Edgar Filing: BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL INC

Definitive Proxy Materials

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LOGO

June 13, 2011

To the Stockholders of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.:

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. is pleased to send you the enclosed notice of our 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2011 at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, 421 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.

The items of business for the annual meeting are listed in the following Notice of Annual Meeting and are more fully addressed in the attached Proxy Statement. The Proxy Statement is first being mailed to stockholders of the Company on or about June 22, 2011.

Your vote is important—please date, sign and return your proxy card in the enclosed envelope or vote online as soon as possible to ensure that your shares will be represented and voted at the meeting even if you cannot attend. If you attend the meeting, you may vote your shares in person even though you have previously signed and returned your proxy.

If you have any questions regarding this material, please do not hesitate to call me at (919) 582-9050.

Sincerely yours,

LOGO

Mark. A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.

WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND OUR ANNUAL MEETING, PLEASE COMPLETE THE ENCLOSED PROXY CARD AND PROMPTLY MAIL IT IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE OR VOTE ONLINE IN ORDER TO ASSURE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR SHARES AT THE MEETING.

BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC.

801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210

Raleigh, North Carolina 27607

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To be held on Thursday, July 21, 2011

The 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Meeting”) of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (the “Company”) will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2011, at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, 421 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601, for the following purposes:

To elect William B. Stone and William S. Poole as Class III directors to serve for a three-year term that expires at the 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or until their successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal (Proposal 1);

To ratify the appointment by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 (Proposal 2);

To approve the adoption of an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 45,000,000 shares to 75,000,000 shares;

To adopt our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan; and

To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Stockholders are cordially invited to attend the Meeting in person. However, to assure your representation at the Meeting, please complete and sign the enclosed proxy card and return it promptly. Even if you have previously submitted a proxy card you may choose to vote in person at the Meeting. Whether or not you expect to attend the Meeting, please read the attached proxy statement and then promptly complete, date, sign and return the enclosed proxy card in order to ensure your representation at the Meeting. If you hold your shares through a brokerage firm, you may cast your vote by visiting www.proxyvote.com . If you are a registered stockholder, you may cast your vote by visiting www.voteproxy.com . You may also have access to the materials for the Meeting by visiting the website http://www.bdsiproxy.com.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote “for” the approval of each of the proposals to be submitted at the Meeting.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

LOGO

James A. McNulty, CPA

Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Raleigh, North Carolina

June 13, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS


		Page Number
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS			1

INTRODUCTION			5

2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders			5
Record Date; Mailing Date			5
Proposals to be Submitted at the Meeting			5
Principal Offices			5
Information Concerning Solicitation and Voting			5
Expenses			6
Revocability of proxies			6

PROPOSAL 1	ELECTION OF CLASS III DIRECTORS		7

Introduction			7
Directors and Executive Officers			7
Director Independence			10
Meetings of the Board of Directors			10
Board Committees			10
Audit Committee			10
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee			11
Compensation and Investment Committees			12
Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight			12
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance			13
Code of Ethics			13
Audit Committee Report			14
Compensation Committee Report			15
Compensation Discussion and Analysis			15
Compensation Risk Assessment			23
Summary Compensation Table			24
Outstanding equity awards			28
Grants of Plan-Based Awards			30
Option Exercises and Stock Vested			30
Pension Benefits			30
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation			30
Potential Payments Under Severance/Change in Control Arrangements			31
Compensation of Directors Summary Table			32

PROPOSAL 2	RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR FISCAL 2011		34

PROPOSAL 3	APPROVAL OF THE ADOPTION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO INCREASE THE AUTHORIZED COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.001 PER SHARE, FROM 45,000,000 SHARES TO 75,000,000 SHARES.		35

PROPOSAL 4	ADOPTION OF THE COMPANY’S 2011 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN		37

OTHER INFORMATION			42

Proxy Solicitation			42
Proxies			42
Securities Outstanding; Votes Required			42
Other Business			42
Beneficial Ownership of Principal Stockholders, Officers and Directors			43
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions			45
Deadline for Submission of Stockholder Proposals for 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders			47
Stockholder Communications			47
Additional Information			47

BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC.

801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210

Raleigh, North Carolina 27607

919-582-9050

PROXY STATEMENT

ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

to be held on Thursday, July 21, 2011, 11:00 a.m.

Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

421 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS

Why am I receiving this proxy statement?

This proxy statement describes the proposals on which our Board of Directors would like you, as a stockholder, to vote at our annual meeting of the stockholders, which will take place on Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. local time at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, 421 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.

This proxy statement also gives you information on these proposals so that you can make an informed decision. We intend to mail this proxy statement and accompanying proxy card on or about June 22, 2011 to all stockholders of record entitled to vote at the annual meeting.

In this proxy statement, we refer to BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. as the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our.”

Who can vote at the annual meeting of stockholders?

Stockholders who owned shares of our common stock, par value $.001 per share (“Common Stock”), on June 13, 2011 (the “Record Date”) may attend and vote at the Meeting. Each share is entitled to one vote. There were 28,960,535 shares of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date. All shares of Common Stock shall have one vote per share and vote together as a single class. Information about the stockholdings of our directors and executive officers is contained in the section of this proxy statement entitled “Beneficial Ownership of Principal Stockholders, Officers and Directors” on page 43 of this proxy statement.

What is the proxy card?

The proxy card enables you to appoint Mark A. Sirgo, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and/or James A. McNulty, our Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, as your representative at the Meeting. By completing and returning the proxy card or voting online as described herein, you are authorizing these persons to vote your shares at the annual meeting in accordance with your instructions on the proxy card. This way, your shares will be voted whether or not you attend the annual meeting. Even if you plan to attend the annual meeting, we think that it is a good idea to complete and return your proxy card before the annual meeting date just in case your plans change. If a proposal comes up for vote at the annual meeting that is not on the proxy card, the proxies will vote your shares, under your proxy, according to their best judgment.

What am I voting on?

You are being asked to vote on: (i) the election of our Class III directors, William B. Stone and William S. Poole, to terms of three (3) years, (ii) the ratification of our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011, (iii) the adoption of an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized Common Stock from 45,000,000 shares to 75,000,000 shares, and (iv) the adoption of the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. We will also transact any other business that properly comes before the annual meeting.

How does the Board of Directors recommend that I vote?

Our Board of Directors unanimously recommends that the stockholders vote “FOR” all proposals being put before our stockholders at the Meeting.

What is the difference between holding shares as a stockholder of record and as a beneficial owner?

Most of our stockholders hold their shares in an account at a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder, rather than holding share certificates in their own name. As summarized below, there are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially.

Stockholder of Record

If, on the Record Date, your shares were registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, you are a “stockholder of record” who may vote at the annual meeting, and we are sending these proxy materials directly to you. As the stockholder of record, you have the right to direct the voting of your shares by returning the enclosed proxy card to us or to vote in person at the annual meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the annual meeting, please complete, date and sign the enclosed proxy card to ensure that your vote is counted.

Beneficial Owner

If, on the Record Date, your shares were held in an account at a brokerage firm or at a bank or other nominee holder, you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held “in street name,” and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by your broker or nominee who is considered the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the annual meeting. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker on how to vote your shares and to attend the annual meeting. However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not vote these shares in person at the annual meeting unless you receive a valid proxy from your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder. To obtain a valid proxy, you must make a special request of your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder. If you do not make this request, you can still vote by using the voting instruction card enclosed with this proxy statement; however, you will not be able to vote in person at the annual meeting.

How do I vote?

(1) You may vote by mail. You may vote by mail by completing, signing and dating your proxy card and returning it in the enclosed, postage-paid and addressed envelope. If we receive your proxy card prior to the annual meeting and if you mark your voting instructions on the proxy card, your shares will be voted:

•

as you instruct, and

•

according to the best judgment of the proxies if a proposal comes up for a vote at the annual meeting that is not on the proxy card.

If you return a signed card, but do not provide voting instructions, your shares will be voted:

•

for Mr. Stone and Mr. Poole as nominees for the two (2) Class III directors of our Board of Directors;

•

to ratify the appointment of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011;

•

to approve the adoption of an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 45,000,000 shares to 75,000,000 shares;

•

to adopt the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan; and

•

according to the best judgment of either Dr. Sirgo or Mr. McNulty, if a proposal comes up for a vote at the annual meeting that is not on the proxy card.

(2) You may vote in person at the annual meeting. We will pass out written ballots to anyone who wants to vote at the annual meeting. However, if you hold your shares in street name, you must bring to the annual meeting a valid proxy from the broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares that confirms your beneficial ownership of the shares and gives you the right to vote your shares. Holding shares in street name means you hold them through a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee, and therefore the shares are not held in your individual name. We encourage you to examine your proxy card closely to make sure you are voting all of your shares in the Company.

(3) You may vote online. You may also have access to the materials for the Meeting by visiting the website http://www.bdsiproxy.com . You may also cast your vote by visiting www.proxyvote.com if you hold your shares in “street name”, or www.voteproxy.com if you are a registered stockholder.

What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?

You may have multiple accounts at the transfer agent and/or with brokerage firms. Please sign and return all proxy cards to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

What if I change my mind after I return my proxy?

You may revoke your proxy and change your vote at any time before the polls close at the annual meeting. You may do this by:

•

sending a written notice to the Secretary of the Company stating that you would like to revoke your proxy of a particular date;

•

signing another proxy card with a later date and returning it before the polls close at the annual meeting; or

•

attending the annual meeting and voting in person.

Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee, you must instruct your broker, bank or other nominee that you wish to change your vote by following the procedures on the voting form provided to you by the broker, bank or other nominee. If your shares are held in street name, and you wish to attend the annual meeting and vote at the annual meeting, you must bring to the annual meeting a legal proxy from the broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares, confirming your beneficial ownership of the shares and giving you the right to vote your shares.

Will my shares be voted if I do not sign and return my proxy card?

If your shares are held in street name or in your name and you do not sign and return your proxy card, your shares will not be voted unless you vote in person at the annual meeting.

How are votes counted?

You may vote “for,” “against,” or “abstain” on each of the proposals being placed before our stockholders.

How many votes are required to elect Mr. Stone and Mr. Poole as a Class III directors?

The affirmative vote of a plurality of the votes cast at the meeting of the stockholders by the holders of shares of Common Stock entitled to vote in the election are required to elect Mr. Stone and Mr. Poole as a Class III directors.

How many votes are required to ratify the Company’s independent public accountants?

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the meeting of the stockholders by the holders of shares of Common Stock entitled to vote are required to ratify Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2011.

How many votes are required to approve other matters that may come before the stockholders at the annual meeting?

An affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the annual meeting is required for approval of all other items being submitted to the stockholders for their consideration.

What happens if I don’t indicate how to vote my proxy?

If you just sign your proxy card without providing further instructions, your shares will be counted as a “for” vote for all of the proposals being placed before our stockholders at the Meeting.

Is my vote kept confidential?

Proxies, ballots and voting tabulations identifying stockholders are kept confidential and will not be disclosed except as may be necessary to meet legal requirements.

Where do I find the voting results of the annual meeting?

We will announce voting results at the annual meeting.

Who can help answer my questions?

You can contact our Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. James A. McNulty, at (813) 864-2562 or by sending a letter to Mr. McNulty at offices of the Company at 324 South Hyde Park Avenue, Suite 350, Tampa Florida 33606 with any questions about proposals described in this proxy statement or how to execute your vote.

BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC.

801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210

Raleigh, North Carolina 27607

919-582-9050

PROXY STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

This Proxy Statement is being furnished to holders of shares of common stock, $.001 par value (the “Common Stock”) of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) for use at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company (the “Meeting”). The Meeting is to be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2011 at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, 421 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601 and at any adjournment or adjournments thereof.

Record Date; Mailing Date

The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on June 13, 2011 (the “Record Date”) as the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote and act at, the Meeting. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on that date are entitled to notice of, and to vote and act at, the Meeting. The Proxy Statement is first being mailed to stockholders of the Company on or about June 22, 2011.

Proposals to be Submitted at the Meeting

At the Meeting, Stockholders will be acting upon the following proposals:

To adopt the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (Proposal 4); and

To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Principal Offices

The principal executive offices of the Company are located at 801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607. The Company’s telephone number at such address is (919) 582-9050.

Information Concerning Solicitation and Voting

As of the Record Date, there were 28,960,535 outstanding shares of Common Stock, each share entitled to one vote on each matter to be voted on at the Annual Meeting. Only holders of shares of Common Stock on the Record Date will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. The holders of Common Stock are entitled to one

vote on all matters presented at the meeting for each share held of record. The presence in person or by proxy of holders of record of a majority of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote as of the Record Date shall be required for a quorum to transact business at the Annual Meeting. If a quorum should not be present, the Annual Meeting may be adjourned until a quorum is obtained. To be elected, the nominees named in Proposal 1 must receive the vote of a plurality of the votes of the shares of Common Stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting. For the purposes of election of such director, although abstentions will count toward the presence of a quorum, they will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote. “Broker non-votes,” which occur when brokers are prohibited from exercising discretionary voting authority for beneficial owners who have not provided voting instructions, will not be counted for the purpose of determining the number of shares present in person or by proxy on a voting matter and will have no effect on the outcome of the vote. Brokers who hold shares in street name may vote on behalf of beneficial owners with respect to Proposal 2.

Expenses

The expense of preparing, printing and mailing this Proxy Statement, exhibits and the proxies solicited hereby will be borne by the Company. In addition to the use of the mails, proxies may be solicited by officers, directors and regular employees of the Company, without additional remuneration, by personal interviews, telephone, email or facsimile transmission. The Company will also request brokerage firms, nominees, custodians and fiduciaries to forward proxy materials to the beneficial owners of shares of Common Stock held of record and will provide reimbursements for the cost of forwarding the material in accordance with customary charges.

Revocability of proxies

Proxies given by stockholders of record for use at the Annual Meeting may be revoked at any time prior to the exercise of the powers conferred. In addition to revocation in any other manner permitted by law, stockholders of record giving a proxy may revoke the proxy by an instrument in writing, executed by the stockholder or his attorney authorized in writing or, if the stockholder is a corporation, under its corporate seal, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized, and deposited either at the corporate headquarters of the Company at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the day of the Annual Meeting, or any adjournments thereof, at which the proxy is to be used, or with the chairman of such Annual Meeting on the day of the Annual Meeting or adjournments thereof, and upon either of such deposits the proxy is revoked.

ALL PROXIES RECEIVED WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHOICES SPECIFIED ON SUCH PROXIES. PROXIES WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOR OF A PROPOSAL IF NO CONTRARY SPECIFICATION IS MADE. ALL VALID PROXIES OBTAINED WILL BE VOTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE PERSONS NAMED IN THE PROXY WITH RESPECT TO ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE ANNUAL MEETING.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF EACH OF THE PROPOSALS TO BE SUBMITTED AT THE MEETING.

PROPOSAL 1

ELECTION OF CLASS III DIRECTORS

Introduction

The Board of Directors currently consists of three classes of directors, as follows:


Director(s)	Class	Term Expires
Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr.	Class I	2012
John J. Shea	Class II	2013
Mark A. Sirgo	Class II	2013
William B. Stone	Class III	Nominee in 2011 for term ending 2014
William S. Poole	Class III	Nominee in 2011 for term ending 2014

At the Meeting, stockholders will be asked to elect each of William B. Stone and William S. Poole as a Class III Director, each to hold office until the 2014 annual meeting of stockholders or until his successor is elected and qualified or until his earlier resignation or removal.

The Board of Directors has nominated each of William B. Stone and William S. Poole, who each currently serve as a director, to stand for reelection at the Meeting. The enclosed proxy, if returned, and unless indicated to the contrary, will be voted for the election of each of Mr. Stone and Mr. Poole.

We have been advised by each of Mr. Stone and Mr. Poole that they are willing to be named as a nominee and each are willing to continue to serve as a Director if reelected. If some unexpected occurrence should make necessary, in the discretion of the Board of Directors, the substitution of some other person for the nominees, it is the intention of the persons named in the proxy to vote for the election of such other person as may be designated by the Board of Directors.

Directors and Executive Officers

Listed below are the names of the directors, executive officers and significant employees of the Company, their ages as of June 13, 2011 and positions held:


Name	Age		Position(s) Held
Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr., M.D.		61	Chairman of the Board
Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.		57	President, Chief Executive Officer
James A. McNulty		60	Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer
Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.		62	Executive Vice President of Product Development
Benny Ward		48	Executive Vice-President of Business and Strategic Development
William B. Stone		68	Lead Director
John J. Shea		84	Director
William S. Poole		64	Director

There are no arrangements between our directors and any other person pursuant to which our directors were nominated or elected for their positions. There are no family relationships between any of our directors or executive officers.

Except as set forth below, none of the Company’s directors or executive officers have been involved, in the past ten years and in a manner material to an evaluation of such director’s or officer’s ability or integrity to serve as a director or executive officer, in any of those “Certain Legal Proceedings” more fully detailed in Item 401(f)

of Regulation S-K, which include but are not limited to, bankruptcies, criminal convictions and an adjudication finding that an individual violated federal or state securities laws. Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr., M.D., our Chairman of the Board, and James A. McNulty, our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer, serve as, respectively, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Secretary and Treasurer of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Accentia”). Accentia’s voluntary petition to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and subsequent emergence is described below under the section “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.”

Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr., M.D., age 61, has been our Chairman of the Board and a Director since March 29, 2002. Dr. O’Donnell has previously served as our President and Chief Executive Officer. In January 2005, he relinquished the title of President and in August 2005 he relinquished the title of Chief Executive Officer. Since 1999, Dr. O’Donnell has served as Manager of The Hopkins Capital Group, an affiliation of limited liability companies which engage in private equity and venture capital investing in disruptive technologies in healthcare. He serves as Chairman and CEO of Accentia, and its majority-owned subsidiary, Biovest. Dr. O’Donnell is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and received his residency training at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. O’Donnell is a former professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, St. Louis University School of Medicine. Dr. O’Donnell has published over 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has been awarded over 34 U.S. patents. He is the recipient of the 2000 Jules Stein Award from Retinitis Pigmentosa International. He is a Trustee for St. Louis University.

Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D., age 57, has been our President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2005. He joined our company in August 2004 as Senior Vice President of Commercialization and Corporate Development upon our acquisition of Arius Pharmaceuticals, of which he was a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. He has also served as our Executive Vice President, Corporate and Commercial Development and our Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Sirgo has nearly 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including 16 years in clinical drug development, 7 years in marketing, sales, and business development and 8 years in executive management positions. Prior to his involvement with Arius Pharmaceuticals from 2003 to 2004, he spent 16 years in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in both clinical development and marketing at Glaxo, Glaxo Wellcome, and GlaxoSmithKline, including Vice President of International OTC Development and Vice President of New Product Marketing. Dr. Sirgo was responsible for managing the development and FDA approval of Zantac 75 while at Glaxo Wellcome, among other accomplishments. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Sirgo was Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPDI), a leading contract service provider to the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Sirgo serves on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Compensation Committee of Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLXP), a specialty pharmaceutical company specializing in gastrointestinal products since 2008. Dr. Sirgo received his BS in Pharmacy from The Ohio State University and his Doctorate from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.

James A. McNulty, age 60, has served as our Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer on a part time basis since October 2000 until January 1, 2008 when his position became full-time. Mr. McNulty has, since May 2000, also served as Chief Financial Officer of Hopkins Capital Group, an affiliation of limited liability companies which engage in venture activities. Hopkins Capital Group is owned and controlled by Dr. Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr. Mr. McNulty also serves part-time as the Treasurer and Corporate Secretary of Accentia, a holding company with commercialization assets in specialty pharmaceuticals and biologics, and through December 31, 2007 as Chief Financial Officer for Biovest, a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia. Mr. McNulty is a Director of RetinaPharma Technologies, Inc., an affiliate of Hopkins Capital Group. Mr. McNulty has performed accounting and consulting services as a Certified Public Accountant since 1975. He co-founded Pender McNulty & Newkirk, which became one of Florida’s largest regional CPA firms, and was a founder/principal in two other CPA firms, McNulty & Company, and McNulty Garcia & Ortiz. He served as CFO of Star Scientific, Inc. from October 1998 to May 2000. From June 2000 through January 2002 he served as CFO/COO of American Prescription Providers, Inc. He is a published co-author (with Pat Summerall) of Business Golf, the Art of Building Relationships on the Links. Mr. McNulty is a graduate of University of South

Florida, a licensed Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American and Florida Institutes of CPA’s and is a board member of the Central Florida of Financial Executives International

Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D., age 61, has been our Executive Vice President of Product Development since January 2007. He joined the company in August 2004 upon our acquisition of Arius Pharmaceuticals, of which he was a co-founder. Dr. Finn has previously served as our Senior Vice President of Product Development and Executive Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs. Dr. Finn has nearly 30 years experience in pharmaceutical product development. Prior to his involvement with Arius, he was, from 2000 to 2003, Executive Vice President of Product Development at POZEN Inc. with responsibilities for formulation development, non-clinical development, clinical research and regulatory affairs. He participated in the activities leading up to the initial public offering and submitted marketing applications in Europe and the U.S. for two migraine products. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Finn was Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of enVision Sciences; a regulatory and clinical service company. From 1991 to 1996, he was Vice President of Clinical Research and Biometrics for Solvay Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw NDA submissions in the areas of inflammatory bowel disease, osteoporosis prevention and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Prior to this he spent 10 years in positions of increasing responsibility at Glaxo Inc., where he oversaw a number of NDA submissions, including Zofran for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Dr. Finn received his BS in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina and his Doctorate from the University of Michigan.

Benny Ward, CPA., age 48, has been our Executive Vice-President of Business and Strategic Development since September 2010. Mr. Ward has more than 15 years of financial, operations and management experience, including 12 with life science companies. From 2006 to 2008, he served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of venture backed InnerPulse, Inc., a development stage cardiac rhythm management device company. Prior to joining InnerPulse, Mr. Ward was Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Closure Medical Corporation, a world-leading, publicly traded developer and manufacturer of biomaterial-based medical adhesives that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in June 2005. He joined Closure Medical in 1996 serving as a key member of the management team from the company’s successful initial public offering through its 2005 sale to Johnson & Johnson. Before joining Closure Medical, he spent three years as an auditor for Price Waterhouse. Mr. Ward serves on the Advisory Board of the School of Business at East Carolina University and is a board member of the Children’s Flight of Hope. Mr. Ward received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from East Carolina University.

