented below: