NEW YORK, July 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LB Pharmaceuticals Inc ("LB Pharmaceuticals" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: LBRX), today announced that it has granted to Christopher Zergebel, the new Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations of LB Pharmaceuticals, an equity award outside of, but subject to the terms and conditions of, the LB Pharmaceuticals Inc 2025 Equity Incentive Plan. The equity award was granted on July 10, 2026, pursuant to the "inducement grant" exception provided under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) as an inducement material to Mr. Zergebel entering into employment with LB Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Zergebel received an option to purchase 75,000 shares of LB Pharmaceuticals' common stock, respectively. The option carries a ten-year term and an exercise price per share equal to $32.95, which was the closing price of LB Pharmaceuticals' common stock on the date of grant, and vests over 4 years, with 25% of the shares underlying the options vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and an additional 1/48(th) of the shares vesting monthly thereafter, subject to continuous service through the applicable vesting dates.

About LB-102

LB-102 is a novel, once-daily, orally administered investigational small molecule and potential first benzamide antipsychotic in the United States for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. A methylated derivative of amisulpride, a widely used antipsychotic outside the United States, LB-102 was developed to retain amisulpride's benefits while addressing its limitations. LB-102 is a potent and selective antagonist of D2, D3, and 5HT-7 receptors with few off-target effects and broad therapeutic potential across psychosis and mood disorders. In early 2025, LB Pharmaceuticals announced positive data from a four-week placebo-controlled, double-blinded, Phase 2 trial in patients with acute schizophrenia. In this trial, LB-102 demonstrated statistically significant benefit versus placebo at all doses studied, including rapid onset of effect at week 1 and sustained benefit through the endpoint of the trial, a potentially class-leading safety profile with low rates of EPS (including akathisia), minimal sedation and few GI side effects, alongside effects on negative symptoms and cognitive performance. These data underscore LB-102's potential to address multiple dimensions of neuropsychiatric illness. The pivotal Phase 3 NOVA-2 trial of LB-102 for acute schizophrenia and the Phase 2 ILLUMINATE-1 trial of LB-102 for bipolar 1 depression have been initiated, and a Phase 2 trial of LB-102 in adjunctive treatment of MDD is planned. Additional expansion opportunities for LB-102 include predominantly negative symptoms of schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease psychosis and agitation, as well as other neuropsychiatric diseases.

About LB Pharmaceuticals

LB Pharmaceuticals is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar depression, adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder and other neuropsychiatric diseases. The Company is building a pipeline that leverages the broad therapeutic potential of its lead product candidate, LB-102, which the Company believes has the opportunity to be the first benzamide antipsychotic drug approved for neuropsychiatric disorders in the United States. LB-102, if approved, has the potential to become a mainstay of psychiatric practice by offering a balanced clinical activity and tolerability profile that provides a potentially attractive alternative to branded and generic therapeutics for the treatment of a broad range of neuropsychiatric diseases.

Media and Investor Contact

Ellen Rose

erose@lbpharma.us

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 10, 2026 16:38 ET