William B. Stone, age 68, has been a member of our board of directors since October 2001 and is our Lead Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of our board of directors. For thirty years, until his retirement in October 2000, Mr. Stone was employed with Mallinckrodt Inc. For the last twenty years of his career, he held positions of Vice President and Corporate Controller and Vice President and Chief Information Officer for 16 years and 4 years, respectively. During his tenure at Mallinckrodt, Mr. Stone was responsible for global accounting and reporting, financial organization, staffing and development, and systems of internal accounting control. In this capacity, he was responsible for Mallinckrodt’s SEC and other financial filings, for internal management performance reports, for strategic and tactical financial planning and for evaluation of capital sources and investments. Mr. Stone presented financial analyses and special projects to Mallinckrodt’s board of directors and audit committee, and reported to the audit committee regarding the conduct and effectiveness of the independent accountants’ quarterly reviews and annual audit. In the capacity of Chief Information Officer, Mr. Stone was responsible for Mallinckrodt’s worldwide computer information systems and organization, staffing and development. He assessed effectiveness and control for computer-assisted information systems and led a successful program for justification, selection and deployment of global standardized computer hardware and software. Further, Mr. Stone reported to the audit committee as leader of Mallinckrodt’s successful global program to address Year 2000 implications associated with information systems, laboratory control and process control computer hardware and software. He also chaired Mallinckrodt’s corporate employee benefits committee for over 8 years and has been a member of Financial Executives International since 1980. Mr. Stone is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia where he earned BS and MA degrees in accounting, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

John J. Shea, age 84, has been a member of our board of directors since March 2002 and serves as Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our board of directors. He is currently the head of his own firm of J. Shea Inc. and has also been a Quality Systems Adviser with Quintiles, a private consulting firm. Mr. Shea has also served in the capacity of Director of Quality Assurance and was responsible for the implementation of quality assurance procedures in a number of public companies. From 1987-1989, he served as Director of Quality Assurance at NeoRx Corporation. Mr. Shea was also the Director of Corporate Quality Assurance at Hexcel Corporation from 1980-1987. Mr. Shea has also served as the quality assurance person for other companies including, Teledyne Relays, Ortho Diagnostics, Inc. and Bio Reagents & Diagnostics, Inc. He is a member of the (North Carolina) Dare County Airport Authority and Audit Committee. Mr. Shea earned a B.S. in Chemistry at Bethany College.

William S. Poole, age 64, has been a member of our board of directors since April 2005 and serves as Chairman of the Compensation Committee of our board of directors. He has extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries for over thirty years. From 1972 to early 1996, Mr. Poole worked for Lederle Laboratories, a Division of American Cyanamid Company. During his 24-year career at Cyanamid, Mr. Poole held positions of increasing responsibility and held the position of World-Wide Division President of the Medical Device Division when Wyeth acquired Cyanamid in 1995. He later served as President, North American Pharmaceuticals, of Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, and also as President of Biovail Pharmaceuticals. In both of these companies, Mr. Poole was instrumental in aggressively growing revenue, building solid management teams and dramatically improving profitability. As President of these firms, Mr. Poole had total P&L responsibility and directly managed vice presidents in charge of each business department within the organizations. In recent years, Mr. Poole has acted as a private consultant and, until his appointment to the board, Mr. Poole served as a member of the Commercial Advisory Board of our subsidiary, Arius Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Poole was Acting President/CEO of Spherics, Inc., a biotechnology company focusing on unique delivery mechanisms of certain drugs for the treatment of CNS diseases during 2007-08. In addition, Mr. Poole is a member of the board of directors of Accentia.

Director Independence

We believe that William B. Stone, John J. Shea, and William S. Poole qualify as independent directors for Nasdaq Stock Market purposes. This means that our Board of Directors is composed of a majority of independent directors as required by the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Meetings of the Board of Directors and Stockholders

Our board of directors met in person and telephonically 12 times during 2010 and also acted by unanimous written consent. Each member of our board of directors was present at ninety-two (92%) percent or more of the Board of Directors meetings held. It is our policy that all directors must attend all stockholder meetings, barring extenuating circumstances. All directors were present at the 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Board Committees

Our Board of Directors has established three standing committees—Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance. All Committees (as well as our Lead Director) operate under a charter that has been approved by the board.

Audit Committee

Our board of directors has an Audit Committee, composed of William B. Stone, John J. Shea and William S. Poole, all of whom are independent directors as defined in accordance with section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act and the rules of NASDAQ. Mr. Stone serves as chairman of the committee. The board of directors has determined that Mr. Stone is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in Item 407(d)(5)(ii) of Regulation

S-K. The Audit Committee met seven times during 2010. Each member of the Audit Committee was present at one hundred (100%) percent of the Audit Committee meetings held during such director’s tenure as a member of the Audit Committee.

Our Audit Committee oversees our corporate accounting, financial reporting practices and the audits of financial statements. For this purpose, the Audit Committee has a charter (which is reviewed annually) and performs several functions. The Audit Committee:

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evaluates the independence and performance of, and assesses the qualifications of, our independent auditor, and engages such independent auditor;

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approves the plan and fees for the annual audit, quarterly reviews, tax and other audit-related services, and approves in advance any non-audit service to be provided by the independent auditor;

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monitors the independence of the independent auditor and the rotation of partners of the independent auditor on our engagement team as required by law;

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reviews the financial statements to be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and reviews with management and the independent auditors the results of the annual audit and reviews of our quarterly financial statements;

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oversees all aspects our systems of internal accounting control and corporate governance functions on behalf of the board; and

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provides oversight assistance in connection with legal, ethical and risk management compliance programs established by management and the board, including Sarbanes-Oxley implementation, and makes recommendations to the board of directors regarding corporate governance issues and policy decisions.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our board of directors has a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee composed of William S. Poole, John J. Shea and William B. Stone. Mr. Shea serves as the chairman of the committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is charged with the responsibility of reviewing our corporate governance policies and with proposing potential director nominees to the board of directors for consideration. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met four times in 2010 and has a charter which is reviewed annually. All members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are independent directors as defined by the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider director nominees recommended by security holders. To recommend a nominee please write to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee c/o James A McNulty, BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc, 324 South Hyde Park Avenue, Suite 350, Tampa FL 33606. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has established nomination criteria by which board candidates are to be evaluated. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will assess all director nominees using the same criteria. During 2010, we did not pay any fees to any third parties to assist in the identification of nominees. During 2010, we did not receive any director nominee suggestions from stockholders.

In 2010, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee adopted a set of criteria by which it will seek to evaluate candidates to serve on our board of directors. The evaluation methodology includes a scored system based on criteria including items such as experience in the biotechnology sector, experience with public companies, executive managerial experience, operations and commercial experience, fundraising experience and contacts in the investment banking industry, personal and skill set compatibility with current board members, industry reputation, knowledge of our company generally, independence and ethnic and gender diversity. While diversity is considered as a board qualification criteria, it would not be weighted any more or less in an evaluation process than any other criteria. The established criteria do not distinguish board candidates based on

whether the candidate is recommended by a stockholder of our company. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has not yet had an opportunity to utilize the board evaluation criteria in practice but intends to assess the efficacy of the criteria as part of its regular self evaluation procedures.

Compensation Committee

Our board of directors also has a Compensation Committee, which reviews or recommends the compensation arrangements for our management and employees and also assists the board of directors in reviewing and approving matters such as company benefit and insurance plans. The Compensation Committee has a charter (which is reviewed annually) and is composed of three members: John J. Shea, William B. Stone and William S. Poole, who acts as chairman of this committee. The compensation committee met four times during 2010.

The Compensation Committee has the authority to directly engage, at our expense, any compensation consultants or other advisers as it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities in determining the amount and form of employee, executive and director compensation. In 2010, the Compensation Committee engaged Radford, an AON Consulting Company, to obtain market data against which it has measured the competitiveness of our compensation programs. In determining the amount and form of employee, executive and director compensation, the Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed historical salary information as well as salaries for similar positions at comparable companies. We paid consultant fees to Radford of $14,428 in 2010.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our executive officers serves as a member of the Compensation Committee, or other committee serving an equivalent function. None of the members of our Compensation Committee has ever been our employee or one of our officers.

Lead Director

On July 26, 2007, our board of directors created the position of Lead Director. Our board of directors designated William B. Stone, an existing director, as our Lead Director. Pursuant to the charter of the Lead Director, the Lead Director shall be an independent, non-employee director designated by our board of directors who shall serve in a lead capacity to coordinate the activities of the other non-employee directors, interface with and advise management, and to perform such other duties as are specified in the charter or as our board of directors may determine.

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

Our Board of Directors determines what corporate leadership structure it deems appropriate for the Company based on factors such as the experience of the applicable individuals, the current business environment of the Company, the current stage of development and commercialization of our products and product candidates, as well as other relevant factors. After considering these factors, our Board of Directors has determined that a Chairman of the Board that is separate from the President and Chief Executive Officer, along with a lead independent director, is an appropriate board leadership structure for our Company at this time.

The Board of Directors is also responsible for oversight of our risk management practices, while management is responsible for the day-to-day risk management processes. Management has constituted an Enterprise Risk Management Committee for this purpose, which committee reports to the Audit Committee and the full Board of Directors at least quarterly. We believe that this structure is the most effective approach for addressing the risks facing the Company, and the Company’s board leadership structure supports this approach. In addition, the Audit Committee assists the Board of Directors in its oversight role by periodically evaluating our risk and control environment.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires that our directors and executive officers and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of our common stock (referred to herein as the “reporting persons”) file with the SEC various reports as to their ownership of and activities relating to our common stock. Such reporting persons are required by the SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) reports they file.

Based solely upon a review of copies of Section 16(a) reports and representations received by us from reporting persons, and without conducting any independent investigation of our own, in fiscal year 2010, all Forms 3, 4 and 5 were timely filed with the SEC by such reporting persons, except that employee options granted to our officers (Mark A. Sirgo, James A McNulty and Andrew L. Finn) on January 21, 2010 were reported on Form 5s filed on January 31, 2011.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to all employees, as well as each member of our board of directors. Our code of ethics is posted on our website, and we intend to satisfy any disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding an amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of our code of ethics by posting such information on our website, www.bdsi.com. A copy of our code of ethics is also available in print, without charge, upon written request to 801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210 Raleigh, NC, 27607 Attn: James A. McNulty.

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Audit Committee Report *

The audit committee of the Board of Directors (the “Committee”) during 2010 was composed of three directors: William B. Stone, William S. Poole and John J. Shea, each of whom was “independent” as defined by the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Mr. Stone serves as chairman of the committee. The Board of Directors has adopted a written Audit Committee Charter, which was filed as Appendix A to the Company’s 2003 Proxy Statement, and was updated in January 2008 and July 2009.

Management is responsible for the Company’s financial statements, financial reporting process and systems of internal control. The Company’s independent auditor is responsible for performing an independent audit of the Company’s financial statements in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States and for issuing a report thereon. The Committee’s responsibility is to oversee all aspects of the financial reporting process on behalf of the Board of Directors. The responsibilities of the Committee also include engaging and evaluating the performance of the accounting firm that serves as the Company’s independent auditor.

The Committee discussed with the Company’s independent auditor, with and without management present, such auditor’s judgments as to the quality, not just acceptability, of the Company’s accounting principles, along with such additional matters required to be discussed under the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, “Communication with Audit Committees.” The Committee has discussed with the independent auditor, the auditor’s independence from the Company and its management, including the written disclosures and the letter submitted to the Committee by the independent auditor as required by the Independent Standards Board Standard No. 1, “Independence Discussions with Audit Committees.”

In reliance on such discussions with management and the independent auditor, review of the representations of management and review of the report of the independent auditor to the Committee, the Committee recommended (and the Board of Directors approved) that the Company’s audited financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. The Committee and the Board of Directors have also, respectively, recommended and approved the selection of the Company’s current independent auditor, which approval is subject to ratification by the Company’s stockholders.

Submitted by:

Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

/s/ William B. Stone

/s/ William S. Poole

/s/ John J. Shea

The information contained in this Audit Committee Report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the Company specifically requests that the information be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporates it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or the Exchange Act.

Compensation Committee Report*

Our Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”) included in this Proxy Statement. Based on that review and discussion, the Compensation Committee has recommended to the Board of Directors that the CD&A be included in this Proxy Statement.

Submitted by:

The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors

/s/ William S. Poole, Chairman

/s/ John J. Shea

/s/ William B. Stone

The information contained in this Compensation Committee Report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the Company specifically requests that the information be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporates it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

The Compensation Committee of our board of directors (the “Committee”) has the responsibility to review, determine and approve the compensation for our executive officers. Further, the Committee oversees our overall compensation strategy, including compensation policies, plans and programs that cover all employees.

We currently employ four executive officers, each of whom serves as a “Named Executive Officer” (or “NEO”) for purposes of Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reporting: (1) Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D., our President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO); (2) James A. McNulty, our Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (3) Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D., our Executive Vice President of Product Development and (4) Benny Ward, our Executive Vice President of Business and Strategic Development.

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”), sets forth our philosophies underlying the compensation for our executive officers and our employees generally.

Objectives of Our Compensation Program

The Committee’s philosophy seeks to align the interests of stockholders and management and employees by tying compensation to employee and company performance, both directly in the form of salary or annual cash incentive payments, and indirectly in the form of equity awards. The objectives of our compensation program enhance our ability to:

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attract and retain qualified and talented individuals; and

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provide reasonable and appropriate incentives and rewards to our team for building long-term value within our company.

In addition, we strive to be competitive with other similarly situated companies in our industry. The process of developing pharmaceutical products is a long-term proposition and outcomes may not be measurable for several years. Therefore, in order to build long-term value for our company and its stockholders and in order to achieve our business objectives, we believe that we must compensate our officers and employees in a competitive and fair manner that reflects current company activities but also reflects contributions to building long-term value.

We utilize the services of the Radford Group, an AON consulting company (“Radford”) to review compensation programs of peer companies in order to assist the Committee in determining the compensation levels for our executives. Radford is a recognized independent consulting company and services clients throughout the USA. Those companies that comprise the peer group will be reviewed biennially as we do not believe that material differences will occur over a shorter period. However, we may review the peer group more often should circumstances warrant such action. The current peer group used to evaluate senior management compensation includes:


Company		Location
Aastrom Biosciences		Ann Arbor, MI
Achillion Pharmaceuticals		New Haven, CT
Anadys Pharmaceuticals		San Diego, CA
Antigenics Inc.		New York, NY
A.P. Pharma, Inc.		Redwood City, CA
AspenBio Pharma		Castle Rock, CO
Celldex Therapeutics		Needham, MA
Columbia Laboratories		Livingston, NJ
Zalicus		Cambridge, MA
DUSA Pharmaceuticals		Wilmington, MA
Epicept Corporation		Tarrytown, NY
Idera Pharmaceuticals		Cambridge, MA
Insmed Incorporated		Richmond, VA
MDRNA Inc.		Bothell, WA
Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals		Cambridge, MA
Neurogesx, Inc.		San Mateo, CA
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals		Emeryville, CA
Pozen Inc.		Chapel Hill, NC
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals		South San Francisco, CA
Telik, Inc.		Palo Alto, CA
Threshold Pharmaceuticals		Redwood City, CA
Transcept Pharmaceuticals		Pt. Richmond, CA

With respect to our employees and non-senior management, we will also take into consideration local market data in determining appropriate compensation packages.

Elements of Our Compensation Program and Why We Chose Each

Main Compensation Components

Our company-wide compensation program, including for our executive officers, is broken down into three main components: base salary, performance cash bonuses and potential long-term compensation in the form of stock options. We believe these three components constitute the minimum essential elements of a competitive compensation package in our industry.

Salary

Base salary is used to recognize the experience, skills, knowledge and responsibilities required of our executive officers as well as recognizing the competitive nature of the biopharmaceutical industry. This is determined partially by evaluating our peer companies and the degree of responsibility in each of the experience levels.

Performance Bonus Plan

We have a performance bonus plan under which bonuses are paid to our NEOs based on achievement of extraordinary company performance goals and objectives established by the Committee and/or the board of directors as well as on individual performance. The bonus program is discretionary and is intended to: (i) strengthen the connection between individual compensation and company’s achievements; (ii) encourage teamwork among all disciplines within the company; (iii) reinforce our pay-for-performance philosophy by awarding higher bonuses to higher performing employees; and (iv) help ensure that our cash compensation is competitive. Depending on the cash position of the company, senior management, the Committee and our board of directors have decided, from time to time, not to pay cash bonuses in order that we may conserve cash and support ongoing development programs. Regardless of our cash position, we consistently grant annual merit-based stock options to continue incentivizing both our senior management and our employees.

Each NEO is assigned a target payout under the performance bonus plan, expressed as a percentage of base salary for the year. Actual payouts under the performance bonus plan are based on the achievement of corporate performance goals and an assessment of individual performance, each of which is separately weighted as a component of such officer’s target payout. For the NEOs, the corporate goals receive the highest weighting in order to ensure that the bonus system for our management team is closely tied to our corporate performance. Each employee has specific individual goals and objectives as well that are tied to the overall corporate goals. For employees, mid-year and end of year progress is reviewed with the employees’ managers.

Equity Incentive Compensation

We view long-term compensation, currently in the form of stock options, generally vesting in annual increments over three years, as a tool to align the interests of our NEOs and employees generally with the creation of stockholder value, to motivate our employees to achieve and exceed corporate and individual objectives and to encourage them to remain employed by the company. While cash compensation is a significant component of overall employee compensation, our executive management team, the Committee and the board of directors believe that the driving force of any employee working in a small biotechnology company should be strong equity participation. We believe that this not only creates the potential for substantial longer term corporate value but also serves to motivate employees and retain their loyalty and commitment with appropriate personal compensation.

Other Compensation

In addition to the three main components of compensation outlined above, we also provide contractual severance and/or change in control benefits to the NEOs as well as Dr. Niraj Vasisht, our Senior Vice President–Product Development and CTO, to Al Medwar, our Vice President of Marketing and to Steven Dykstra, our Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Operations. We believe these severance or change in control benefits are important elements of our compensation program that assist us in retaining talented individuals at the executive and senior managerial levels and that these arrangements help to promote stability and continuity of our executives and senior management team. Further, we believe that the interests of our stockholders will be best served if the interests of these members of our management are aligned with theirs. We believe that providing change in control benefits lessens or eliminates any potential reluctance of these members of our management to pursue potential change in control transactions that may be in the best interests of the stockholders. We also believe that it is important to provide severance benefits to these members of our management, to promote stability and focus on the job at hand.

We also provide benefits to the executive officers that are generally available to all regular full-time employees of the company, including our medical and dental insurance, life insurance, a 401(k) match for all individuals who participate in the 401(k) plan, and an employee stock purchase plan. At this time, we do not provide any perquisites to any executive officers. Further, we do not have deferred compensation plans, pension arrangements or post-retirement health coverage for our executive officers or employees. All of our employees

not specifically under contract are “at-will” employees, which mean that their employment can be terminated at any time for any reason by either us or the employee. Our NEOs (as well as certain of our senior managers) have employment contracts that provide lump sum compensation in the event of their termination without cause or, under certain circumstances, upon a change of control.

Determination of Compensation Amounts

A number of factors impact the determination of compensation amounts for the executive officers, including company and individual performance, competition for talent, each NEO’s total compensation package, assessments of internal pay equity and industry data. Stock price performance has generally not been a factor in determining annual compensation because the price of our common stock is subject to a variety of factors outside of our control.

Industry Survey Data

In collaboration with Radford, we have determined that to best assure ourselves that we are compensating our executives on a fair and reasonable basis that we needed to establish a list of peer companies. We have established two peer group reviews with Radford. The first group is for NEOs, which is based on a national review and was set forth above under the heading “Objectives of our Compensation Program.” The second is intended for non-NEOs and focuses on similar sized companies located on the East Coast.

Determination of Base Salaries

As a guideline for NEO base salary, we perform formal benchmarks against respective comparable positions in our established peer group. Our guideline is to set NEO salary ranges between the 25th and 50th percentile for comparable positions. We then adjust salaries based on our assessment of the officers’ levels of responsibility, experience, overall compensation structure and individual performance. Merit-based increases to salaries of executive officers are based on our assessment of individual performance and the relationship to applicable salary ranges. Cost of living adjustments are also a part of that assessment.

Performance Bonus Plan

At, or prior to the beginning of each calendar year, draft corporate goals that reflect our business priorities for the coming year are prepared by the CEO with input from the other executive officers. These goals are weighted by relative importance. The draft goals and proposed weightings are presented to the Committee and the board of directors and discussed, revised as necessary, and then approved by the board of directors. The Committee then reviews the final goals and their weightings to determine and confirm their appropriateness for use as performance measurements for purposes of the bonus program. The goals and/or weightings may be re-visited during the year and potentially restated in the event of significant changes in corporate strategy. Following the agreement with the board of directors on the corporate objectives, the goals are then shared with all employees in a formal meeting(s), and are reviewed periodically throughout the year at monthly staff meetings and quarterly Board of Director meetings.

The performance bonus plan for our executive officers in 2010 was adopted by the board of directors in January 2009. The plan sets forth target bonus opportunities, as a percentage of salary, based on the level of responsibility of the position, ranging from 50% of salary for our CEO, to 40% of salary for our senior executive officers, to 30% of salary for our other officers. In setting these percentages, the Committee determined that the above percentages were reasonable and in line with other companies at our stage of development. Each employee has the opportunity to achieve up to 100% of his targeted amount, depending on how corporate goals and objectives are achieved.

