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Exhibit 10.23
August 30, 2004
Lawrence E. Bloch
701 South Howard Avenue
Suite 106-389
Tampa, Florida 33606
Dear Larry:
I would like to formally offer you the position of Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Business Officer at NitroMed reporting to the President and Chief
Executive Officer.
The terms of this offer are as follows:
Responsibilities: You will be responsible for all finance, business
development, information technology, facilities and
investor relations & public relations functions of
the Company.
Base Salary: $265,000 per year paid in 24 equal payments to be
reviewed annually.
Stock: You will be offered an option to purchase 150,000
shares of common stock in the Company. The price at
which the stock closes on your start date will be
the exercise price of these options. You will be
offered an additional 60,000 options by year-end.
These options will vest over four years in equal
installments as long as you remain in the employ of
the Company. This four year vesting schedule will be
accelerated for these and all your options and any
other stock awards granted to you, if any, should
there be a change in control of the Company effective
immediately prior to the effectiveness of the
agreement for the change in control. For this
purpose, a change of control shall mean a transaction
(or a series of related transactions) resulting in
(1) a sale of all of the stock or substantially all
of the assets of the Company or (2) a corporate
merger, reorganization or consolidation of the
Company as a result of which the stockholders of the
Company prior to the transaction or transactions do
not own a majority of the stock of the successor or
surviving entity.
Performance Bonus: You may be entitled to receive a bonus under the
NitroMed bonus plan, which is discretionary and based
on milestones to be determined and mutually agreed
upon by the Chief Executive Officer and you. You will
be entitled to receive a minimum guaranteed first
year bonus of 25% that will be prorated for the
months remaining between your date of hire and
December 31, 2004. Such bonus may be subject to an
upward adjustment in 2005, depending on performance.
Group Benefits: You will receive comprehensive group health,
disability, accident and life insurance benefits or
such comparable benefits and protections the Company
is able to reasonably obtain from another plan. You
will be entitled to participate in and enjoy the
benefits of NitroMed's 401K retirement plan as well
as any other retirement and pension plan or plans
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if and when instituted by the Company for the benefit
of its employees generally.
Leave: You will be entitled to illness days consistent with
the Company's standard policy and 20 vacation days
per calendar year.
Relocation: Subject to your continued employment the Company will
reimburse you for moving your household contents,
from your Florida residence. You will have 12 months
to exercise this relocation benefit. You will also be
entitled to six months of temporary housing
reimbursable at $3,000 per month. At your request,
the Company will pay directly all of the relocation
and temporary housing expenses for you.
Severance: You will be provided twelve months of your base
salary as a severance benefit if you are terminated
for reasons other than for "cause." Solely for this
purpose, the term "cause" shall mean any one of the
following intentional acts or omissions by you: (1)
embezzlement or other material misappropriation of
property of the Company, a breach of the Company's
assignment of invention, non-disclosure, and
non-compete agreements, or another willful act of
misconduct with the intent to harm the Company or its
employees, directors, shareholders, or agents; or
(2) the willful failure to perform your duties or
adhere to the policies of the Company that is not
corrected after you have been provided 30 days'
written notice by the Chief Executive Officer of the
Company to correct such failure.
Outside Activities: You will be encouraged to serve on up to two outside
boards, provided such service does not interfere with
your NitroMed duties.
Agreements: As a condition of employment, you will be required to
sign the Company's assignment of invention,
non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements.
The commencement date for this position is September 13, 2004. Please sign a
copy of this letter and return it as acceptance of this offer by September 2,
2004.
Larry, we look forward to working with you at NitroMed. It is my wish that this
position allows you to participate in the success of NitroMed and will both
enrich and enhance your career experience.
Sincerely,
/s/ Michael D. Loberg
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Michael D. Loberg
Agreed and Accepted:
/s/ Lawrence E. Bloch
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Lawrence E. Bloch
Dated: August 30, 2004