Aerie Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement to Acquire Avizorex Pharma, S.L. to Advance Its Dry Eye Program
11/18/2019
Company Plans to Commence Phase 2b Study in Dry Eye Subjects in Late 2020
AVX completed a Phase 2a study in dry eye subjects earlier this year with its lead product candidate, AVX-012. The active ingredient in AVX-012 is a potent and selective agonist of the TRPM8 ion channel, a cold sensor and osmolarity sensor that regulates ocular surface wetness and blink rate. By stimulating these processes in a physiological manner, TRPM8 agonists have the potential to restore tear film stability and reduce discomfort in patients with dry eye. Positive results from the Phase 2a study support the therapeutic potential of AVX-012 to treat signs and symptoms of dry eye and Aerie is planning to initiate a larger Phase 2b study in late 2020.
“This acquisition bolsters our pipeline with a clinical-stage dry eye product candidate, and we are excited to expand our footprint in ophthalmology. This product has a novel mechanism-of-action for treating dry eye and we believe that, if approved, it could nicely complement the currently approved drugs for this indication. Since the majority of our efforts in 2020 will be focused on supportive non-clinical studies, we do not currently expect to meaningfully increase our R&D expenditures next year,” said
AVX Pharma President and Chief Executive Officer
Under the terms of the Agreement, Aerie will acquire AVX Pharma in an all-cash transaction. Aerie will make an upfront payment of
Additional information regarding today’s announcement can be found in Aerie’s corporate slide presentation which is available at http://investors.aeriepharma.com.
About Avizorex Pharma, S.L.
AVX Pharma is a Spanish ophthalmic pharmaceutical company founded in 2013 by Patrick Tresserras and Professor
About
Aerie is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma, retinal diseases and other diseases of the eye. Aerie's first product, Rhopressa® (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02%, a once-daily eye drop approved by the
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “exploring,” “pursuing” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: our completion of the acquisition of Avizorex Pharma, S.L., the success, timing and cost of studies relating to its product candidates and our ability to recognize growth opportunities in connection with the acquisition, our expectations regarding the development, approval, commercialization and manufacturing of any dry eye product as a result of this acquisition and our expected R&D expenditures for 2020. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events, competitive dynamics, industry change and other factors beyond our control, and depend on regulatory approvals and economic and other environmental circumstances that may or may not occur in the future or may occur on longer or shorter timelines than anticipated. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors” in the quarterly and annual reports that we file with the
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Source:
Media: Tad Heitmann 949-526-8747; theitmann@aeriepharma.com
Investors: Ami Bavishi 908-947-3949; abavishi@aeriepharma.com