Determination of Equity Incentive Compensation

To assist us in assessing the reasonableness of our stock option grant amounts, historically we have reviewed Radford supplied information and, prior to Radford, we used information supplied by Equilar. Such information included stock option data from a cross-section of the companies in the above-mentioned surveys. On-hire stock option grant amounts have generally been targeted at the 25th to 50th percentile for that position or similar industry position, adjusted for internal equity, experience level of the individual and the individual’s total mix of compensation and benefits provided in his or her offer package. Dr. Sirgo, our CEO and President, has been authorized by our board of directors to offer to new employees stock options valued up to 50% of base salary using Black-Scholes valuation for director-level employees and up to 100% of base salary for Vice Presidents and Executive Vice Presidents. These options are to be granted the first day of employment. On-hire grants typically vest over three years. In 2010, the Committee implemented internal guidelines for annual stock option grants for all employees based on performance factors similar to the executive performance bonus plan. These guidelines provide an internal framework for decision-making by the Committee and are not communicated to the individual as a target grant amount. It is generally expected that the target amount would be granted if 100% performance is achieved. This calculation is similar to the bonus plan calculation. The equity guidelines also provide a framework for granting stock options on average that are valued up to 25% of salary using the Black-Scholes valuation method to compute the number of shares. However, the equity model amounts are only guidelines and may be adjusted upward or downward by the Committee on a discretionary basis.

Option Grant Practices

All stock options granted to the NEOs are approved by the Committee. Exercise prices are set at equal to or greater than fair market value, which we define as the average selling price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market, determined as the arithmetic mean of such selling price over the 30-day period preceding the date of grant, weighted based on the volume of trading on each trading date during such period. Grants are generally made: (i) on the employee’s start date and (ii) at board of directors meetings held each January and following annual performance reviews. However, grants have been made at other times during the year. The size of year-end grants for each NEO is assessed against our internal equity guidelines. Current market conditions for grants for comparable positions and internal equity may also be assessed. Also, grants may be made in connection with promotions or job related changes in responsibilities. In addition, on occasion, the Committee may make additional special awards for extraordinary performance.

Compensation Setting Process

Near the end of the year and at an in person meeting held each January, the board of directors and Committee assess our overall corporate performance and discuss the relative achievement of the corporate goals. The relative achievement of each goal is assessed and quantified and the summation of the individual components results in the corporate goal rating. The independent directors of the board (who comprise the Compensation Committee) meet privately to further discuss and approve the final corporate goal rating, expressed as a percentage, from 0 to 100%.

Also near the end of the year, the CEO evaluates the individual performance of each executive officer (other than himself) and provides the Committee with an assessment of the performance of each other NEO. In determining the individual performance ratings of the NEOs, we assess performance against a number of factors, including each NEO’s relative contributions to our corporate goals, demonstrated career growth, level of performance in the face of available resources and other challenges, and the respective officer’s department’s overall performance. This assessment is conducted in a holistic fashion, in contrast to the summation of individual components as is done to arrive at the corporate goal rating.

Following a qualitative assessment of individual NEO’s performance, our policies provide guidelines for translating this performance assessment into a numerical rating. Both the initial qualitative assessment and the translation into a numerical rating are made by the Committee on a discretionary basis. We believe that

conducting a discretionary assessment for the individual component of the executive officers’ performance provides for flexibility in the evaluation of our NEOs and their adaptability to addressing potential changes in company priorities throughout the year.

The Committee looks to the CEO’s performance assessments of the other NEOs and his recommendations regarding a performance rating for each, as well as input from the other members of the board of directors. These recommendations may be adjusted by the Committee prior to finalization. For the CEO, the Committee evaluates his performance, taking into consideration input from the other members of the board of directors, and considers the achievement of overall corporate objectives by both the CEO specifically and the company generally.

The CEO also presents any recommended changes to base salary and recommendations for an annual stock option grant amount, referencing the equity guidelines, for each of the executive officers (other than himself).

The Committee has the authority to directly engage, at the Company’s expense, any compensation consultants or other advisors (such as Radford) that it deems necessary to determine the amount and form of employee, executive and director compensation. In determining the amount and form of employee, executive and director compensation, the Committee has reviewed and discussed historical salary information as well as salaries for similar positions at comparable companies.

Concurrently with the CEO’s evaluation of the other executive officers’ performance, the Committee reviews the CEO’s performance, based on input from the other members of the board of directors, and assigns a rating for the CEO, expressed as a percentage from 0 to 100%. The Committee also sets the CEO’s base salary for the upcoming fiscal year, referencing the relevant survey data. The CEO is not present during the Committee’s deliberations regarding his compensation.

The corporate goals rating and individual performance ratings are applied to each employee’s target bonus opportunity under the bonus plan, in the proportions defined for each position. The sum of those components then determines the actual bonus paid for each individual. Under the equity guidelines, described above, the corporate goals rating and individual performance ratings may also be used to determine the size of the annual stock option grant for each employee.

Compensation and benefit consultants who are independent from the company, may, from time to time, be hired by the Committee to assist in developing and reviewing overall salary policies and structures. Other than Radford, we did not engage any consultant related to executive and/or director compensation matters in 2010. We paid consultant fees to Radford of $14,428 in 2010. NEOs may have indirect input in the compensation results for other executive officers by virtue of their participation in the performance review and feedback process for the other executive officers.

2010 Compensation Decisions

General Assessment of Management Performance in 2010

The Committee and the board of directors conducted the performance and compensation review for 2010 during November and December of 2010 and January of 2011. In assessing our performance for the year, Committee and the board of directors recognized the high level of corporate productivity and efficiency that was required to enable a small organization to accomplish the goals set forth at the beginning of the year.

2010 Performance Assessments and Bonus Calculations

For 2010, our performance bonus plan set the following target payouts, expressed as a percentage of base salary. For our CEO, the target bonus opportunity was 50% of base salary and for our Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Product Development and Executive Vice President, Business and Strategic Development the target bonus opportunity was 40% of base salary.

The elements that the Committee and the board of directors established as our overall corporate goals for 2010 included a variety of development and operational objectives. The 2010 goals were established in December 2009 and January 2010. The objectives were development/clinical, commercial, financial and operational in nature.

In December 2010 and January 2011, the Committee and the board of directors considered year-end compensation for 2010 performance and 2011 compensation matters. Specifically, the Committee and the board of directors observed and recognized that the following key Corporate Objectives were substantially met:

•

Initiated the BEMA^® Buprenorphine Phase III program for Chronic Pain

•

Accelerated the development of a BEMA^® Buprenorphine/Naloxone combination product

•

Concluded a successful $10 million financing

•

Strongly supported MEDA activities to develop a Retail REMS submission

•

Successfully completed a BEMA^® Granisetron Pre IND meeting with FDA leading to a confirmed 505(b)(2) pharmacokinetic regulatory approach to an NDA

These accomplishments reflected the efforts of our employees, including the NEOs, and were taken into account by the Committee in providing our NEOs and some employees with salary increases. All employees were provided equity grants and performance cash bonus awards. The award under our performance cash bonus program approximated 60% of target for the corporate performance portion of the awards.

Individual Performance and Compensation of the President and CEO

Dr. Sirgo’s base salary for 2010 was set at $413,920 in January 2010 in connection with the 2009 year-end performance and compensation review conducted by the Committee. The salary adjustment reflected an increase of $12,056.

In evaluating Dr. Sirgo’s individual performance for 2010 at the end of the year, the Committee, with input from the other board members, concluded that Dr. Sirgo managed to overcome some setbacks at a manufacturing facility of our third party supplier of ONSOLIS^® and managed involvement of our employees to help guide the efforts to correct the situation. He refocused the direction for BEMA^® Buprenorphine from acute to chronic pain in doing so was able to initiate the Phase III program in 2010. In addition over saw the advancement of our Buprenorphine/Naloxone product for the treatment of opioid dependence that should allow for the completion of a pivotal bioequivalence study in 2011. Dr. Sirgo was significantly instrumental in progressing the activities at the FDA with respect to obtaining eventual approval of a retail REMS, and he directed a successful financing for the company. He provided the necessary leadership to our employees to ensure that the appropriate direction of the company was maintained throughout the year. Accordingly the company awarded a cash bonus for Dr. Sirgo in the amount of $124,176, or 30% of his base pay (upon signing of BEMA^® Buprenorphine commercial partner agreement), and options to purchase 22,369 shares (granted February 2011).

Compensation Highlights for the other Executive Officers

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. McNulty’s base salary for 2010 was set at $300,118 in January 2010 in connection with the 2009 year-end performance and compensation review conducted by the Committee. His salary adjustment reflected an increase of $8,741.

In evaluating Mr. McNulty’s individual performance for 2010 at the end of the year, the Committee, with input from the other board members, concluded that Mr. McNulty successfully led the finance team in achieving its objectives and supported the company overall by providing timely information on our financial condition and

maintained sound internal and financial reporting controls. Accordingly, the Committee approved a cash bonus award of $72,028 (upon signing of BEMA^® Buprenorphine commercial partner agreement), or 24% of his base pay, and options to purchase 16,219 shares (granted February 2011).

Executive Vice President—Product Development

Dr. Finn’s base salary for 2010 was set at $252,144 in January 2010 in connection with the 2009 year-end performance and compensation review conducted by the Committee. The salary adjustment reflected an increase of $7,344.

In evaluating Dr. Finn’s individual performance for 2010 at the end of the year, the Committee, with input from the other board members, concluded that Dr. Finn positively contributed to a number of corporate objectives as they related to his department. He led the team that helped overcome the manufacturing issues regarding ONSOLIS^® and was deeply involved with the refocusing of efforts concerning BEMA^® Buprenorphine and our other products. His efforts have enabled the company to better ensure the successful completion of our Phase III BEMA^® Buprenorphine chronic pain program in 2011. Accordingly the company recognized the need to adjust Dr. Finn’s salary to $284,000 in January 2011 and to award him a cash bonus of $68,160 (upon signing of BEMA^® Buprenorphine commercial partner agreement), or 24% of base salary, and an option to purchase 15,348 shares (granted February 2011).

Executive Vice President—Business and Strategic Development

Mr. Ward joined our company in September 2010 and his base salary was set at $195,000.

In evaluating Mr. Ward’s individual performance for 2010 at the end of the year, the Committee, with input from the other Board members, concluded that Mr. Ward has, in a short period of time integrated very well into the culture and operations of the company and is advancing the company’s efforts in Business Development and Investor Relations. He has initiated actions to address the overall strategic direction and has participated in a numerous business development interactions with other companies. Accordingly the Committee approved a pro-rated cash bonus award of $11,700 (upon signing of BEMA^® Buprenorphine commercial partner agreement) and an option to purchase 3,320 shares (granted February 2011).

Severance and Change in Control Benefits

The change in control benefits for all applicable persons have a “double trigger.” A double-trigger means that the executive officers will receive the change in control benefits described in the agreements only if there is both (1) a Change in Control of the Company (as defined in the agreements) and (2) a termination by us of the applicable person’s employment “without cause” or a resignation by the applicable persons for “good reason” (as defined in the agreements) within a specified time period prior to or following the Change in Control. We believe this double trigger requirement creates the potential to maximize stockholder value because it prevents an unintended windfall to management as no benefits are triggered solely in the event of a Change in Control while providing appropriate incentives to act in furtherance of a change in control that may be in the best interests of the stockholders.

Accounting and Tax Considerations

ASC 718. On January 1, 2006, we began accounting for share-based payments in accordance with the requirements of Accounting Standards Codification 718 (ASC 718), Share-Based Payments. To date, the adoption of ASC 718 has not impacted our stock option granting practices.

Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m). At this time, we do not have a policy to factor in 162(m) limitations into the determination of base salary or bonus amounts since the aggregate salary and bonus payments for each individual are substantially below the $1,000,000 deductibility limitation.

Internal Revenue Code Section 409A. Section 409A generally changes the tax rules that affect most forms of deferred compensation that were not earned and vested prior to 2005. Under Section 409A, deferred compensation is defined broadly and may potentially cover compensation arrangements such as severance or change in control pay outs and certain equity incentive awards. We take Section 409A into account, where applicable, in structuring compensation paid to our executive officers.

Code Sections 280G and 4999. Sections 280G and 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) limit our ability to take a tax deduction for certain “excess parachute payments” (as defined in Code Sections 280G and 4999) and impose excise taxes on each NEO who receives “excess parachute payments” in connection with his or her severance from our company in connection with a change in control. We consider the adverse tax liabilities imposed by Code Sections 280G and 4999, as well as other competitive factors, when structuring post-termination compensation payable to our executive officers and generally provide a mechanism for a “better after tax” result for the NEO, which we believe is a reasonable balance between our interests, on the one hand, and the executive’s compensation on the other.

Compensation Risk Assessment

In reviewing our compensation policy and practices for its NEOs as well as for other employees, the Compensation Committee evaluated whether any unnecessary risk-taking was associated with our compensation policies. The Committee did not identify any risks arising from our compensation policies and practices reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company.

Compensation Committee Independence

All members of the Compensation Committee are Independent Directors and do not have any formal ties or relationship with any members of Management or their relatives.

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Executive Compensation

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth all compensation paid to our named executive officers at the end of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008. Individuals we refer to as our “named executive officers” include our Chief Executive Officer and our most highly compensated executive officers whose salary and bonus for services rendered in all capacities exceeded $100,000 during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.


Name and principal position	Year		Salary ($)		Bonus ($)			Stock Awards ($)		Option Awards ($) ⁽¹⁸⁾			Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)		Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($)		All Other Compensation ($)			Total ($)
Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.		2010	$	413,920	$	170,699	⁽¹⁾		—	$	186,041	⁽²⁾		—		—	$	20,367	⁽³⁾	$	791,027
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director		2009	$	470,463	$	220,378			—	$	410,643	⁽⁴⁾		—		—	$	43,602	⁽⁵⁾	$	1,145,086
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director		2008	$	301,920	$	150,000			—	$	149,804	⁽⁶⁾		—		—	$	22,871	⁽⁷⁾	$	624,595

James A. McNulty, CPA		2010	$	300,118	$	87,413	⁽⁸⁾		—	$	110,300			—		—	$	24,127	⁽⁹⁾	$	521,958
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer		2009	$	290,377	$	120,196			—	$	326,860			—		—	$	32,164	⁽¹⁰⁾	$	769,597
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer		2008	$	202,252	$	100,000			—	$	69,696			—		—	$	26,475	⁽¹¹⁾	$	398,423

Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.		2010	$	252,144	$	73,440	⁽¹²⁾		—	$	92,668			—		—	$	17,449	⁽¹³⁾	$	435,701
Executive VP of Product Development		2009	$	244,800	$	144,480			—	$	12,239			—		—	$	21,945	⁽¹⁴⁾	$	423,464
Executive VP of Product Development		2008	$	244,800	$	120,000			—	$	96,720			—		—	$	18,259	⁽¹⁵⁾	$	479,779

Benny Ward,		2010	$	59,250		—			—	$	141,721			—		—	$	2,625	⁽¹⁶⁾	$	203,595
Executive VP of Business & Strategic Development		2009	$	—		—			—		—			—		—		—		$	—	⁽¹⁷⁾
Executive VP of Business & Strategic Development		2008	$	—		—			—		—			—		—		—		$	—	⁽¹⁷⁾

⁽¹⁾	The bonus disclosed in this item of $170,699 is related to 2009, but was contingent upon board approval, which occurred January 2010.

⁽²⁾	The compensation disclosed in this item includes 25,000 stock options granted as compensation for serving as a director.

⁽³⁾	Includes: $9,281 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $11,086 paid in 2010.

⁽⁴⁾	The compensation disclosed in this item includes 25,000 stock options granted as compensation for serving as a director.

⁽⁵⁾	Includes: Vacation payout of $20,902, $10,450 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $12,250 paid in 2009.

⁽⁶⁾	The compensation disclosed in this item includes 30,000 stock options granted as compensation for serving as a director.

⁽⁷⁾	Includes: Vacation payout of $4,554, $6,817 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $11,500 paid in 2008.

⁽⁸⁾	The bonus disclosed in this item of $87,413 is related to 2009, but was contingent upon board approval, which occurred January 2010.

⁽⁹⁾	Includes: $16,658 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $7,469 paid in 2010.

⁽¹⁰⁾	Includes: $19,914 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $12,250 paid in 2009.

⁽¹¹⁾	Includes: Vacation payout of $2,640, $12,335 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $11,500 paid in 2008.

⁽¹²⁾	The bonus disclosed in this item of $73,440 is related to 2009, but was contingent upon board approval, which occurred January 2010.

⁽¹³⁾	Includes: $9,239 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $8,210 paid in 2010.

⁽¹⁴⁾	Includes: $12,318 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $9,627 paid in 2009.

⁽¹⁵⁾	Includes: $6,759 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $11,500 paid in 2008.

⁽¹⁶⁾	Includes: $1,871 of health insurance premiums paid and 401(k) matching of $754 paid in 2010.

⁽¹⁷⁾	Benny Ward was hired September 2010.

⁽¹⁸⁾	Aggregate grant date fair value according to ASC 718.

Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table

Employment Agreements

Except as set forth below, we currently have no written employment agreements with any of our officers, directors, or key employees. All directors and officers have executed confidentiality and non-compete agreements with us.

The following is a description of our current executive employment agreements:

Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D., President and Chief Executive Officer—Mr. Sirgo’s current employment agreement, dated February 22, 2007, is subject to successive, automatic one-year extensions unless either party gives notice of non-extension to the other party at least 30 days prior to the end of the applicable term. The agreement includes a base salary, target bonus of up to 50% of his base salary, and other employee benefits. Under the terms of his agreement, Mr. Sirgo received base salary in 2010 of $413,920 per year and a bonus of $170,699, or 41% of his base pay.

We may terminate Dr. Sirgo’s employment agreement without cause and Dr. Sirgo may resign upon 30 days advance written notice. We may immediately terminate Dr. Sirgo’s employment agreement for Good Cause (as defined in the agreement). Upon the termination of Dr. Sirgo’s employment for any reason, Dr. Sirgo will continue to receive payment of any base salary earned but unpaid through the date of termination and any other payment or benefit to which he is entitled under the applicable terms of any applicable company arrangements. If Dr. Sirgo is terminated during the term of the employment agreement other than for Good Cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Dr. Sirgo terminates his employment for Good Reason (as defined in the employment agreement), Dr. Sirgo is entitled to a lump sum severance payment equal to 1 times the sum of his annual base salary plus a pro-rata annual bonus based on his target annual bonus. In the event that such termination is within six months following a Change of Control (as defined in the employment agreement), the lump sum paid to Dr. Sirgo will equal the sum of his then current annual base salary plus an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of his then current annual base salary, multiplied by 2. In addition, Dr. Sirgo’s employment agreement will terminate prior to its scheduled expiration date in the event of Dr. Sirgo’s death or disability.

Dr. Sirgo’s employment agreement also includes a 2 year non-competition and non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants on terms identical to the existing employment agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, he is also entitled to the following benefits: medical, dental and disability and 401(k).

James A. McNulty, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer—Through December 31, 2007 Mr. McNulty served as part-time CFO, devoting approximately 50% of his time to our company. Beginning January 1, 2008, Mr. McNulty devotes substantially all of his time to our company. Mr. McNulty’s current employment agreement, dated February 22, 2007, is subject to successive, automatic one-year extensions unless either party gives notice of non-extension to the other party at least 30 days prior to the end of the applicable term. The agreement includes a base salary, target bonus of up to 50% of his base salary, and other employee benefits. Under the terms of his agreement, Mr. McNulty received base salary in 2010 of $300,118 per year and a bonus of $87,413, or 29% of his base pay. Mr. McNulty is also employed part-time as Secretary/Treasurer of Accentia.

We may terminate Mr. McNulty’s employment agreement without cause and Mr. McNulty may resign upon 30 days advance written notice to the other party. We may immediately terminate Mr. McNulty’s employment agreement for Good Cause (as defined in the employment agreement). Upon the termination of Mr. McNulty’s employment for any reason, Mr. McNulty will continue to receive payment of any base salary earned but unpaid through the date of termination and any other payment or benefit to which he is entitled under the applicable terms of any applicable company arrangements. If Mr. McNulty is terminated during the term of his employment agreement other than for Good Cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Mr. McNulty terminates his employment for Good Reason (as defined in the employment agreement), Mr. McNulty is entitled to a lump sum severance payment equal to 1 times the sum of his annual base salary plus a pro-rata annual bonus based on

his target annual bonus. In the event that such termination is within six months following a Change of Control (as defined in the employment agreement), the lump sum paid to Mr. McNulty will equal the sum of his then current annual base salary plus an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of his then current annual base salary, multiplied by 1.5. In addition, the employment agreement will terminate prior to its scheduled expiration date in the event of Mr. McNulty’s death or disability.

The employment agreement also includes a 2 year non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants on terms identical to his former employment agreement with us, except that if Mr. McNulty’s employment is terminated upon a Change of Control, the non-competition period will be 18 months. Under the terms of this agreement, he is also entitled to the following benefits: medical, dental and disability and 401(k).

Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D., Executive Vice President of Product Development—Mr. Finn’s current employment agreement, dated February 22, 2007, is subject to successive, automatic one-year extensions unless either party gives notice of non-extension to the other party at least 30 days prior to the end of the applicable term. The agreement includes a base salary, target bonus of up to 50% of his base salary, and other employee benefits. Under the terms of his agreement, Mr. Finn received base salary in 2010 of $252,144 per year and a bonus of $73,440, or 29% of his base pay.

We may terminate Dr. Finn’s employment agreement without cause and Dr. Finn may resign upon 30 days advance written notice. We may immediately terminate Dr. Finn’s employment agreement for Good Cause (as defined in the agreement). Upon the termination of Dr. Finn’s employment for any reason, Dr. Finn will continue to receive payment of any base salary earned but unpaid through the date of termination and any other payment or benefit to which he is entitled under the applicable terms of any applicable company arrangements. If Dr. Finn is terminated during the term of the employment agreement other than for Good Cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Dr. Finn terminates his employment for Good Reason (as defined in the employment agreement), Dr. Finn is entitled to a lump sum severance payment equal to 1 times the sum of his annual base salary plus a pro-rata annual bonus based on his target annual bonus. In the event that such termination is within six months following a Change of Control (as defined in the employment agreement), the lump sum paid to Dr. Finn will equal the sum of his then current annual base salary plus an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of his then current annual base salary, multiplied by 1.5. In addition, Dr. Finn’s employment agreement will terminate prior to its scheduled expiration date in the event of Dr. Finn’s death or disability.

