CEO of Pulmonary Disease Biotech Cashes Out Billions in Stock Options

On May 7 and May 11, United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) Chairman and CEO Martin Rothblatt exercised 9,500 stock options in each tranche and immediately sold the same number of shares in the open market at roughly $570–$600 per share. Each transaction generated approximately $5.5 million–$5.8 million (about ₩7 billion). These options were granted in March 2020 and vest in March 2027. Under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, Rothblatt may exercise up to about 1.73 million options in stages through year-end 2026. After these sales, he and related family trusts still hold several hundred thousand shares, directly and indirectly.

On May 11, James Edgemon, United Therapeutics’ CFO and Treasurer, exercised roughly 10,000 stock options at $135.42 per share and sold them in the open market at about $570–$580 per share, netting approximately $5.75 million–$5.8 million (around ₩7.5 billion). This transaction was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan established in October 2025. Edgemon remains the beneficial owner of about 18,800 common shares following the sale.

In its first-quarter 2026 earnings release, United Therapeutics reported statistically significant positive results from two late-stage programs: the Phase 3 ADVANCE OUTCOMES study of ralinepag for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and the Tyvaso TETON-1 and TETON-2 trials in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The company plans to submit a New Drug Application for ralinepag to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second half of 2026.

United Therapeutics has also partnered with space-based drug-manufacturing startup Varda Space Industries to develop microgravity-enabled processes for producing therapies targeting rare lung diseases, effectively extending its R&D into outer space.

Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, United Therapeutics is a biotech company focused on treatments for rare and severe pulmonary vascular diseases (including PAH and IPF) and end-stage organ diseases. Its commercial portfolio includes PAH therapies Tyvaso and Orenitram, along with select pediatric oncology products, and it is advancing regenerative medicine and organ-manufacturing technologies.

CEO Martin Rothblatt, a co-founder of satellite radio pioneer Sirius, established United Therapeutics in the mid-1990s after his daughter was diagnosed with a life-threatening rare lung disease. Since then, he has dedicated the company to developing rare-disease therapies and technologies to expand the supply of transplantable organs.