Dr. Finn’s employment agreement also includes a 2 year non-competition and non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants on terms identical to the existing employment agreement, except that if Dr. Finn’s employment is terminated upon a Change of Control, the non-competition period will be 18 months. Under the terms of this agreement, he is also entitled to the following benefits: medical, dental and disability and 401(k).

Benny Ward, Executive Vice President of Business and Strategic Development—On September 7, 2010, Mr. Ward executed a one-year employment agreement to be our Executive Vice President of Business and Strategic Development at an annual salary of $195,000. Mr. Ward is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus of up to 40% of his base salary.

We may terminate Mr. Ward’s employment agreement without cause and Mr. Ward may resign upon 30 days advance written notice. We may immediately terminate Mr. Ward’s employment agreement for Good Cause (as defined in the agreement). Upon the termination of Mr. Ward’s employment for any reason, Mr. Ward will continue to receive payment of any base salary earned but unpaid through the date of termination and any other payment or benefit to which he is entitled under the applicable terms of any applicable company arrangements. If Mr. Ward is terminated during the term of the employment agreement other than for Good Cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Mr. Ward terminates his employment for Good Reason (as defined in the employment agreement) prior to or as of the conclusion of the Initial Term, Mr. Ward is entitled to a lump sum severance payment equal to 50% of his annual base salary plus a pro-rata annual bonus based on his target annual bonus. If the Company’s notice of termination is given after the conclusion of the Initial Term, Mr. Ward is entitled to a lump sum severance payment equal to 1 times the sum of his annual base salary plus a pro-rata

annual bonus based on his target annual bonus. In the event that such termination is within six months following a Change of Control (as defined in the employment agreement), the lump sum paid to Mr. Ward will equal the sum of his then current annual base salary plus an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of his then current annual base salary, multiplied by 1.5. In addition, Mr. Ward’s employment agreement will terminate prior to its scheduled expiration date in the event of Mr. Ward’s death or disability.

Mr. Ward’s employment agreement also includes a 2 year non-competition and non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants on terms identical to the existing employment agreement, except that if Mr. Ward’s employment is terminated upon a Change of Control, the non-competition period will be 18 months. Under the terms of this agreement, he is also entitled to the following benefits: medical, dental and disability and 401(k).dental and disability and 401(k)dental and disability and 401(k).

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Outstanding equity awards

The following table summarizes outstanding unexercised options, unvested stocks and equity incentive plan awards held by each of our name executive officers, as of December 31, 2010.

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END


	OPTION AWARDS											STOCK AWARDS
Name	Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable		Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable		Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Unearned Options (#)			Options Exercise Prices ($)		Option Expiration Date		Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (#)		Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested ($)		Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (#)		Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not vested (#)
Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.		25,000		—		—		$	2.26		7/21/20		—		—		—		—
		—		—		34,265	⁽¹⁾	$	2.43		7/21/20		—		—		—		—
		—		—		37,348	⁽²⁾	$	3.90		1/21/20		—		—		—		—
		25,000		—		—		$	5.40		7/22/19		—		—		—		—
		33,333		—		66,667	⁽³⁾	$	4.83		4/30/19		—		—		—		—
		3,059		—		6,116	⁽⁴⁾	$	3.05		1/22/19		—		—		—		—
		30,000		—		—		$	2.01		7/24/18		—		—		—		—
		27,324		—		13,661	⁽⁵⁾	$	2.01		7/24/18		—		—		—		—
		32,299		—		16,149	⁽⁶⁾	$	2.85		1/31/18		—		—		—		—
		20,000		—		—		$	4.13		7/25/17		—		—		—		—
		434,000		—		—		$	6.63		4/13/17		—		—		—		—
		45,891		—		—		$	2.42		1/26/17		—		—		—		—
		17,730		—		—		$	2.05		7/27/16		—		—		—		—
		49,000		—		—		$	3.03		12/1/15		—		—		—		—
		20,000		—		—		$	2.94		8/22/15		—		—		—		—
		8,929		—		—		$	2.94		7/28/15		—		—		—		—
		5,147		—		—		$	3.40		10/21/14		—		—		—		—

James A. McNulty, CPA		—		—		24,844	⁽¹⁾	$	2.43		7/21/20		—		—		—		—
		—		—		27,080	⁽²⁾	$	3.90		1/21/20		—		—		—		—
		33,333		—		66,667	⁽³⁾	$	4.83		4/30/19		—		—		—		—
		4,092		—		8,183	⁽⁴⁾	$	3.05		1/22/19		—		—		—		—
		12,185		—		6,092	⁽⁵⁾	$	2.01		7/24/18		—		—		—		—
		21,606		—		10,802	⁽⁶⁾	$	2.85		1/31/18		—		—		—		—
		100,000		—		—		$	6.63		4/13/17		—		—		—		—
		34,109		—		—		$	2.42		1/26/17		—		—		—		—
		15,603		—		—		$	2.05		7/27/16		—		—		—		—
		10,000		—		—		$	3.03		12/1/15		—		—		—		—
		26,189		—		—		$	2.94		7/28/15		—		—		—		—
		3,235		—		—		$	3.40		10/21/14		—		—		—		—
		18,616		—		—		$	3.83		8/14/13		—		—		—		—

Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.		—		—		20,873	⁽¹⁾	$	2.43		7/21/20		—		—		—		—
		—		—		22,751	⁽²⁾	$	3.90		1/21/20		—		—		—		—
		2,480		—		4,959	⁽⁴⁾	$	3.05		1/22/19		—		—		—		—
		22,154		—		11,077	⁽⁵⁾	$	2.01		7/24/18		—		—		—		—
		26,188		—		13,094	⁽⁶⁾	$	2.85		1/31/18		—		—		—		—
		100,000		—		—		$	6.63		4/13/17		—		—		—		—
		37,209		—		—		$	2.42		1/26/17		—		—		—		—
		10,603		—		—		$	2.05		7/27/16		—		—		—		—
		49,000		—		—		$	3.03		12/1/15		—		—		—		—
		8,929		—		—		$	2.94		7/28/15		—		—		—		—
		5,147		—		—		$	3.40		10/21/14		—		—		—		—

Benny Ward, CPA.		—		—		85,000	⁽⁷⁾	$	2.38		9/7/20		—		—		—		—

⁽¹⁾	Of the unvested stock options, one third of the unvested stock options will vest on July 21, 2011, another third will vest on July 21, 2012 and the remaining third will vest on July 21, 2013.

⁽²⁾	Of the unvested stock options, one third of the unvested stock options will vest on January 21, 2011, another third will vest on January 21, 2012 and the remaining third will vest on January 21, 2013.

⁽³⁾	Of the unvested stock options, half of the unvested stock options will vest on April 30, 2011 and another half will vest on April 30, 2012.

⁽⁴⁾	Of the unvested stock options, half of the unvested stock options will vest on January 22, 2011 and another half will vest on January 22, 2012.

⁽⁵⁾	These unvested stock options will vest on July 24, 2011.

⁽⁶⁾	These unvested stock options will vest on January 31, 2011.

⁽⁷⁾	Of the unvested stock options, one third of the unvested stock options will vest on September 7, 2011, another third will vest on September 7, 2012 and the remaining third will vest on September 7, 2013.

Outstanding Equity Awards Narrative Disclosure

Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan

The purpose of the Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan is: (i) to align our interests and recipients of options under the plan by increasing the proprietary interest of such recipients in our growth and success, and (ii) to advance our interests by providing additional incentives to officers, key employees and well-qualified non-employee directors and consultants who provide services to us, who are responsible for our management and growth, or otherwise contribute to the conduct and direction of its business, operations and affairs. The Compensation Committee of our board of directors administers our incentive plan, selects the persons to whom options are granted and fixes the terms of such options.

Under our original 2001 Incentive Plan, we reserved 572,082 shares. The plan was approved by our stockholders at our 2001 annual meeting. Our board of directors, with stockholder approval, has subsequently voted to amend and restate the plan on three occasions to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance thereunder, most recently at the July 2009 Annual Meeting whereby the number of shares reserved for issuance increased to 6,000,000. Options to purchase 4,311,539 shares of common stock are outstanding as of December 31, 2010 under the Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan.

All options were issued under our Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan. Options may be awarded during the ten-year term of the plan to our employees (including employees who are directors), or consultants who are not employees and our other affiliates. Our plan provides for the grant of options that qualify as incentive stock options, or Incentive Stock Options, under Section 422A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and options which are not Incentive Stock Options, or Non-Statutory Stock Options, as well as restricted stock and other awards. Only our employees or employees of our subsidiaries may be granted Incentive Stock Options. Our affiliates or consultants or others as may be permitted by our board of directors, may be granted Non-Statutory Stock Options.

Directors are eligible to participate in our Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan. The plan provides for an initial grant of an option to purchase up to 25,000 shares (prorated based on months to be served in the fiscal year in which they join) of common stock to each director upon first joining our board of directors and subsequent grants of options to purchase 25,000 shares upon each anniversary of such director’s appointment and an additional 15,000 option grant for serving as Lead Director. The board chairman is also granted 7,500 additional options. Such options are granted at an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the common stock on the grant date and immediately vest.

Options and warrants to purchase 9,585,460 shares of our common stock at prices ranging from $2.01 to $6.63 are outstanding at December 31, 2010. There were no options granted during 2010 whose exercise price was lower than the estimated market price of the stock at the grant date.

Options issued during 2010 to employees and directors totaled 761,756 shares, at exercise prices ranging from $2.26 and $3.95.

As our Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan expires at our 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, we are in this proxy statement presenting a new incentive plan for approval by our stockholders. Options outstanding under our Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan as of its expiration will be assumed under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. For further information, please see Proposal 4.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following information sets forth stock options exercised by the executive officers during the year ended December 31, 2010:

OPTION AWARDS

STOCK AWARDS

Name

Number of
Shares
Acquired
on
Exercise
(#)

Value
Realized
on
Exercise
($)

Number of
Shares
Acquired
on
Vesting
(#)

Value
Realized
on
Vesting
($)

Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.

—

James A. McNulty, CPA

—

Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.

—

Benny Ward, CPA

—

Pension Benefits

None of our employees participate in or have account balances in qualified or non-qualified defined benefit plans sponsored by us. Our Compensation Committee may elect to adopt qualified or non-qualified benefit plans in the future if it determines that doing so is in our company’s best interests.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

None of our employees participate in or have account balances in nonqualified defined contribution plans or other nonqualified deferred compensation plans maintained by us. Our Compensation Committee may elect to provide our officers and other employees with non-qualified defined contribution or other nonqualified deferred compensation benefits in the future if it determines that doing so is in our company’s best interests.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards


Name	Grant Date		Estimated Future Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards			Estimated Future Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards					All Other Stock Awards: Number of Shares of Stocks or Units (#)	All Other Option Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Options (#)	Exercise or Base Price of Option Awards ($/Sh)		Closing stock price on Award date ($/Sh)		Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards
Name	Grant Date		Threshold ($)	Target ($)	Maximum ($)	Threshold (#)	Target (#)			Maximum (#)			Exercise or Base Price of Option Awards ($/Sh)		Closing stock price on Award date ($/Sh)		Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards
Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.		7/21/10						25,000	⁽¹⁾				$	2.26	$	2.26	$	33,917
		7/21/10						34,265	⁽²⁾				$	2.43	$	2.26	$	51,658
		1/21/10						37,348	⁽²⁾				$	3.90	$	3.90	$	100,466

James A. McNulty, CPA		7/21/10						24,844	⁽²⁾				$	2.43	$	2.26	$	37,455
James A. McNulty, CPA		1/21/10						27,080	⁽²⁾				$	3.90	$	3.90	$	72,845

Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.		7/21/10						20,873	⁽²⁾				$	2.43	$	2.26	$	31,468
Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.		1/21/10						22,751	⁽²⁾				$	3.90	$	3.90	$	61,200

Benny Ward		9/7/10						85,000	⁽²⁾				$	2.38	$	2.51	$	141,721

⁽¹⁾	Director stock options granted as compensation as serving as a director.

⁽²⁾	Employee stock options granted as award.

Narrative to Grants of Plan Based Awards Table

See Compensation Discussion and Analysis above for complete description of the targets for payment of annual incentives, as well as performance criteria on which such payments were based.

Options granted to employees vest over 36 months beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date at which time 33% of such options vest. These options expire in 10 years and are outstanding for as long as the individual is an active employee. Employee options qualify as Incentive Stock Options.

Options granted to directors vest immediately. These options expire in 10 years and are outstanding for the life of the option. Director options qualify as Non-Statutory Stock Options.

Potential Payments Under Severance/Change in Control Arrangements

The table below sets forth potential payments payable to our current executive officers in the event of a termination of employment under various circumstances. For purposes of calculating the potential payments set forth in the table below, we have assumed that (i) the date of termination was December 31, 2010 and (ii) the stock price was $3.55, which was the closing market price of our common stock on December 31, 2010, the last business day of the 2010 fiscal year.


Name	If Company Terminates Executive Without Cause or Executive Resigns with Good Reason ($)			Termination Following a Change in Control without Cause or Executive Resigns with Good Reason ($)
Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D.
Cash Payment	$	646,352	⁽¹⁾	$	1,267,232	⁽¹⁾
Acceleration of Options		—			73,777	⁽²⁾

Total Cash and Benefits	$	646,352		$	1,341,009


James A. McNulty, CPA
Cash Payment	$	453,063	⁽¹⁾	$	678,151	⁽¹⁾
Acceleration of Options		—			48,860	⁽²⁾

Total Cash and Benefits	$	453,063		$	727,011


Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D.
Cash Payment	$	386,944	⁽¹⁾	$	576,052	⁽¹⁾
Acceleration of Options		—			52,082	⁽²⁾

Total Cash and Benefits	$	386,944		$	628,134


Benny Ward
Cash Payment	$	177,188	⁽¹⁾		440,438	⁽¹⁾
Acceleration of Options		—			99,450	⁽²⁾

Total Cash and Benefits	$	177,188		$	539,888

⁽¹⁾	Includes severance payment and accrued and unused vacation time as of December 31, 2010.

⁽²⁾	Determined by taking excess of the fair market value of our common stock on December 31, 2010, less the exercise price of each accelerated option.

For each of our executive officers, in their employment agreements the term “change of control” means the occurrence of any one or more of the following events (it being agreed that, with respect to paragraphs (i) and (iii) of this definition below, a “change of control” shall not be deemed to have occurred if the applicable third party acquiring party is an “affiliate” of our company within the meaning of Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended):

(i) An acquisition (whether directly from our company or otherwise) of any voting securities of our company by any person or entity, immediately after which such person or entity has beneficial ownership of forty percent (40%) or more of the combined voting power of our then outstanding voting securities.

(ii) The individuals who, as of the date hereof, are members of the our board of directors cease, by reason of a financing, merger, combination, acquisition, takeover or other non-ordinary course transaction affecting our company, to constitute at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the members of our board of directors; or

(iii) Approval by our board of directors and, if required, our stockholders of, or our execution of any definitive agreement with respect to, or the consummation of (it being understood that the mere execution of a term sheet, memorandum of understanding or other non-binding document shall not constitute a change of control):

(A) A merger, consolidation or reorganization involving our company, where either or both of the events described in clauses (i) or (ii) above would be the result;

(C) An agreement for the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of our company to any person or entity (other than a transfer to a subsidiary of our company).

The cash component (as opposed to option accelerations) of any change of control payment would be structured as a one-time cash severance payment.

Compensation of Directors Summary Table

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION


Name (a)	Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($)			Stock Awards ($)		Option Awards ($)			Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)		Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($)		All Other Compensation ($)		Total ($)
Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr.	$	45,000			—	$	44,092	⁽¹⁾		—		—		—	$	89,092
William B. Stone	$	70,900	⁽²⁾		—	$	54,267	⁽³⁾		—		—		—	$	125,167
John J. Shea	$	60,300	⁽⁴⁾		—	$	33,917	⁽⁵⁾		—		—		—	$	94,217
William S. Poole	$	50,500			—	$	33,917	⁽⁶⁾		—		—		—	$	84,417

⁽¹⁾	As of December 31, 2010, the outstanding stock options held by Dr. O’Donnell total 247,500, all of which have vested.

⁽²⁾	Includes compensation of $12,900 which was special committee earnings.

⁽³⁾	As of December 31, 2010, the outstanding stock options held by Mr. Stone total 360,000, all of which have vested.

⁽⁴⁾	Includes compensation of $10,300 which was special committee earnings.

⁽⁵⁾	As of December 31, 2010, the outstanding stock options held by Mr. Shea total 258,700, all of which have vested.

⁽⁶⁾	As of December 31, 2010, the outstanding stock options held by Mr. Poole total 220,000, all of which have vested.

Narrative to Director Compensation

The Compensation Committee of our board of directors reviews the Director Remuneration Policy, which establishes the compensation our directors earn for serving on our board of directors and individual committees. The policy follows (all annual cash retainers are paid quarterly in arrears);

•

$30,000 annual cash retainer to each board member.

•

$15,000 annual cash retainer to the Chairman of the Board.

•

$5,000 annual cash retainer to the Lead Director.

•

$15,000 annual cash retainer to the Chairman of the Audit Committee.

•

$7,500 annual cash retainer to the Chairman of the Compensation Committee.

•

$5,000 annual cash retainer to the Chairman of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.

•

$7,500 annual cash retainer to each non-Chairman Audit Committee member.

•

$5,000 annual cash retainer to each non-Chairman Compensation Committee member.

•

$3,000 annual cash retainer to each non-Chairman Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee member.

•

25,000 options to purchase shares of our Common Stock per year, to each director.

•

7,500 additional options to purchase shares of our Common Stock per year to the Chairman of the Board.

•

15,000 additional options to purchase shares of our Common Stock per year to the Lead Director.

•

New directors will earn a pro-rated portion (based on months to be served in the fiscal year in which they join) of cash and option awards.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF WILLIAM B. STONE AND WILLIAM S. POOLE TO SERVE IN CLASS III ON THE COMPANY’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, TO HOLD OFFICE UNTIL THE 2013 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OR UNTIL THEIR SUCCESSORS ARE ELECTED AND QUALIFIED OR UNTIL THEIR EARLIER RESIGNATION OR REMOVAL.

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PROPOSAL 2

RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE

COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR FISCAL 2011

On January 21, 2011, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors appointed the firm of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P (“CBH”) to serve as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. The independent accountant’s report of CBH on the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010 contained no adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and was not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

Audit Fees. The aggregate fees billed by CBH for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 totaled $135,850 and $114,200, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures as audit fees as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.

Audit-Related Fees. The aggregate fees billed by CBH for audit-related fees for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 were $19,326 and $67,412, respectively.

Tax Fees. The aggregate fees billed by CBH. for professional services rendered for tax compliance, for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 were $27,100 and $26,003, respectively.

All Other Fees. None.

The Audit Committee of our board of directors has established its pre-approval policies and procedures, pursuant to which the Audit Committee approved the foregoing audit, tax and non-audit services provided by CBH in 2010. Consistent with the Audit Committee’s responsibility for engaging our independent auditors, all audit and permitted non-audit services require pre-approval by the Audit Committee. The full Audit Committee approves proposed services and fee estimates for these services. The Audit Committee chairperson has been designated by the Audit Committee to approve any audit-related services arising during the year that were not pre-approved by the Audit Committee. Any non-audit service must be approved by the full Audit Committee. Services approved by the Audit Committee chairperson are communicated to the full Audit Committee at its next regular meeting and the Audit Committee reviews services and fees for the fiscal year at each such meeting. Pursuant to these procedures, the Audit Committee approved the foregoing audit services provided by CBH

Changes In and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. None.

A representative of CBH is expected to attend the Meeting, will have the opportunity to make a statement should they desire to do so and to respond to appropriate questions.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE RATIFICATION OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE’S APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENT OF CHERRY BEKAERT & HOLLAND, L.L.P. AS THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2011.

PROPOSAL 3

APPROVAL OF THE ADOPTION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO INCREASE THE AUTHORIZED COMMON

STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.001 PER SHARE, FROM 45,000,000 SHARES TO 75,000,000 SHARES.

The Company’s Board of Directors has declared advisable, adopted and is submitting for stockholder approval an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock par value $0.001 per share, from 45,000,000 to 75,000,000.

On June 13, 2011, there were 28,960,535 shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding. In addition, an aggregate of 9,674,809 shares of common stock were reserved for issuance under the Company’s currently outstanding warrants to purchase common stock and in connection with the Company’s various employee benefit and compensation plans. This leaves 6,364,656 shares of common stock available for future use.

The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation also authorizes the issuance of 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock. On June 13, 2011, no shares of preferred stock were outstanding. The proposed amendment does not increase the number of shares of preferred stock that the Company is authorized to issue.

Form of the Amendment

If stockholders approve this proposal, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation will be amended to increase the number of shares of common stock the Company is authorized to issue from 45,000,000 to 75,000,000. The par value of the common stock will remain at $0.001 per share. The amendment would amend the first sentence of, Article FIFTH of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to read in its entirety as follows:

“FIFTH. The total number of shares of capital stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 80,000,000 shares, consisting of 75,000,000 (Seventy-Five Million) shares of common stock, each of par value one-thousandths of one cent ($0.001) (the “Common Stock”), and 5,000,000 (Five Million) shares of preferred stock, each of par value one-thousandths of one cent ($0.001) (the “Preferred Stock”).”

The remaining text of Article FIFTH of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation will remain unchanged.

Purpose of the Amendment

The Board is recommending this increase in authorized shares of common stock primarily to give the Company appropriate flexibility to issue shares for future corporate needs. The shares may be issued by the Board in its discretion, subject to any further stockholder action required in the case of any particular issuance by applicable law, regulatory agency, or under the rules of the NASDAQ. Although there is no present agreement to issue any shares, the newly authorized shares of common stock would be issuable for any proper corporate purpose, including future acquisitions, investment opportunities, capital raising transactions of equity or convertible debt securities, stock splits, stock dividends, issuance under current or future equity compensation plans, employee stock or incentive and savings plans or for other corporate purposes. There are no immediate plans, arrangements, commitments or understandings with respect to issuance of any of the additional shares of common stock that would be authorized by the proposed amendment. However, the Board believes that these additional shares will provide the Company with needed ability to issue shares in the future to take advantage of market conditions or favorable opportunities without the potential expense or delay incident to obtaining stockholder approval for a particular issuance.

Rights of Additional Authorized Shares

The additional authorized shares of common stock, if and when issued, would be part of the existing class of common stock and would have the same rights and privileges as the shares of common stock currently

outstanding. The Company’s stockholders do not have preemptive rights with respect to its common stock. Accordingly, should the Board of Directors elect to issue additional shares of common stock, existing stockholders would not have any preferential rights to purchase the shares.

Potential Adverse Effects of the Amendment

Future issuances of common stock or securities convertible into common stock could have a dilutive effect on the earnings per share, book value per share, voting power and percentage interest of holdings of current stockholders. In addition, the availability of additional shares of common stock for issuance could, under certain circumstances, discourage or make more difficult efforts to obtain control of the Company. The Board is not aware of any attempt, or contemplated attempt, to acquire control of the Company. This proposal is not being presented with the intent that it be used to prevent or discourage any acquisition attempt, but nothing would prevent the Board from taking any appropriate actions not inconsistent with its fiduciary duties.

Effectiveness of the Amendment and Vote Required

If the proposed amendment is adopted, it will become effective upon the filing of a certificate of amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The adoption of this amendment requires the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED SHARES OF THE COMPANY’S COMMON STOCK.

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PROPOSAL 4

ADOPTION OF THE COMPANY’S 2011 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

The Company’s Board of Directors has declared advisable, has adopted and is submitting for stockholder approval the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). The purpose of the Plan is to attract and retain key personnel and to provide a means for directors, officers, employees, consultants and advisors to acquire and maintain an interest in the company, which interest may be measured by reference to the value of our common shares.

If approved by the company’s stockholders, the Plan will be effective as of May 26, 2011 (the date that the Company’s Board of Directors approved the Plan). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Proposal 4 shall have them meaning ascribed to them in the Plan, a copy of which is attached hereto as Annex A. The following description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Plan.

Administration. Our Compensation Committee will administer the Plan. The Committee will have the authority to determine the terms and conditions of any agreements evidencing any Awards granted under the Plan and to adopt, alter and repeal rules, guidelines and practices relating to the Plan. Our Compensation Committee will have full discretion to administer and interpret the Plan and to adopt such rules, regulations and procedures as it deems necessary or advisable and to determine, among other things, the time or times at which the awards may be exercised and whether and under what circumstances an award may be exercised.

Eligibility. Employees, directors, officers, advisors or consultants of the company or its affiliates are eligible to participate in the Plan. Our Compensation Committee has the sole and complete authority to determine who will be granted an award under the Plan, however, it may delegate such authority to one or more officers of the company under the circumstances set forth in the Plan.

Number of Shares Authorized. The Plan provides for an aggregate of 4,200,000 new Common Shares to be available for awards. An additional 4,400,888 Common Shares available for issuances under the Company’s Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan will be included in and administered under the Plan. If an award is forfeited or if any option terminates, expires or lapses without being exercised, the common shares subject to such award will again be made available for future grant. Shares that are used to pay the exercise price of an option or that are withheld to satisfy the Participant’s tax withholding obligation will not be available for re-grant under the Plan.

Each Common Share subject to an Option or a Stock Appreciation Right will reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance by one share, and each Common Share underlying an Award of Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Stock Bonus Awards and Performance Compensation Awards will reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance by one and one-half shares.

If there is any change in our corporate capitalization, the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion may make substitutions or adjustments to the number of shares reserved for issuance under our Plan, the number of shares covered by awards then outstanding under our Plan, the limitations on awards under our Plan, the exercise price of outstanding options and such other equitable substitution or adjustments as it may determine appropriate.

The Plan will have a term of ten years and no further awards may be granted under the Plan after that date.

Awards Available for Grant. Our Compensation Committee may grant awards of Non-Qualified Stock Options, Incentive (qualified) Stock Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock Awards, Restricted Stock Units, Stock Bonus Awards, Performance Compensation Awards (including cash bonus awards) or any combination of the foregoing.

Options. Our Compensation Committee will be authorized to grant Options to purchase Common Shares that are either “qualified,” meaning they are intended to satisfy the requirements of Code Section 422 for incentive stock options, or “non-qualified,” meaning they are not intended to satisfy the requirements of Section 422 of the Code. Options granted under the Plan will be subject to the terms and conditions established by our Compensation Committee. Under the terms of the Plan, unless our Compensation Committee determines otherwise in the case of an Option substituted for another Option in connection with a corporate transaction, the exercise price of the Options will not be less than the fair market value (as determined under the Plan) of our common shares at the time of grant. Options granted under the Plan will be subject to such terms, including the exercise price and the conditions and timing of exercise, as may be determined by our Compensation Committee and specified in the applicable award agreement. The maximum term of an option granted under the Plan will be ten years from the date of grant (or five years in the case of a qualified option granted to a 10% stockholder). Payment in respect of the exercise of an option may be made in cash or by check, by surrender of unrestricted shares (at their fair market value on the date of exercise) that have been held by the participant for any period deemed necessary by our accountants to avoid an additional compensation charge or have been purchased on the open market, or our Compensation Committee may, in its discretion and to the extent permitted by law, allow such payment to be made through a broker-assisted cashless exercise mechanism, a net exercise method, or by such other method as our Compensation Committee may determine to be appropriate.

Stock Appreciation Rights. Our Compensation Committee will be authorized to award Stock Appreciation Rights (or SARs) under the Plan. SARs will be subject to the terms and conditions established by our Compensation Committee. An SAR is a contractual right that allows a participant to receive, either in the form of cash, shares or any combination of cash and shares, the appreciation, if any, in the value of a share over a certain period of time. An Option granted under the Plan may include SARs and SARs may also be awarded to a participant independent of the grant of an Option. SARs granted in connection with an Option shall be subject to terms similar to the Option corresponding to such SARs. SARs shall be subject to terms established by our Compensation Committee and reflected in the award agreement.

Restricted Stock. Our Compensation Committee will be authorized to award Restricted Stock under the Plan. Unless otherwise provided by our Compensation Committee and specified in an award agreement, restrictions on Restricted Stock will lapse after three years of service with the company. Our Compensation Committee will determine the terms of such Restricted Stock awards. Restricted Stock are Common Shares that generally are non-transferable and subject to other restrictions determined by our Compensation Committee for a specified period. Unless our Compensation Committee determines otherwise or specifies otherwise in an award agreement, if the participant terminates employment or services during the restricted period, then any unvested restricted stock is forfeited.

Restricted Stock Unit Awards. Our Compensation Committee will be authorized to award Restricted Stock Unit awards. Unless otherwise provided by our Compensation Committee and specified in an award agreement, Restricted Stock Units will vest after three years of service with the company. Our Compensation Committee will determine the terms of such Restricted Stock Units. Unless our Compensation Committee determines otherwise or specifies otherwise in an award agreement, if the participant terminates employment or services during the period of time over which all or a portion of the units are to be earned, then any unvested units will be forfeited. At the election of our Compensation Committee, the participant will receive a number of Common Shares equal to the number of units earned or an amount in cash equal to the fair market value of that number of shares at the expiration of the period over which the units are to be earned or at a later date selected by our Compensation Committee.

Stock Bonus Awards. Our Compensation Committee will be authorized to grant awards of unrestricted Common Shares or other awards denominated in Common Shares, either alone or in tandem with other awards, under such terms and conditions as our Compensation Committee may determine.

Performance Compensation Awards. Our Compensation Committee will be authorized to grant any award under the Plan in the form of a Performance Compensation Award by conditioning the vesting of the award on

the attainment of specific levels of performance of the Company and/or one or more Affiliates, divisions or operational units, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Committee.

Transferability. Each award may be exercised during the participant’s lifetime only by the participant or, if permissible under applicable law, by the participant’s guardian or legal representative and may not be otherwise transferred or encumbered by a participant other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution. Our Compensation Committee, however, may permit awards (other than incentive stock options) to be transferred to family members, a trust for the benefit of such family members, a partnership or limited liability company whose partners or stockholders are the participant and his or her family members or anyone else approved by it.

Amendment. The Plan will have a term of ten years. Our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan at any time; however, shareholder approval to amend the Plan may be necessary if the law so requires. No amendment, suspension or termination will impair the rights of any participant or recipient of any award without the consent of the participant or recipient.

Change in Control. Except to the extent otherwise provided in an Award agreement, in the event of a Change in Control, all outstanding options and equity awards (other than performance compensation awards) issued under the Plan will become fully vested and performance compensation awards will vest, as determined by our Compensation Committee, based on the level of attainment of the specified performance goals. In general, our Compensation Committee may, in its discretion, cancel outstanding awards and pay the value of such awards to the participants in connection with a Change in Control. Our Compensation Committee can also provide otherwise in an award agreement under the Plan.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a general summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the grant and exercise and vesting of awards under the Plan and the disposition of shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of such awards and is intended to reflect the current provisions of the Code and the regulations thereunder. This summary is not intended to be a complete statement of applicable law, nor does it address foreign, state, local and payroll tax considerations. Moreover, the U.S. federal income tax consequences to any particular participant may differ from those described herein by reason of, among other things, the particular circumstances of such participant.

Options. There are a number of requirements that must be met for a particular option to be treated as a qualified option. One such requirement is that Common Shares acquired through the exercise of a qualified option cannot be disposed of before the later of (i) two years from the date of grant of the option, or (ii) one year from the date of exercise. Holders of qualified options will generally incur no federal income tax liability at the time of grant or upon exercise of those options. However, the spread at exercise will be an “item of tax preference,” which may give rise to “alternative minimum tax” liability for the taxable year in which the exercise occurs. If the holder does not dispose of the shares before the later of two years following the date of grant and one year following the date of exercise, the difference between the exercise price and the amount realized upon disposition of the shares will constitute long-term capital gain or loss, as the case may be. Assuming both holding periods are satisfied, no deduction will be allowed to the company for federal income tax purposes in connection with the grant or exercise of the qualified option. If, within two years following the date of grant or within one year following the date of exercise, the holder of shares acquired through the exercise of a qualified option disposes of those shares, the participant will generally realize taxable compensation at the time of such disposition equal to the difference between the exercise price and the lesser of the fair market value of the share on the date of exercise or the amount realized on the subsequent disposition of the shares, and that amount will generally be deductible by the company for federal income tax purposes, subject to the possible limitations on deductibility under Sections 280G and 162(m) of the Code for compensation paid to executives designated in those Sections. Finally, if an otherwise qualified option becomes first exercisable in any one year for shares

having an aggregate value in excess of $100,000 (based on the grant date value), the portion of the qualified option in respect of those excess shares will be treated as a non-qualified stock option for federal income tax purposes.

No income will be realized by a participant upon grant of a non-qualified stock option. Upon the exercise of a non-qualified stock option, the participant will recognize ordinary compensation income in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the underlying exercised shares over the option exercise price paid at the time of exercise. The company will be able to deduct this same amount for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but such deduction may be limited under Sections 280G and 162(m) of the Code for compensation paid to certain executives designated in those Sections.

Restricted Stock. A participant will not be subject to tax upon the grant of an award of restricted stock unless the participant otherwise elects to be taxed at the time of grant pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Code. On the date an award of restricted stock becomes transferable or is no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, the participant will recognize taxable compensation equal to the difference between the fair market value of the shares on that date over the amount the participant paid for such shares, if any, unless the participant made an election under Section 83(b) of the Code to be taxed at the time of grant. If the participant made an election under Section 83(b), the participant will recognize taxable compensation at the time of grant equal to the difference between the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant over the amount the participant paid for such shares, if any. (Special rules apply to the receipt and disposition of restricted shares received by officers and directors who are subject to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)). The company will be able to deduct, at the same time as it is recognized by the participant, the amount of taxable compensation to the participant for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but such deduction may be limited under Sections 280G and 162(m) of the Code for compensation paid to certain executives designated in those Sections.

Restricted Stock Units. A participant will not be subject to tax upon the grant of a restricted stock unit award. Rather, upon the delivery of shares or cash pursuant to a restricted stock unit award, the participant will have taxable compensation equal to the fair market value of the number of shares (or the amount of cash) the participant actually receives with respect to the award. The company will be able to deduct the amount of taxable compensation to the participant for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but the deduction may be limited under Sections 280G and 162(m) of the Code for compensation paid to certain executives designated in those Sections.

SARs. No income will be realized by a participant upon grant of an SAR. Upon the exercise of an SAR, the participant will recognize ordinary compensation income in an amount equal to the fair market value of the payment received in respect of the SAR. The company will be able to deduct this same amount for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but such deduction may be limited under Sections 280G and 162(m) of the Code for compensation paid to certain executives designated in those Sections.

Stock Bonus Awards. A participant will have taxable compensation equal to the difference between the fair market value of the shares on the date the Common Shares subject to the award are transferred to the participant over the amount the participant paid for such shares, if any. The company will be able to deduct, at the same time as it is recognized by the participant, the amount of taxable compensation to the participant for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but such deduction may be limited under Sections 280G and 162(m) of the Code for compensation paid to certain executives designated in those Sections.

Section 162(m). In general, Section 162(m) of the Code denies a publicly held corporation a deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes for compensation in excess of $1,000,000 per year per person to its principal executive officer and the three other officers (other than the principal executive officer and principal financial officer) whose compensation is disclosed in its proxy statement as a result of their total compensation, subject to certain exceptions. The Plan is intended to satisfy an exception with respect to grants of options to covered employees. In addition, the Plan is designed to permit certain awards of restricted stock, restricted stock units, cash bonus awards and other awards to be awarded as performance compensation awards intended to qualify under the “performance-based compensation” exception to Section 162(m) of the Code.

New Plan Benefits

Future grants under the Plan will be made at the discretion of the Compensation Committee and, accordingly, are not yet determinable. In addition, the value of the awards granted under the Plan will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of our Common Shares on future dates, the exercise decisions made by the participants and/or the extent to which any applicable performance goals necessary for vesting or payment are achieved. Consequently, it is not possible to determine the benefits that might be received by participants receiving discretionary grants under, or having their annual bonus paid pursuant to, the Plan.

Required Vote

Approval of the Plan will require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of the Company’s common stock represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting. Assuming the presence of a quorum of more than 50% of the shares of our common stock, the failure to vote will have no effect on the outcome of the vote.

Interests of Directors of Officers

Our directors may grant awards under the Incentive Plan to themselves as well as our officers, in addition to granting awards to our other employees.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE 2011 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN.

OTHER INFORMATION

Proxy Solicitation

All costs of solicitation of proxies will be borne by the Company. In addition to solicitation by mail, the Company’s officers and regular employees may solicit proxies personally or by telephone. The Company does not intend to utilize a paid solicitation agent.

Proxies

A stockholder may revoke his, her or its proxy at any time prior to its use by giving written notice to the Secretary of the Company, by executing a revised proxy at a later date or by attending the Meeting and voting in person. Proxies in the form enclosed, unless previously revoked, will be voted at the Meeting in accordance with the specifications made thereon or, in the absence of such specifications in accordance with the recommendations of the Company’s Board of Directors.

Securities Outstanding; Votes Required

As of the close of business on the Record Date there were 28,960,535 shares of Common Stock outstanding. As of the Record Date, no shares of Company preferred stock were issued or outstanding. Stockholders are entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock owned. The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present at the Meeting, in person or by proxy, is required for approval of the proposals. Shares of the Common Stock represented by executed proxies received by the Company will be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum at the Meeting, regardless of how or whether such shares are voted on any specific proposal.

Other Business

The Company’s Board of Directors knows of no other matter to be presented at the Meeting. If any additional matter should properly come before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the enclosed proxy to vote such proxy in accordance with their judgment on any such matters.

Beneficial Ownership of Principal Stockholders, Officers and Directors

The following table sets forth, as of June 13, 2011, the beneficial ownership of our common stock by: (i) each of our directors, (ii) all persons who, to our knowledge, are the beneficial owners of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of common stock, (iii) each of the executive officers, and (iv) all of our directors and executive officers, as a group. Each person named in this table has sole investment power and sole voting power with respect to the shares of common stock set forth opposite such person’s name, except as otherwise indicated. Unless otherwise indicated, the address for each person listed below is in care of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., 801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210, Raleigh, NC 27607.


Name and Address of Beneficial Owner	Number of Shares of Common Stock Owned⁽¹⁾		Percentage of Class as of June 13, 2011
Hopkins Capital Group II, LLC ⁽²⁾		3,527,052		12.07	%
Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr., M.D. ⁽³⁾		3,936,818		13.36	%
CDC IV, LLC ⁽⁴⁾		2,505,120		7.96	%
Mark A. Sirgo, Pharm.D. ⁽⁵⁾		1,671,764		5.61	%
James A. McNulty ⁽⁶⁾		379,381		1.29	%
Andrew L. Finn, Pharm.D. ⁽⁷⁾		1,048,801		3.59	%
Benny Ward⁽⁸⁾		—		—
William B. Stone ⁽⁹⁾		395,000		1.35	%
John J. Shea ⁽¹⁰⁾		285,000		*
William S. Poole ⁽¹¹⁾		228,190		*
All Directors and Officers as a group (8 persons)		7,944,954		25.04	%

*	Less than 1%

⁽¹⁾	Based on 28,960,535 shares of common stock outstanding as of June 13, 2011.

⁽²⁾

Includes 400,402 shares of our common stock which were converted from Series B Convertible Preferred Stock in January 2007. Includes a warrant held in the name of Hopkins Capital Group II, LLC to purchase 251,562 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $5.55, which warrant was acquired September 2007. The address for Hopkins Capital Group II, LLC is 324 S Hyde Park, Suite 350, Tampa, FL 33609.

⁽³⁾

Dr. O’Donnell is our Chairman of the Board and a Director. Includes the shares and warrant owned by Hopkins Capital Group II, LLC, as to which Dr. O’Donnell disclaims beneficial interest (see Note 2). Excludes 167,500 shares owned by The Francis E. O’Donnell, Jr. Irrevocable Trust #1, of which Dr. O’Donnell’s sister, Kathleen O’Donnell, is trustee, and as to which Dr. O’Donnell disclaims beneficial interest. The remaining 4,577 shares of common stock are owned by Dr. O’Donnell’s sister. In addition, this number includes 157,689 shares owned personally by Dr. O’Donnell and options to purchase 247,500 shares of our common stock, all of which is currently exercisable. Dr. O’Donnell’s address is 865 Longboat Club Road, Longboat Key FL 34228.

⁽⁴⁾	Includes an aggregate of 2,505,120 shares of common stock underlying warrants held by CDC, IV, LLC. The address for CDC IV, LLC is 47 Hullfish Street, Suite 310, Princeton, NJ. 08542.

⁽⁵⁾

Includes 856,721 shares owned by Dr. Sirgo, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Includes options to purchase 815,043 shares of common stock, all of which are currently exercisable. Excludes options to purchase 131,585 shares of common stock which are not currently exercisable. Dr. Sirgo’s address is 606 Wayne Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609.

⁽⁶⁾

Mr. McNulty is our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer. Includes 43,159 shares owned by Mr. McNulty. Includes options to purchase 336,222 shares of our common stock, all of which are currently exercisable. Includes 2,288 shares owned by his wife, as to which he disclaims beneficial interest of. Excludes options to purchase 102,633 shares of common stock which are not currently exercisable. Mr. McNulty’s address is 4419 W. Sevilla Street, Tampa, FL 33629.

⁽⁷⁾	Dr. Finn is our Executive Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs. Includes 766,413 shares owned by Dr. Finn. Includes options to purchase 282,388 shares of common stock, all of which are

currently exercisable. Excludes options to purchase 67,424 shares of common stock which are not currently exercisable. Dr. Finn’s address is 3104 Raymond Street, Raleigh, NC 27607.

⁽⁸⁾	Benny Ward is our Executive Vice President of Business and Strategic Development. Excludes options to purchase 88,320 shares of common stock which are not currently exercisable. Mr. Ward’s address is 1705 Point O’Woods Ct. Raleigh, NC 27604.

⁽⁹⁾	Mr. Stone is a Director. Includes 35,000 shares owned and options to purchase 360,000 shares of our common stock, all of which are currently exercisable. Mr. Stone’s address is 11120 Geyer Downs Lane, Frontenac MO 63131.

⁽¹⁰⁾	Mr. Shea is a Director. Includes 26,300 shares owned and options to purchase 258,700 shares of our common stock, all of which are currently exercisable. Mr. Shea’s address is 290 Wax Myrtle Trail, Southern Shores, NC 27949.

⁽¹¹⁾	Mr. Poole is a Director. Includes 8,190 shares owned and options to purchase 220,000 shares of our common stock, all of which are currently exercisable. Mr. Poole’s address is 7813 Hardwick Drive, Raleigh, NC 27615.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

As of December 31, 2001, our board of directors appointed an audit committee consisting of independent directors. This committee, among other duties, is charged to review, and if appropriate, ratify all agreements and transactions which had been entered into with related parties, as well as review and ratify all future related party transactions. The audit committee and/or our independent directors independently reviewed, ratified and/or approved, as the case may be, the agreements described below. From time to time, after compliance with our internal policies and procedures, we have entered into related party contracts, some of which were amended subsequently in accordance with the same policies and procedures.

The following is a listing of our related party transactions:

HCG II, Accentia and affiliates

We also have several business relationships with Accentia and its affiliates. Hopkins Capital Group II, LLC (“HCG II”), which is controlled by Dr. Frank O’Donnell, Jr., our Chairman of the Board and which owns a significant percentage of our common stock as of the date hereof, is a significant stockholder of Accentia. In addition, Dr. O’Donnell is also the Chairman and CEO of Accentia and of Biovest, a subsidiary of Accentia. In addition, William S. Poole, a director of our company, is also a director of Accentia. Also, James A. McNulty, our Secretary, Treasurer and CFO, is also Secretary and Treasurer of Accentia and Chief Financial Officer of HCG II.

On November 10, 2008, Accentia and its subsidiaries, including Biovest, filed voluntary petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. On November 17, 2010, both companies emerged from Chapter 11. We do not have any projects with Accentia at this time, nor did we in any part of 2010.

Amphotericin B License. On April 12, 2004, we licensed a topical formulation of our encochleated Amphotericin B to Accentia. Accentia is commercializing technology licensed from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research for the treatment of CRS and asthma on a worldwide basis. Under our license agreement with Accentia as originally entered into, Accentia was to pay us a running royalty of 12-14% on net sales in the U.S. of its CRS products and other products in the designated field. On September 8, 2004, we entered into a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement with Accentia pursuant to which we sold to Accentia an asset consisting of a royalty revenue stream in consideration of a one-time, irrevocable cash payment of $2.5 million. The royalty revenue stream sold was a fifty percent (50%) interest in the future royalties earnable by us on sales by Accentia for products utilizing our topical formulation of our encochleated Amphotericin B for the treatment of CRS, thus effectively reducing our royalty on the sales of such CRS products by 50%. We agreed with Accentia, however, that the future royalty stream sold shall not include royalty payments that are payable by Accentia based on the sale of encochleated products exclusively intended to treat asthma, and the rights to such royalty payments, as originally set forth in the license agreement, shall remain with us. The license agreement was amended with three separate letter amendments in March, April and June 2005, respectively, to make certain clarifications. Accentia is responsible for all expenses related to the development of an encochleated BioNasal^® Amphotericin B for the indication of CRS and asthma on a worldwide basis, including expenses associated with, and the actual provision of, supplies, the submission of an IND and clinical trials. We shall retain world-wide rights to the oral and intravenous formulations of encochleated Amphotericin B. While we did not have any licensing activities with Accentia in 2010, and do not expect any in the near term, the license agreements are still valid. We may reactivate development of the products at a future date.

Arius/TEAMM Distribution Agreement. On March 12, 2004, our Arius subsidiary (then a separate company) entered into a Distribution Agreement pursuant to which it granted exclusive marketing and sales rights in the United States to TEAMM Pharmaceuticals, Inc. with respect to the Emezine™ product for the treatment of nausea and vomiting. TEAMM was renamed Accentia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2007 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accentia. As part of this agreement, TEAMM agreed to pay for the development costs of

Emezine™ We received development cost reimbursements of $1.0 million in 2004 from Accentia in connection with this agreement and an additional $300,000 in 2005 upon the acceptance of the Emezine™ NDA for filing. On December 17 2008, in conjunction with the Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Limited (“Reckitt”) termination of the Emezine™ agreement, the Arius TEAMM Distribution Agreement was terminated.

Emezine^™Settlement Agreement. On December 30, 2009, we entered into a Settlement Agreement with Accentia, Arius and TEAMM. The purpose of such agreement was to memorialize the terms and conditions of a settlement between us and Accentia of claims by TEAMM relating to the Distribution Agreement between Arius and TEAMM. At the time the Distribution Agreement was entered into, Arius was not affiliated with us. Arius was acquired by us in August 2004. We do not believe that Accentia’s claims had merit, but we also believed that the alternative of a protracted dispute would be distracting, time consuming and costly at a time when we were focusing our efforts on the commercial launch of ONSOLIS^®, our first approved product, and on the development of our product pipeline including BEMA^® Buprenorphine. As such, we elected to enter into the settlement agreement.

The settlement agreement provides that we and Accentia mutually release all claims that either may have against each other and, in connection therewith, we will (a) pay $2.5 million to Accentia (paid to escrow in February 2010) (the “$2.5 Million Payment”) and (b) grant the following royalty rights (the “Product Rights”) to Accentia with respect to our BEMA^® Granisetron product candidate (“BEMA^® Granisetron”) (or in the event it is not BEMA^® Granisetron, our third product candidate (excluding BEMA^® Buprenorphine) as to which we file an NDA, which, together with BEMA^® Granisetron, shall be referred to hereinafter as the “Product”): (i) 70/30 split between our company and Accentia, respectively) of royalty received if a third party sells the Product and 85/15 split on net sales if we sell the Product; and (ii) we will, from the sale of the Product, fully recover amounts equal to (1) all internal and external worldwide development costs of the Product (“Costs”) plus interest (measured on weighted average prime interest rate from first dollar spent until Product launch) and (2) the $2.5 Million Payment plus interest (measured on weighted average prime interest rate from the time of payment until Product launch) before Accentia begins to receive its split as described in (b) (i) above. In addition, pursuant to the Agreement, we have received a warrant to purchase 2 million shares of Accentia’s majority-owned subsidiary, Biovest, from Accentia, with a strike price equal to $0.84 per share (120% of the closing bid price of Biovest’s common stock as of the date the Bankruptcy Court entered a final order authorizing Accentia to carry out the Agreement) with the issuance of the Warrant to occur upon the $2.5 Million Payment by us. The Warrant will be exercisable immediately and for a period of seven 7 years from the date of issuance. During the initial two 2 year exercise period, any exercise of the Warrant by us will be subject to approval by Biovest.

Other

On July 19, 2002, we issued Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, our outside legal counsel, 25,000 options to purchase shares of our common stock at $7.00 per share. On December 30, 2003, we issued Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP 19,607 options to purchase shares of our common stock at $2.55 per share. In 2004, we issued Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP 44,509 shares of our common stock as compensation for services rendered. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP is also counsel to our subsidiary, Bioral Nutrient Delivery, LLC. During 2003, Bioral Nutrient Delivery, LLC issued 37,500 Class B Shares of BND to Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP. These Class B Shares were issued at the inception of Bioral Nutrient Delivery, LLC at nominal value.

As a matter of corporate governance policy, we have not and will not make loans to officers or loan guarantees available to “promoters” as that term is commonly understood by the SEC and state securities authorities.

We believe that the terms of the above transactions with affiliates were as favorable to us or our affiliates as those generally available from unaffiliated third parties. At the time of certain of the above referenced transactions, we did not have sufficient disinterested directors to ratify or approve the transactions; however, the

present board of directors includes three independent directors which constitute a majority as required by NASDAQ Stock Market rules. We believe that William B. Stone, John J. Shea and William S. Poole qualify as independent directors for NASDAQ Stock Market purposes.

All future transactions between us and our officers, directors or five percent stockholders, and respective affiliates will be on terms no less favorable than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties and will be approved by a majority of our independent directors who do not have an interest in the transactions and who had access, at our expense, to our legal counsel or independent legal counsel.

To the best of our knowledge, other than as set forth above, there were no material transactions, or series of similar transactions, or any currently proposed transactions, or series of similar transactions, to which we were or are to be a party, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and in which any director or executive officer, or any security holder who is known by us to own of record or beneficially more than 5% of any class of our common stock, or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons, has an interest.

Deadline for Submission of Stockholder Proposals for 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Stockholders may present proposals for inclusion in the Proxy Statement for the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders provided that such proposals are received by the Secretary of the Company in accordance with the time schedules set forth in, and otherwise in compliance with, applicable SEC regulations, and the bylaws of the Company, as applicable. Proposals submitted not in accordance with such regulations will be deemed untimely or otherwise deficient; however, the Company will have discretionary authority to include such proposals in the 2011 Proxy Statement.

Stockholder Communications

Stockholders wishing to communicate with the Board of Directors may direct such communications to the Board of Directors c/o the Company, Attn: James A. McNulty. Mr. McNulty will present a summary of all stockholder communications to the Board of Directors at subsequent Board of Directors meetings. The directors will have the opportunity to review the actual communications at their discretion.

Additional Information

Accompanying this Proxy Statement is a copy of the Company’s 2011 Annual Report to Stockholders, which includes the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. Such Report constitutes the Company’s Annual Report to its Stockholders for purposes of Rule 14a-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such Report includes the Company’s audited financial statements for the 2010 fiscal year and certain other financial information, which is incorporated by reference herein. The Company is subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Such reports, proxy statements and other information are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Stockholders who have questions in regard to any aspect of the matters discussed in this Proxy Statement should contact James McNulty, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, at (813) 864-2562.

ANNEXA

BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC.

2011 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

1. Purpose. The purpose of the BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan is to provide a means through which the Company and its Affiliates may attract and retain key personnel and to provide a means whereby directors, officers, managers, employees, consultants and advisors (and prospective directors, officers, managers, employees, consultants and advisors) of the Company and its Affiliates can acquire and maintain an equity interest in the Company, or be paid incentive compensation, which may (but need not) be measured by reference to the value of Common Shares, thereby strengthening their commitment to the welfare of the Company and its Affiliates and aligning their interests with those of the Company’s stockholders.

2. Definitions. The following definitions shall be applicable throughout this Plan:

(a) “Affiliate” means (i) any person or entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the Company and/or (ii) to the extent provided by the Committee, any person or entity in which the Company has a significant interest as determined by the Committee in its discretion. The term “control” (including, with correlative meaning, the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as applied to any person or entity, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such person or entity, whether through the ownership of voting or other securities, by contract or otherwise.

(b) “Award” means, individually or collectively, any Incentive Stock Option, Nonqualified Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Stock Bonus Award and Performance Compensation Award granted under this Plan.

(d) “Business Combination” has the meaning given such term in the definition of “Change in Control.”

(e) “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in New York City are authorized or obligated by federal law or executive order to be closed.

(f) “Cause” means, in the case of a particular Award, unless the applicable Award agreement states otherwise, (i) the Company or an Affiliate having “cause” to terminate a Participant’s employment or service, as defined in any employment or consulting agreement or similar document or policy between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate in effect at the time of such termination or (ii) in the absence of any such employment or consulting agreement, document or policy (or the absence of any definition of “Cause” contained therein), (A) a continuing material breach or material default (including, without limitation, any material dereliction of duty) by Participant of any agreement between the Participant and the Company, except for any such breach or default which is caused by the physical disability of the Participant (as determined by a neutral physician), or a continuing failure by the Participant to follow the direction of a duly authorized representative of the Company; (B) gross negligence, willful misfeasance or breach of fiduciary duty by the Participant; (C) the commission by the Participant of an act of fraud, embezzlement or any felony or other crime of dishonesty in connection with the Participant’s duties; or (D) conviction of the Participant of a felony or any other crime that would materially and adversely affect: (i) the business reputation of the Company or (ii) the performance of the Participant’s duties to the Company. Any determination of whether Cause exists shall be made by the Committee in its sole discretion.

(g) “Change in Control” shall, in the case of a particular Award, unless the applicable Award agreement states otherwise or contains a different definition of “Change in Control,” be deemed to occur upon:

(i) An acquisition (whether directly from the Company or otherwise) of any voting securities of the Company (the “Voting Securities”) by any “Person” (as the term person is used for purposes of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), immediately after which

such Person has “Beneficial Ownership” (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding Voting Securities.

(ii) The individuals who constitute the members of the Board cease, by reason of a financing, merger, combination, acquisition, takeover or other non-ordinary course transaction affecting the Company, to constitute at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the members of the Board; or

(iii) Approval by the Board and, if required, stockholders of the Company of, or execution by the Company of any definitive agreement with respect to, or the consummation of (it being understood that the mere execution of a term sheet, memorandum of understanding or other non-binding document shall not constitute a Change of Control):

(A) A merger, consolidation or reorganization involving the Company, where either or both of the events described in clauses (i) or (ii) above would be the result;

(B) A liquidation or dissolution of or appointment of a receiver, rehabilitator, conservator or similar person for, or the filing by a third party of an involuntary bankruptcy against, the Company; provided, however, that to the extent necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code, the occurrence of an event described in this subsection (B) shall not permit the settlement of Restricted Stock Units granted under this Plan; or

(C) An agreement for the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to any Person (other than a transfer to a subsidiary of the Company).

(h) “Closing Price” means (A) during such time as the Common Shares are registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, the closing price of the Common Shares as reported by an established stock exchange or automated quotation system on the day for which such value is to be determined, or, if no sale of the Common Shares shall have been made on any such stock exchange or automated quotation system that day, on the next preceding day on which there was a sale of such Common Stock, or (B) during any such time as the Common Shares are not listed upon an established stock exchange or automated quotation system, the mean between dealer “bid” and “ask” prices of the Common Shares in the over-the-counter market on the day for which such value is to be determined, as reported by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or (C) during any such time as the Common Stock cannot be valued pursuant to (A) or (B) above, the fair market value shall be as determined by the Committee considering all relevant information including, by example and not by limitation, the services of an independent appraiser.

(i) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor thereto. References in this Plan to any section of the Code shall be deemed to include any regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, regulations or guidance.

(j) “Committee” means a committee of at least two people as the Board may appoint to administer this Plan or, if no such committee has been appointed by the Board, the Board. Unless altered by an action of the Board, the Committee shall be the Compensation Committee of the Board.

(k) “Common Shares” means the common stock, par value $.001 per share, of the Company (and any stock or other securities into which such common shares may be converted or into which they may be exchanged).

(l) “Company” means BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., a Delaware corporation, together with its successors and assigns.

(m) “Date of Grant” means the date on which the granting of an Award is authorized, or such other date as may be specified in such authorization.

(n) “Disability” means a “permanent and total” disability incurred by a Participant while in the employ of the Company or an Affiliate. For this purpose, a permanent and total disability shall mean that the Participant is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months.

(o) “Effective Date” means the date as of which this Plan is adopted by the Board, subject to Section 3 of this Plan.

(p) “Eligible Director” means a person who is (i) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, and (ii) an “outside director” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(q) “Eligible Person” means any (i) individual employed by the Company or an Affiliate; provided, however, that no such employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall be an Eligible Person unless and to the extent that such eligibility is set forth in such collective bargaining agreement or in an agreement or instrument relating thereto; (ii) director of the Company or an Affiliate; (iii) consultant or advisor to the Company or an Affiliate, provided that if the Securities Act applies such persons must be eligible to be offered securities registrable on Form S-8 under the Securities Act; or (iv) prospective employees, directors, officers, consultants or advisors who have accepted offers of employment or consultancy from the Company or its Affiliates (and would satisfy the provisions of clauses (i) through (iii) above once he or she begins employment with or begins providing services to the Company or its Affiliates).

(r) “Exchange Act” has the meaning given such term in the definition of “Change in Control,” and any reference in this Plan to any section of (or rule promulgated under) the Exchange Act shall be deemed to include any rules, regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section or rule, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, rules, regulations or guidance.

(s) “Exercise Price” has the meaning given such term in Section 7(b) of this Plan.

(t) “Fair Market Value”, unless otherwise provided by the Committee in accordance with all applicable laws, rules regulations and standards, means, on a given date, (i) if the Common Stock (A) is listed on a national securities exchange or (B) is not listed on a national securities exchange, but is quoted by the OTC Markets Group, Inc. (www.otcmarkets.com) or any successor or alternative recognized over-the-counter market or another inter-dealer quotation system, on a last sale basis, the average selling price of the Common Stock reported on such national securities exchange or other inter-dealer quotation system, determined as the arithmetic mean of such selling prices over the thirty (30)-Business Day period preceding the Date of Grant, weighted based on the volume of trading of such Common Stock on each trading day during such period; or (ii) if the Common Stock is not listed on a national securities exchange or quoted in an inter-dealer quotation system on a last sale basis, the amount determined by the Committee in good faith to be the fair market value of the Common Stock.

(u) “Immediate Family Members” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15(b) of this Plan.

(v) “Incentive Stock Option” means an Option that is designated by the Committee as an incentive stock option as described in Section 422 of the Code and otherwise meets the requirements set forth in this Plan.

(w) “Indemnifiable Person” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(e) of this Plan.

(x) “Intellectual Property Products” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15(c) of this Plan.

(y) “Mature Shares” means Common Shares owned by a Participant that are not subject to any pledge or security interest and that have been either previously acquired by the Participant on the open market or meet such other requirements, if any, as the Committee may determine are necessary in order to avoid an accounting earnings charge on account of the use of such shares to pay the Exercise Price or satisfy a withholding obligation of the Participant.

(z) “Negative Discretion” shall mean the discretion authorized by this Plan to be applied by the Committee to eliminate or reduce the size of a Performance Compensation Award consistent with Section 162(m) of the Code.

(aa) “Nonqualified Stock Option” means an Option that is not designated by the Committee as an Incentive Stock Option.

(bb) “Option” means an Award granted under Section 7 of this Plan.

(cc) “Option Period” has the meaning given such term in Section 7(c) of this Plan.

(dd) “Outstanding Company Common Shares” has the meaning given such term in the definition of “Change in Control.”

(ee) “Outstanding Company Voting Securities” has the meaning given such term in the definition of “Change in Control.”

(ff) “Participant” means an Eligible Person who has been selected by the Committee to participate in this Plan and to receive an Award pursuant to Section 6 of this Plan.

(gg) “Performance Compensation Award” shall mean any Award designated by the Committee as a Performance Compensation Award pursuant to Section 11 of this Plan.

(hh) “Performance Criteria” shall mean the criterion or criteria that the Committee shall select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goal(s) for a Performance Period with respect to any Performance Compensation Award under this Plan.

(ii) “Performance Formula” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more objective formulae applied against the relevant Performance Goal to determine, with regard to the Performance Compensation Award of a particular Participant, whether all, some portion but less than all, or none of the Performance Compensation Award has been earned for the Performance Period.

(jj) “Performance Goals” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more goals established by the Committee for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria.

(kk) “Performance Period” shall mean the one or more periods of time, as the Committee may select, over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to, and the payment of, a Performance Compensation Award.

(ll) “Permitted Transferee” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15(b) of this Plan.

(mm) “Person” has the meaning given such term in the definition of “Change in Control.”

(nn) “Plan” means this BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.

(oo) “Retirement” means the fulfillment of each of the following conditions: (i) the Participant is good standing with the Company as determined by the Committee; (ii) the voluntary termination by a Participant of such Participant’s employment or service to the Company and (B) that at the time of such voluntary termination, the sum of: (1) the Participant’s age (calculated to the nearest month, with any resulting fraction of a year being calculated as the number of months in the year divided by 12) and (2) the Participant’s years of employment or service with the Company (calculated to the nearest month, with any resulting fraction of a year being calculated as the number of months in the year divided by 12) equals at least 62 (provided that, in any case, the foregoing shall only be applicable if, at the time of Retirement, the Participant shall be at least 55 years of age and shall have been employed by or served with the Company for no less than 5 years).

(pp) “Restricted Period” means the period of time determined by the Committee during which an Award is subject to restrictions or, as applicable, the period of time within which performance is measured for purposes of determining whether an Award has been earned.

(qq) “Restricted Stock Unit” means an unfunded and unsecured promise to deliver Common Shares, cash, other securities or other property, subject to certain restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant remain continuously employed or provide continuous services for a specified period of time), granted under Section 9 of this Plan.

(rr) “Restricted Stock” means Common Shares, subject to certain specified restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant remain continuously employed or provide continuous services for a specified period of time), granted under Section 9 of this Plan.

(ss) “SAR Period” has the meaning given such term in Section 8(c) of this Plan.

(tt) “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any successor thereto. Reference in this Plan to any section of the Securities Act shall be deemed to include any rules, regulations or other official interpretative guidance under such section, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, rules, regulations or guidance.

(uu) “Stock Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means an Award granted under Section 8 of this Plan which meets all of the requirements of Section 1.409A-1(b)(5)(i)(B) of the Treasury Regulations.

(vv) “Stock Bonus Award” means an Award granted under Section 10 of this Plan.

(ww) “Strike Price” means, except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the case of Substitute Awards, (i) in the case of a SAR granted in tandem with an Option, the Exercise Price of the related Option, or (ii) in the case of a SAR granted independent of an Option, the Fair Market Value on the Date of Grant.

(xx) “Subsidiary” means, with respect to any specified Person:

(i) any corporation, association or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of Outstanding Company Voting Securities (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency and after giving effect to any voting agreement or stockholders’ agreement that effectively transfers voting power) is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person (or a combination thereof); and

(ii) any partnership or limited liability company (or any comparable foreign entity) (a) the sole general partner or managing member (or functional equivalent thereof) or the managing general partner of which is such Person or Subsidiary of such Person or (b) the only general partners or managing members (or functional equivalents thereof) of which are that Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person (or any combination thereof).

(yy) “Substitute Award” has the meaning given such term in Section 5(e).

(zz) “Treasury Regulations” means any regulations, whether proposed, temporary or final, promulgated by the U.S. Department of Treasury under the Code, and any successor provisions.

3. Effective Date; Duration. The Plan shall be effective as of the Effective Date, but no Award shall be exercised or paid (or, in the case of a stock Award, shall be granted unless contingent on stockholder approval) unless and until this Plan has been approved by the stockholders of the Company, which approval shall be within twelve (12) months after the date this Plan is adopted by the Board. The expiration date of this Plan, on and after which date no Awards may be granted hereunder, shall be the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date; provided, however, that such expiration shall not affect Awards then outstanding, and the terms and conditions of this Plan shall continue to apply to such Awards.

4. Administration.

(a) The Committee shall administer this Plan. To the extent required to comply with the provisions of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act (if the Board is not acting as the Committee under this Plan) or necessary to obtain the exception for performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code, as applicable, it is intended that each member of the Committee shall, at the time he takes any action with respect to an Award under this Plan, be an Eligible Director. However, the fact that a Committee member shall fail to qualify as an Eligible Director shall not invalidate any Award granted by the Committee that is otherwise validly granted under this Plan. The acts of a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present or acts approved in writing by a majority of the Committee shall be deemed the acts of the Committee. Whether a quorum is present shall be determined based on the Committee’s charter as approved by the Board.

(b) Subject to the provisions of this Plan and applicable law, the Committee shall have the sole and plenary authority, in addition to other express powers and authorizations conferred on the Committee by this Plan and its charter, to: (i) designate Participants; (ii) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to a Participant; (iii) determine the number of Common Shares to be covered by, or with respect to which payments, rights, or other matters are to be calculated in connection with, Awards; (iv) determine the terms and conditions of any Award; (v) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances Awards may be settled or exercised in cash, Common Shares, other securities, other Awards or other property, or canceled, forfeited, or suspended and the method or methods by which Awards may be settled, exercised, canceled, forfeited, or suspended; (vi) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances the delivery of cash, Common Shares, other securities, other Awards or other property and other amounts payable with respect to an Award; (vii) interpret, administer, reconcile any inconsistency in, settle any controversy regarding, correct any defect in and/or complete any omission in this Plan and any instrument or agreement relating to, or Award granted under, this Plan; (viii) establish, amend, suspend, or waive any rules and regulations and appoint such agents as the Committee shall deem appropriate for the proper administration of this Plan; (ix) accelerate the vesting or exercisability of, payment for or lapse of restrictions on, Awards; and (x) make any other determination and take any other action that the Committee deems necessary or desirable for the administration of this Plan.

(c) The Committee may delegate to one or more officers of the Company or any Affiliate the authority to act on behalf of the Committee with respect to any matter, right, obligation, or election that is the responsibility of or that is allocated to the Committee herein, and that may be so delegated as a matter of law, except for grants of Awards to persons (i) subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act or (ii) who are, or who are reasonably expected to be, “covered employees” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(d) Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Plan, all designations, determinations, interpretations, and other decisions under or with respect to this Plan or any Award or any documents evidencing Awards granted pursuant to this Plan shall be within the sole discretion of the Committee, may be made at any time and shall be final, conclusive and binding upon all persons or entities, including, without limitation, the Company, any Affiliate, any Participant, any holder or beneficiary of any Award, and any stockholder of the Company.

(e) No member of the Board, the Committee, delegate of the Committee or any employee, advisor or agent of the Company or the Board or the Committee (each such person, an “Indemnifiable Person”) shall be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken or any determination made in good faith with respect to this Plan or any Award hereunder. Each Indemnifiable Person shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against and from (and the Company shall pay or reimburse on demand for) any loss, cost, liability, or expense (including attorneys’ fees) that may be imposed upon or incurred by such Indemnifiable Person in connection with or resulting from any action, suit or proceeding to which such Indemnifiable Person may be a party or in which such Indemnifiable Person may be involved by reason of any action taken or omitted to be taken under this Plan or any Award agreement and against and from any and all amounts paid by such Indemnifiable Person with the Company’s approval, in settlement thereof, or paid by such Indemnifiable Person in satisfaction of any judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding against such Indemnifiable Person, provided, that the Company shall have the right, at its own expense, to assume and defend any such action, suit or proceeding and once the Company gives notice of its intent to assume the defense, the Company shall have sole control over such defense with counsel of the Company’s choice. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be available to an Indemnifiable Person to the extent that a final judgment or other final adjudication (in either case not subject to further appeal) binding upon such Indemnifiable Person determines that the acts or omissions of such Indemnifiable Person giving rise to the indemnification claim resulted from such Indemnifiable Person’s bad faith, fraud or willful criminal act or omission or that such right of indemnification is otherwise prohibited by law or by the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such Indemnifiable Persons may be entitled under the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any other power that the Company may have to indemnify such Indemnifiable Persons or hold them harmless.

(f) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Plan, the Board may, in its sole discretion, at any time and from time to time, grant Awards and administer this Plan with respect to such Awards. In any such case, the Board shall have all the authority granted to the Committee under this Plan.

5. Grant of Awards; Shares Subject to this Plan; Limitations.

(a) The Committee may, from time to time, grant Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Stock Bonus Awards and/or Performance Compensation Awards to one or more Eligible Persons.

(b) Subject to Sections 3, 11 and 12 of this Plan, the Committee is authorized to deliver under this Plan an aggregate of Eight Million Six-Hundred Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty-Eight (8,600,888) Common Shares. Of such Common Shares, Four Million Four-Hundred Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty Eight (4,400,888) are Common Shares underlying Options previously granted under the Company’s Amended and Restated 2001 Incentive Plan. Each Common Share subject to an Option or a Stock Appreciation Right will reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance by one share, and each Common Share underlying an Award of Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Stock Bonus Awards and Performance Compensation Awards will reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance by one and one-half (1.5) shares.

(c) Common Shares underlying Awards under this Plan that are forfeited, cancelled, expire unexercised, or are settled in cash shall be available again for Awards under this Plan at the same ratio at which they were previously granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following Common Shares shall not be available again for Awards under the Plan: (i) shares tendered or held back upon the exercise of an Option or settlement of an Award to cover the Exercise Price of an Award; (ii) shares that are used or withheld to satisfy tax obligations of the Participant; and (iii) shares subject to a Stock Appreciation Right that are not issued in connection with the stock settlement of the SAR upon exercise thereof.

(d) Common Shares delivered by the Company in settlement of Awards may be authorized and unissued shares, shares held in the treasury of the Company, shares purchased on the open market or by private purchase, or a combination of the foregoing.

(e) Subject to compliance with Section 1.409A-3(f) of the Treasury Regulations, Awards may, in the sole discretion of the Committee, be granted under this Plan in assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted by an entity acquired by the Company or with which the Company combines (“Substitute Awards”). The number of Common Shares underlying any Substitute Awards shall be counted against the aggregate number of Common Shares available for Awards under this Plan.

6. Eligibility. Participation shall be limited to Eligible Persons who have entered into an Award agreement or who have received written notification from the Committee, or from a person designated by the Committee, that they have been selected to participate in this Plan.

7. Options.

(a) Generally. Each Option granted under this Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)). Each Option so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 7, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with this Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement. All Options granted under this Plan shall be Nonqualified Stock Options unless the applicable Award agreement expressly states that the Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option. Notwithstanding any designation of an Option, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value of Common Shares with respect to which Options designated as Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company or any Subsidiary) exceeds $100,000, such excess Options shall be treated as Nonqualified Stock Options. Incentive Stock Options shall be granted only to Eligible Persons who are employees of the Company and its Affiliates, and no Incentive Stock Option shall be granted to any Eligible Person who is ineligible to receive an Incentive Stock Option under the Code. No Option shall be treated as an Incentive Stock Option unless this Plan has been approved by the stockholders of the Company in a manner intended to comply with the stockholder approval requirements of Section 422(b)(1) of the Code, provided that any Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option shall not fail to be effective solely on account of a failure to obtain such approval, but rather such Option shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option unless and until such approval is obtained. In the case of an Incentive Stock Option, the terms and conditions of such grant shall be subject to and comply with such rules as may be prescribed by Section 422 of the Code. If for any reason an Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option (or any portion thereof) shall not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option, then, to the extent of such nonqualification, such Option or portion thereof shall be regarded as a Nonqualified Stock Option appropriately granted under this Plan.

(b) Exercise Price. The exercise price (“Exercise Price”) per Common Share for each Option shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of such share determined as of the Date of Grant; provided, however, that in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an employee who, at the time of the grant of such Option, owns shares representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of shares of the Company or any Affiliate, the Exercise Price per share shall not be less than 110% of the Fair Market Value per share on the Date of Grant; and, provided further, that notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, the Exercise Price shall not be less than the par value per Common Share.

(c) Vesting and Expiration. Options shall vest and become exercisable in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and as set forth in the applicable Award agreement, and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten (10) years from the Date of Grant, as may be determined by the Committee (the “Option Period”); provided, however, that the Option Period shall not exceed five (5) years from the Date of Grant in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a Participant who on the Date of Grant owns shares representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of shares of the Company or any Affiliate; and, provided, further, that notwithstanding any vesting dates set by the Committee, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the exercisability of any Option, which acceleration shall not affect the terms and conditions of such Option other than with respect to exercisability. Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award agreement:

(i) an Option shall vest and become exercisable with respect to 100% of the Common Shares subject to such Option on the third (3^rd) anniversary of the Date of Grant;

(ii) the unvested portion of an Option shall expire upon termination of employment or service of the Participant granted the Option, and the vested portion of such Option shall remain exercisable for:

(A) one year following termination of employment or service by reason of such Participant’s death or Disability (with the determination of Disability to be made by the Committee on a case by case basis), but not later than the expiration of the Option Period;

(B) for directors, officers and employees of the Company only, for the remainder of the Option Period following termination of employment or service by reason of such Participant’s Retirement (it being understood that any Incentive Stock Option held by the Participant shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option if exercise is not undertaken within 90 days of the date of Retirement);

(C) 90 calendar days following termination of employment or service for any reason other than such Participant’s death, Disability or Retirement, and other than such Participant’s termination of employment or service for Cause, but not later than the expiration of the Option Period; and

(iii) both the unvested and the vested portion of an Option shall immediately expire upon the termination of the Participant’s employment or service by the Company for Cause.

(d) Method of Exercise and Form of Payment. No Common Shares shall be delivered pursuant to any exercise of an Option until payment in full of the Exercise Price therefor is received by the Company and the Participant has paid to the Company an amount equal to any federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld. Options that have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written or electronic notice of exercise to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Award agreement accompanied by payment of the Exercise Price. The Exercise Price shall be payable (i) in cash, check (subject to collection), cash equivalent and/or vested Common Shares valued at the Closing Price at the time the Option is exercised (including, pursuant to procedures approved by the Committee, by means of attestation of ownership of a sufficient number of Common Shares in lieu of actual delivery of such shares to the Company); provided, however, that such Common Shares are not subject to any pledge or other security interest and are Mature Shares and; (ii) by such other method as the Committee may permit in accordance with applicable law, in its sole discretion, including without limitation: (A) in other property having a fair market value (as determined by the Committee in its discretion) on the date of exercise equal to the Exercise Price or (B) if there is a public market for the Common Shares at such time, by means of a broker-assisted “cashless exercise” pursuant to which the Company is delivered a copy of irrevocable instructions to a stockbroker to sell the Common Shares otherwise deliverable upon the exercise of the Option and to deliver promptly to the Company an amount equal to the Exercise Price or (C) by a “net exercise” method whereby the Company withholds from the delivery of the Common Shares for which the Option was exercised that number of Common Shares having a Closing Price equal to the aggregate Exercise Price for the Common Shares for which the Option was exercised. Any fractional Common Shares shall be settled in cash.

(e) Notification upon Disqualifying Disposition of an Incentive Stock Option. Each Participant awarded an Incentive Stock Option under this Plan shall notify the Company in writing immediately after the date he makes a disqualifying disposition of any Common Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Incentive Stock Option. A disqualifying disposition is any disposition (including, without limitation, any sale) of such Common Shares before the later of (A) two years after the Date of Grant of the Incentive Stock Option or (B) one year after the date of exercise of the Incentive Stock Option. The Company may, if determined by the Committee and in accordance with procedures established by the Committee, retain possession of any Common Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option as agent for the applicable Participant until the end of the period described in the preceding sentence.

(f) Compliance With Laws, etc. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall a Participant be permitted to exercise an Option in a manner that the Committee determines would violate the Sarbanes-Oxley

Act of 2002, if applicable, or any other applicable law or the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the applicable rules and regulations of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or traded.

8. Stock Appreciation Rights.

(a) Generally. Each SAR granted under this Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)). Each SAR so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 8, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with this Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement. Any Option granted under this Plan may include tandem SARs. The Committee also may award SARs to Eligible Persons independent of any Option.

(b) Exercise Price. The Exercise Price per Common Share for each Option shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of such share determined as of the Date of Grant.

(c) Vesting and Expiration. A SAR granted in connection with an Option shall become exercisable and shall expire according to the same vesting schedule and expiration provisions as the corresponding Option. A SAR granted independent of an Option shall vest and become exercisable and shall expire in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten years, as may be determined by the Committee (the “SAR Period”); provided, however, that notwithstanding any vesting dates set by the Committee, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the exercisability of any SAR, which acceleration shall not affect the terms and conditions of such SAR other than with respect to exercisability. Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award agreement:

(i) a SAR shall vest and become exercisable with respect to 100% of the Common Shares subject to such SAR on the third anniversary of the Date of Grant;

(ii) the unvested portion of a SAR shall expire upon termination of employment or service of the Participant granted the SAR, and the vested portion of such SAR shall remain exercisable for:

(B) for directors, officers and employees of the Company only, for the remainder of the SAR Period following termination of employment or service by reason of such Participant’s Retirement;

(iii) both the unvested and the vested portion of a SAR shall expire immediately upon the termination of the Participant’s employment or service by the Company for Cause.

(d) Method of Exercise. SARs that have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written or electronic notice of exercise to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Award, specifying the number of SARs to be exercised and the date on which such SARs were awarded. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if on the last day of the Option Period (or in the case of a SAR independent of an option, the SAR Period), the Closing Price exceeds the Strike Price, the Participant has not exercised the SAR or the corresponding Option (if applicable), and neither the SAR nor the corresponding Option (if applicable) has expired, such SAR shall be deemed to have been exercised by the Participant on such last day and the Company shall make the appropriate payment therefor.

(e) Payment. Upon the exercise of a SAR, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the number of shares subject to the SAR that are being exercised multiplied by the excess, if any, of the Closing Price of one Common Share on the exercise date over the Strike Price, less an amount equal to any federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld. The Company shall pay such amount in cash, in Common Shares valued at fair market value, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Committee. Any fractional Common Share shall be settled in cash.

9. Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units.

(a) Generally. Each grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units shall be evidenced by an Award agreement (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)). Each such grant shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 9, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with this Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement.

(b) Restricted Accounts; Escrow or Similar Arrangement. Upon the grant of Restricted Stock, a book entry in a restricted account shall be established in the Participant’s name at the Company’s transfer agent and, if the Committee determines that the Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company or in escrow rather than held in such restricted account pending the release of the applicable restrictions, the Committee may require the Participant to additionally execute and deliver to the Company (i) an escrow agreement satisfactory to the Committee, if applicable, and (ii) the appropriate share power (endorsed in blank) with respect to the Restricted Stock covered by such agreement. If a Participant shall fail to execute an agreement evidencing an Award of Restricted Stock and, if applicable, an escrow agreement and blank share power within the amount of time specified by the Committee, the Award shall be null and void ab initio. Subject to the restrictions set forth in this Section 9 and the applicable Award agreement, the Participant generally shall have the rights and privileges of a stockholder as to such Restricted Stock, including without limitation the right to vote such Restricted Stock and the right to receive dividends, if applicable. To the extent shares of Restricted Stock are forfeited, any share certificates issued to the Participant evidencing such shares shall be returned to the Company, and all rights of the Participant to such shares and as a stockholder with respect thereto shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company.

(c) Vesting; Acceleration of Lapse of Restrictions. Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award agreement: (i) the Restricted Period shall lapse with respect to 100% of the Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units on the third (3^rd) anniversary of the Date of Grant; and (ii) the unvested portion of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units shall terminate and be forfeited upon termination of employment or service of the Participant granted the applicable Award.

(d) Delivery of Restricted Stock and Settlement of Restricted Stock Units. (i) Upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any shares of Restricted Stock, the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award agreement shall be of no further force or effect with respect to such shares, except as set forth in the applicable Award agreement. If an escrow arrangement is used, upon such expiration, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his beneficiary, without charge, the share certificate evidencing the shares of Restricted Stock that have not then been forfeited and with respect to which the Restricted Period has expired (rounded down to the nearest full share). Dividends, if any, that may have been withheld by the Committee and attributable to any particular share of Restricted Stock shall be distributed to the Participant in cash or, at the sole discretion of the Committee, in shares of Common Stock having a Closing Price equal to the amount of such dividends, upon the release of restrictions on such share and, if such share is forfeited, the Participant shall have no right to such dividends (except as otherwise set forth by the Committee in the applicable Award agreement).

(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award agreement, upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any outstanding Restricted Stock Units, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his beneficiary, without charge, one Common Share for each such outstanding Restricted Stock

Unit; provided, however, that the Committee may, in its sole discretion and subject to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, elect to (i) pay cash or part cash and part Common Share in lieu of delivering only Common Shares in respect of such Restricted Stock Units or (ii) defer the delivery of Common Shares (or cash or part Common Shares and part cash, as the case may be) beyond the expiration of the Restricted Period if such delivery would result in a violation of applicable law until such time as is no longer the case. If a cash payment is made in lieu of delivering Common Shares, the amount of such payment shall be equal to the Closing Price of the Common Shares as of the date on which the Restricted Period lapsed with respect to such Restricted Stock Units, less an amount equal to any federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld.

10. Stock Bonus Awards. The Committee may issue unrestricted Common Shares, or other Awards denominated in Common Shares, under this Plan to Eligible Persons, either alone or in tandem with other awards, in such amounts as the Committee shall from time to time in its sole discretion determine. Each Stock Bonus Award granted under this Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)). Each Stock Bonus Award so granted shall be subject to such conditions not inconsistent with this Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement.

11. Performance Compensation Awards.

(a) Generally. The Committee shall have the authority, at the time of grant of any Award described in Sections 7 through 10 of this Plan, to designate such Award as a Performance Compensation Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code. The Committee shall have the authority to make an award of a cash bonus to any Participant and designate such Award as a Performance Compensation Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code.

(b) Discretion of Committee with Respect to Performance Compensation Awards. With regard to a particular Performance Period, the Committee shall have sole discretion to select the length of such Performance Period, the type(s) of Performance Compensation Awards to be issued, the Performance Criteria that will be used to establish the Performance Goal(s), the kind(s) and/or level(s) of the Performance Goals(s) that is (are) to apply and the Performance Formula. Within the first 90 calendar days of a Performance Period (or, if longer or shorter, within the maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code, if applicable), the Committee shall, with regard to the Performance Compensation Awards to be issued for such Performance Period, exercise its discretion with respect to each of the matters enumerated in the immediately preceding sentence and record the same in writing.

(c) Performance Criteria. The Performance Criteria that will be used to establish the Performance Goal(s) shall be based on the attainment of specific levels of performance of the Company and/or one or more Affiliates, divisions or operational units, or any combination of the foregoing, as determined by the Committee. Any one or more of the Performance Criteria adopted by the Committee may be used on an absolute or relative basis to measure the performance of the Company and/or one or more Affiliates as a whole or any business unit(s) of the Company and/or one or more Affiliates or any combination thereof, as the Committee may deem appropriate, or any of the above Performance Criteria may be compared to the performance of a selected group of comparison companies, or a published or special index that the Committee, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, or as compared to various stock market indices. The Committee also has the authority to provide for accelerated vesting of any Award based on the achievement of Performance Goals pursuant to the Performance Criteria specified in this paragraph. To the extent required under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee shall, within the first 90 calendar days of a Performance Period (or, if longer or shorter, within the maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), define in an objective fashion the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for such Performance Period and thereafter promptly communicate such Performance Criteria to the Participant.

(d) Modification of Performance Goal(s). In the event that applicable tax and/or securities laws change to permit Committee discretion to alter the governing Performance Criteria without obtaining stockholder approval of such alterations, the Committee shall have sole discretion to make such alterations without obtaining stockholder approval. The Committee is authorized at any time during the first 90 calendar days of a Performance Period (or, if longer or shorter, within the maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code, if applicable), or at any time thereafter to the extent the exercise of such authority at such time would not cause the Performance Compensation Awards granted to any Participant for such Performance Period to fail to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, in its sole discretion, to adjust or modify the calculation of a Performance Goal for such Performance Period, based on and in order to appropriately reflect the following events: (i) asset write-downs; (ii) litigation or claim judgments or settlements; (iii) the effect of changes in tax laws, accounting principles, or other laws or regulatory rules affecting reported results; (iv) any reorganization and restructuring programs; (v) extraordinary nonrecurring items as described in Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 30 (or any successor pronouncement thereto) and/or in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations appearing in the Company’s annual report to stockholders for the applicable year; (vi) acquisitions or divestitures; (vii) any other specific unusual or nonrecurring events, or objectively determinable category thereof; (viii) foreign exchange gains and losses; and (ix) a change in the Company’s fiscal year.

(e) Payment of Performance Compensation Awards.

(i) Condition to Receipt of Payment. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award agreement, a Participant must be employed by the Company on the last day of a Performance Period to be eligible for payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award for such Performance Period.

(ii) Limitation. A Participant shall be eligible to receive payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award only to the extent that: (A) the Performance Goals for such period are achieved; and (B) all or some of the portion of such Participant’s Performance Compensation Award has been earned for the Performance Period based on the application of the Performance Formula to such achieved Performance Goals.

(iii) Certification. Following the completion of a Performance Period, the Committee shall review and certify in writing whether, and to what extent, the Performance Goals for the Performance Period have been achieved and, if so, calculate and certify in writing that amount of the Performance Compensation Awards earned for the period based upon the Performance Formula. The Committee shall then determine the amount of each Participant’s Performance Compensation Award actually payable for the Performance Period and, in so doing, may apply Negative Discretion.

(iv) Use of Negative Discretion. In determining the actual amount of an individual Participant’s Performance Compensation Award for a Performance Period, the Committee may reduce or eliminate the amount of the Performance Compensation Award earned under the Performance Formula in the Performance Period through the use of Negative Discretion if, in its sole judgment, such reduction or elimination is appropriate. The Committee shall not have the discretion, except as is otherwise provided in this Plan, to (A) grant or provide payment in respect of Performance Compensation Awards for a Performance Period if the Performance Goals for such Performance Period have not been attained; or (B) increase a Performance Compensation Award above the applicable limitations set forth in Section 5 of this Plan.

(f) Timing of Award Payments. Performance Compensation Awards granted for a Performance Period shall be paid to Participants as soon as administratively practicable following completion of the certifications required by this Section 11, but in no event later than two-and-one-half months following the end of the fiscal year during which the Performance Period is completed in order to comply with the short-term deferral rules under Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) of the Treasury Regulations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, payment of a Performance Compensation Award may be delayed, as permitted by Section 1.409A-2(b)(7)(i) of the Treasury Regulations, to the extent that the Company reasonably anticipates that if such payment were made as scheduled, the Company’s tax deduction with respect to such payment would not be permitted due to the application of Section 162(m) of the Code.

12. Changes in Capital Structure and Similar Events. In the event of (a) any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Common Shares, other securities or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merger, amalgamation, consolidation, split-up, split-off, combination, repurchase or exchange of Common Shares or other securities of the Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to acquire Common Shares or other securities of the Company, or other similar corporate transaction or event (including, without limitation, a Change in Control) that affects the Common Shares, or (b) unusual or nonrecurring events (including, without limitation, a Change in Control) affecting the Company, any Affiliate, or the financial statements of the Company or any Affiliate, or changes in applicable rules, rulings, regulations or other requirements of any governmental body or securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system, accounting principles or law, such that in either case an adjustment is determined by the Committee in its sole discretion to be necessary or appropriate, then the Committee shall make any such adjustments that are equitable, including without limitation any or all of the following:

(i) adjusting any or all of (A) the number of Common Shares or other securities of the Company (or number and kind of other securities or other property) that may be delivered in respect of Awards or with respect to which Awards may be granted under this Plan (including, without limitation, adjusting any or all of the limitations under Section 5 of this Plan) and (B) the terms of any outstanding Award, including, without limitation, (1) the number of Common Shares or other securities of the Company (or number and kind of other securities or other property) subject to outstanding Awards or to which outstanding Awards relate, (2) the Exercise Price or Strike Price with respect to any Award or (3) any applicable performance measures (including, without limitation, Performance Criteria and Performance Goals);

(ii) providing for a substitution or assumption of Awards, accelerating the exercisability of, lapse of restrictions on, or termination of, Awards or providing for a period of time for exercise prior to the occurrence of such event; and

(iii) subject to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, canceling any one or more outstanding Awards and causing to be paid to the holders thereof, in cash, Common Shares, other securities or other property, or any combination thereof, the value of such Awards, if any, as determined by the Committee (which if applicable may be based upon the price per Common Share received or to be received by other stockholders of the Company in such event), including without limitation, in the case of an outstanding Option or SAR, a cash payment in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value (as of a date specified by the Committee) of the Common Shares subject to such Option or SAR over the aggregate Exercise Price or Strike Price of such Option or SAR, respectively (it being understood that, in such event, any Option or SAR having a per share Exercise Price or Strike Price equal to, or in excess of, the fair market value of a Common Share subject thereto may be canceled and terminated without any payment or consideration therefor);

provided, however, that in the case of any “equity restructuring” (within the meaning of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004) or ASC Topic 718, or any successor thereto), the Committee shall make an equitable or proportionate adjustment to outstanding Awards to reflect such equity restructuring. Any adjustment in Incentive Stock Options under this Section 12 (other than any cancellation of Incentive Stock Options) shall be made only to the extent not constituting a “modification” within the meaning of Section 424(h)(3) of the Code, and any adjustments under this Section 12 shall be made in a manner that does not adversely affect the exemption provided pursuant to Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act. The Company shall give each Participant notice of an adjustment hereunder and, upon notice, such adjustment shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes.

13. Effect of Change in Control. Except to the extent otherwise provided in an Award agreement, in the event of a Change in Control, notwithstanding any provision of this Plan to the contrary, with respect to all or any portion of a particular outstanding Award or Awards:

(a) all of the then outstanding Options and SARs shall immediately vest and become immediately exercisable as of a time prior to the Change in Control;

(b) the Restricted Period shall expire as of a time prior to the Change in Control (including without limitation a waiver of any applicable Performance Goals);

(c) Performance Periods in effect on the date the Change in Control occurs shall end on such date, and the Committee shall (i) determine the extent to which Performance Goals with respect to each such Performance Period have been met based upon such audited or unaudited financial information or other information then available as it deems relevant and (ii) cause the Participant to receive partial or full payment of Awards for each such Performance Period based upon the Committee’s determination of the degree of attainment of the Performance Goals, or assuming that the applicable “target” levels of performance have been attained or on such other basis determined by the Committee.

To the extent practicable, any actions taken by the Committee under the immediately preceding clauses (a) through (c) shall occur in a manner and at a time which allows affected Participants the ability to participate in the Change in Control transactions with respect to the Common Shares subject to their Awards.

14. Amendments and Termination.

(a) Amendment and Termination of this Plan. The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue, or terminate this Plan or any portion thereof at any time; provided, that (i) no amendment to the definition of Eligible Employee in Section 2, Section 5(i), Section 11(c) or Section 14(b) (to the extent required by the proviso in such Section 14(b)) shall be made without stockholder approval and (ii) no such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuation or termination shall be made without stockholder approval if such approval is necessary to comply with any tax or regulatory requirement applicable to this Plan (including, without limitation, as necessary to comply with any rules or requirements of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the Common Shares may be listed or quoted or to prevent the Company from being denied a tax deduction under Section 162(m) of the Code); and, provided, further, that any such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant or any holder or beneficiary of any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the prior written consent of the affected Participant, holder or beneficiary.

(b) Amendment of Award Agreements. The Committee may, to the extent consistent with the terms of any applicable Award agreement, waive any conditions or rights under, amend any terms of, or alter, suspend, discontinue, cancel or terminate, any Award theretofore granted or the associated Award agreement, prospectively or retroactively; provided, however that any such waiver, amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance, cancellation or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant with respect to any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the consent of the affected Participant; and, provided, further, that without stockholder approval, except as otherwise permitted under Section 12 of this Plan, (i) no amendment or modification may reduce the Exercise Price of any Option or the Strike Price of any SAR, (ii) the Committee may not cancel any outstanding Option or SAR and replace it with a new Option or SAR, another Award or cash or take any action that would have the effect of treating such Award as a new Award for tax or accounting purposes and (iii) the Committee may not take any other action that is considered a “repricing” for purposes of the stockholder approval rules of the applicable securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the Common Shares are listed or quoted.

15. General.

(a) Award Agreements. Each Award under this Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement, which shall be delivered to the Participant (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)) and shall specify the terms and conditions of the Award and any rules applicable thereto, including without limitation, the effect on such Award of the death, Disability or termination of employment or service of a Participant, or of such other events as may be determined by the Committee. The Company’s failure to specify any term of any Award in any particular Award agreement shall not invalidate such term, provided such terms was duly adopted by the Board or the Committee.

(b) Nontransferability; Trading Restrictions.

(i) Each Award shall be exercisable only by a Participant during the Participant’s lifetime, or, if permissible under applicable law, by the Participant’s legal guardian or representative. No Award may be assigned, alienated, pledged, attached, sold or otherwise transferred or encumbered by a Participant other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and any such purported assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance shall be void and unenforceable against the Company or an Affiliate; provided that the designation of a beneficiary shall not constitute an assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance.

(ii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit Awards (other than Incentive Stock Options) to be transferred by a Participant, with or without consideration, subject to such rules as the Committee may adopt consistent with any applicable Award agreement to preserve the purposes of this Plan, to: (A) any person who is a “family member” of the Participant, as such term is used in the instructions to Form S-8 under the Securities Act (collectively, the “Immediate Family Members”); (B) a trust solely for the benefit of the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; or (C) a partnership or limited liability company whose only partners or stockholders are the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; or (D) any other transferee as may be approved either (I) by the Board or the Committee in its sole discretion, or (II) as provided in the applicable Award agreement (each transferee described in clauses (A), (B) (C) and (D) above is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Transferee”); provided, that the Participant gives the Committee advance written notice describing the terms and conditions of the proposed transfer and the Committee notifies the Participant in writing that such a transfer would comply with the requirements of this Plan.

(iii) The terms of any Award transferred in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence shall apply to the Permitted Transferee and any reference in this Plan, or in any applicable Award agreement, to a Participant shall be deemed to refer to the Permitted Transferee, except that (A) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to transfer any Award, other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution; (B) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to exercise any transferred Option unless there shall be in effect a registration statement on an appropriate form covering the Common Shares to be acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Option if the Committee determines, consistent with any applicable Award agreement, that such a registration statement is necessary or appropriate; (C) the Committee or the Company shall not be required to provide any notice to a Permitted Transferee, whether or not such notice is or would otherwise have been required to be given to the Participant under this Plan or otherwise; and (D) the consequences of the termination of the Participant’s employment by, or services to, the Company or an Affiliate under the terms of this Plan and the applicable Award agreement shall continue to be applied with respect to the Participant, including, without limitation, that an Option shall be exercisable by the Permitted Transferee only to the extent, and for the periods, specified in this Plan and the applicable Award agreement.

(iv) The Committee shall have the right, either on an Award-by-Award basis or as a matter of policy for all Awards or one or more classes of Awards, to condition the delivery of vested Common Shares received in connection with such Award on the Participant’s agreement to such restrictions as the Committee may determine.

(i) A Participant shall be required to pay to the Company or any Affiliate, or the Company or any Affiliate shall have the right and is hereby authorized to withhold, from any cash, Common Shares, other securities or other property deliverable under any Award or from any compensation or other amounts owing to a Participant, the amount (in cash, Common Shares, other securities or other property) of any required withholding taxes in respect of an Award, its exercise, or any payment or transfer under an Award or under this Plan and to take such other action as may be necessary in the opinion of the Committee or the Company to satisfy all obligations for the payment of such withholding and taxes.

(ii) Without limiting the generality of clause (i) above, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit a Participant to satisfy, in whole or in part, the foregoing withholding liability by (A) the delivery of Common Shares (which are not subject to any pledge or other security interest and are Mature Shares) owned by the Participant having a fair market value equal to such withholding liability or (B) having the Company withhold from the number of Common Shares otherwise issuable or deliverable pursuant to the exercise or settlement of the Award a number of shares with a fair market value equal to such withholding liability (but no more than the minimum required statutory withholding liability).

(d) No Claim to Awards; No Rights to Continued Employment; Waiver. No employee of the Company or an Affiliate, or other person, shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award under this Plan or, having been selected for the grant of an Award, to be selected for a grant of any other Award. There is no obligation for uniformity of treatment of Participants or holders or beneficiaries of Awards. The terms and conditions of Awards and the Committee’s determinations and interpretations with respect thereto need not be the same with respect to each Participant and may be made selectively among Participants, whether or not such Participants are similarly situated. Neither this Plan nor any action taken hereunder shall be construed as giving any Participant any right to be retained in the employ or service of the Company or an Affiliate, nor shall it be construed as giving any Participant any rights to continued service on the Board. The Company or any of its Affiliates may at any time dismiss a Participant from employment or discontinue any consulting relationship, free from any liability or any claim under this Plan, unless otherwise expressly provided in this Plan or any Award agreement. By accepting an Award under this Plan, a Participant shall thereby be deemed to have waived any claim to continued exercise or vesting of an Award or to damages or severance entitlement related to non-continuation of the Award beyond the period provided under this Plan or any Award agreement, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any written employment contract or other agreement between the Company and its Affiliates and the Participant, whether any such agreement is executed before, on or after the Date of Grant.

(e) International Participants. With respect to Participants who reside or work outside of the United States of America and who are not (and who are not expected to be) “covered employees” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee may in its sole discretion amend the terms of this Plan or outstanding Awards (or establish a sub-plan) with respect to such Participants in order to conform such terms with the requirements of local law or to obtain more favorable tax or other treatment for a Participant, the Company or its Affiliates.

(f) Designation and Change of Beneficiary. Each Participant may file with the Committee a written designation of one or more persons as the beneficiary(ies) who shall be entitled to receive the amounts payable with respect to an Award, if any, due under this Plan upon his or her death. A Participant may, from time to time, revoke or change his or her beneficiary designation without the consent of any prior beneficiary by filing a new designation with the Committee. The last such designation filed with the Committee shall be controlling; provided, however, that no designation, or change or revocation thereof, shall be effective unless received by the Committee prior to the Participant’s death, and in no event shall it be effective as of a date prior to such receipt. If no beneficiary designation is filed by a Participant, the beneficiary shall be deemed to be his or her spouse or, if the Participant is unmarried at the time of death, his or her estate. Upon the occurrence of a Participant’s divorce (as evidenced by a final order or decree of divorce), any spousal designation previously given by such Participant shall automatically terminate.

(g) Termination of Employment/Service. Unless determined otherwise by the Committee at any point following such event: (i) neither a temporary absence from employment or service due to illness, vacation or leave of absence nor a transfer from employment or service with the Company to employment or service with an Affiliate (or vice-versa) shall be considered a termination of employment or service with the Company or an Affiliate; and (ii) if a Participant’s employment with the Company and its Affiliates terminates, but such Participant continues to provide services to the Company and its Affiliates in a non-employee capacity (or vice-versa), such change in status shall not be considered a termination of employment with the Company or an Affiliate.

(h) No Rights as a Stockholder. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Plan or any Award agreement, no person shall be entitled to the privileges of ownership in respect of Common Shares that are subject to Awards hereunder until such shares have been issued or delivered to that person.

(i) Government and Other Regulations.

(i) The obligation of the Company to settle Awards in Common Shares or other consideration shall be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by governmental agencies as may be required. Notwithstanding any terms or conditions of any Award to the contrary, the Company shall be under no obligation to offer to sell or to sell, and shall be prohibited from offering to sell or selling, any Common Shares pursuant to an Award unless such shares have been properly registered for sale pursuant to the Securities Act with the Securities and Exchange Commission or unless the Company has received an opinion of counsel, satisfactory to the Company, that such shares may be offered or sold without such registration pursuant to an available exemption therefrom and the terms and conditions of such exemption have been fully complied with. The Company shall be under no obligation to register for sale under the Securities Act any of the Common Shares to be offered or sold under this Plan. The Committee shall have the authority to provide that all certificates for Common Shares or other securities of the Company or any Affiliate delivered under this Plan shall be subject to such stop transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under this Plan, the applicable Award agreement, the federal securities laws, or the rules, regulations and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system upon which such shares or other securities are then listed or quoted and any other applicable federal, state, local or non-U.S. laws, and, without limiting the generality of Section 9 of this Plan, the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be put on any such certificates to make appropriate reference to such restrictions. Notwithstanding any provision in this Plan to the contrary, the Committee reserves the right to add any additional terms or provisions to any Award granted under this Plan that it in its sole discretion deems necessary or advisable in order that such Award complies with the legal requirements of any governmental entity to whose jurisdiction the Award is subject.

(ii) The Committee may cancel an Award or any portion thereof if it determines, in its sole discretion, that legal or contractual restrictions and/or blockage and/or other market considerations would make the Company’s acquisition of Common Shares from the public markets, the Company’s issuance of Common Shares to the Participant, the Participant’s acquisition of Common Shares from the Company and/or the Participant’s sale of Common Shares to the public markets, illegal, impracticable or inadvisable. If the Committee determines to cancel all or any portion of an Award in accordance with the foregoing, unless doing so would violate Section 409A of the Code, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the excess of (A) the aggregate fair market value of the Common Shares subject to such Award or portion thereof canceled (determined as of the applicable exercise date, or the date that the shares would have been vested or delivered, as applicable), over (B) the aggregate Exercise Price or Strike Price (in the case of an Option or SAR, respectively) or any amount payable as a condition of delivery of Common Shares (in the case of any other Award). Such amount shall be delivered to the Participant as soon as practicable following the cancellation of such Award or portion thereof. The Committee shall have the discretion to consider and take action to mitigate the tax consequence to the Participant in cancelling an Award in accordance with this clause.

(j) Payments to Persons Other Than Participants. If the Committee shall find that any person to whom any amount is payable under this Plan is unable to care for his affairs because of illness or accident, or is a minor, or has died, then any payment due to such person or his estate (unless a prior claim therefor has been made by a duly appointed legal representative) may, if the Committee so directs the Company, be paid to his spouse, child, relative, an institution maintaining or having custody of such person, or any other person deemed by the Committee to be a proper recipient on behalf of such person otherwise entitled to payment. Any such payment shall be a complete discharge of the liability of the Committee and the Company therefor.

(k) Nonexclusivity of this Plan. Neither the adoption of this Plan by the Board nor the submission of this Plan to the stockholders of the Company for approval shall be construed as creating any limitations on the

power of the Board to adopt such other incentive arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the granting of stock options or other equity-based awards otherwise than under this Plan, and such arrangements may be either applicable generally or only in specific cases.

(l) No Trust or Fund Created. Neither this Plan nor any Award shall create or be construed to create a trust or separate fund of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Company or any Affiliate, on the one hand, and a Participant or other person or entity, on the other hand. No provision of this Plan or any Award shall require the Company, for the purpose of satisfying any obligations under this Plan, to purchase assets or place any assets in a trust or other entity to which contributions are made or otherwise to segregate any assets, nor shall the Company maintain separate bank accounts, books, records or other evidence of the existence of a segregated or separately maintained or administered fund for such purposes. Participants shall have no rights under this Plan other than as general unsecured creditors of the Company, except that insofar as they may have become entitled to payment of additional compensation by performance of services, they shall have the same rights as other employees under general law.

(m) Reliance on Reports. Each member of the Committee and each member of the Board shall be fully justified in acting or failing to act, as the case may be, and shall not be liable for having so acted or failed to act in good faith, in reliance upon any report made by the independent public accountant of the Company and its Affiliates and/or any other information furnished in connection with this Plan by any agent of the Company or the Committee or the Board, other than himself.

(n) Relationship to Other Benefits. No payment under this Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits under any pension, retirement, profit sharing, group insurance or other benefit plan of the Company except as otherwise specifically provided in such other plan.

(o) Governing Law. The Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to the conflict of laws provisions.

(p) Severability. If any provision of this Plan or any Award or Award agreement is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction or as to any person or entity or Award, or would disqualify this Plan or any Award under any law deemed applicable by the Committee, such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to the applicable laws in the manner that most closely reflects the original intent of the Award or the Plan, or if it cannot be construed or deemed amended without, in the determination of the Committee, materially altering the intent of this Plan or the Award, such provision shall be construed or deemed stricken as to such jurisdiction, person or entity or Award and the remainder of this Plan and any such Award shall remain in full force and effect.

(q) Obligations Binding on Successors. The obligations of the Company under this Plan shall be binding upon any successor corporation or organization resulting from the merger, amalgamation, consolidation or other reorganization of the Company, or upon any successor corporation or organization succeeding to substantially all of the assets and business of the Company.

(r) Code Section 162(m) Approval. If so determined by the Committee, the provisions of this Plan regarding Performance Compensation Awards shall be disclosed and reapproved by stockholders no later than the first stockholder meeting that occurs in the fifth year following the year in which stockholders previously approved such provisions, in each case in order for certain Awards granted after such time to be exempt from the deduction limitations of Section 162(m) of the Code. Nothing in this clause, however, shall affect the validity of Awards granted after such time if such stockholder approval has not been obtained.

(s) Expenses; Gender; Titles and Headings. The expenses of administering this Plan shall be borne by the Company and its Affiliates. Masculine pronouns and other words of masculine gender shall refer to both men and women. The titles and headings of the sections in this Plan are for convenience of reference only, and in the event of any conflict, the text of this Plan, rather than such titles or headings shall control.

(t) Other Agreements. Notwithstanding the above, the Committee may require, as a condition to the grant of and/or the receipt of Common Shares under an Award, that the Participant execute lock-up, stockholder or other agreements, as it may determine in its sole and absolute discretion.

(u) Section 409A. The Plan and all Awards granted hereunder are intended to comply with, or otherwise be exempt from, the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. The Plan and all Awards granted under this Plan shall be administered, interpreted, and construed in a manner consistent with Section 409A of the Code to the extent necessary to avoid the imposition of additional taxes under Section 409A(a)(1)(B) of the Code. Notwithstanding anything in this Plan to the contrary, in no event shall the Committee exercise its discretion to accelerate the payment or settlement of an Award where such payment or settlement constitutes deferred compensation within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code unless, and solely to the extent that, such accelerated payment or settlement is permissible under Section 1.409A-3(j)(4) of the Treasury Regulations. If a Participant is a “specified employee” (within the meaning of Section 1.409A-1(i) of the Treasury Regulations) at any time during the twelve (12)-month period ending on the date of his termination of employment, and any Award hereunder subject to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code is to be satisfied on account of the Participant’s termination of employment, satisfaction of such Award shall be suspended until the date that is six (6) months after the date of such termination of employment.

(v) Payments. Participants shall be required to pay, to the extent required by applicable law, any amounts required to receive Common Shares under any Award made under this Plan.

* * *

As adopted by the Board of Directors of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. on May 26, 2011.

As approved by the shareholders of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. on , 2011.

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.

801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite #210

Raleigh, North Carolina 27607

THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THE UNDERSIGNED HEREBY APPOINTS MARK A. SIRGO AND JAMES A. MCNULTY, AND EACH OF THEM, AS PROXIES OF THE UNDERSIGNED, WITH FULL POWER OF SUBSTITUTION, TO VOTE ALL THE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC. HELD OF RECORD BY THE UNDERSIGNED ON JUNE 13, 2011, AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011, OR ANY ADJOURNMENT THEREOF.

1. Reelection of William B. Stone and William S. Poole as Class III directors, to hold office until the 2014 annual meeting of stockholders or their successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal.

[ ] FOR THE NOMINEES

[ ] WITHHOLD AUTHORITY FOR THE NOMINEES

[ ] FOR ALL EXCEPT (see instructions)


		[ ] William B. Stone		[ ] William S. Poole

Instructions: to withhold authority for any individual nominee, mark “FOR ALL EXCEPT” and fill in the circle next to the nominee you wish to withhold for.

2. To ratify the appointment by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011;


		[ ] FOR		[ ] AGAINST		[ ] ABSTAIN

3. To approve the adoption of an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 45,000,000 shares to 75,000,000 shares;


		[ ] FOR		[ ] AGAINST		[ ] ABSTAIN

4. To adopt the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan; and


		[ ] FOR		[ ] AGAINST		[ ] ABSTAIN

5. In their discretion, upon the transaction of any other matters which may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.


		[ ] FOR		[ ] AGAINST		[ ] ABSTAIN

The shares represented by this proxy, when properly executed, will be voted as specified by the undersigned shareholder(s). If this card contains no specific voting instructions, the shares will be voted FOR each of the proposals described on this card.

Signature of Stockholder(s)

Date

Please sign exactly as the name appears below. When shares are held by joint tenants, both should sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If a corporation, please sign the corporate name by the president or other authorized officer. If a partnership, please sign in the partnership name by an authorized person.

VOTE BY INTERNET—www.proxyvote.com

Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time the day before the meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form.