Aerie Announces $125-Million Commitment
Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced it has received a $125-million financing commitment from Deerfield Management Company L.P., a current Aerie shareholder. The financing is expected to be funded before the end of September 2014, subject to customary closing conditions. Aerie intends to use the proceeds from this financing for the continued advancement of development activities for the company’s clinical-stage product pipeline, general corporate purposes, and strategic growth opportunities.
Under the terms of the financing, the notes will be secured and accrue interest at a rate of 1.75% per annum until maturity in September of 2021. The notes are convertible at a conversion price representing a 30% premium over the closing price of Aerie stock on September 8, 2014, resulting in a conversion price of $24.80 per share.
“We believe this level of financing at favorable terms will be significantly beneficial to Aerie. We now have adequate financial resources to complete all of our known clinical requirements for Rhopressa and Roclatan, and to commercialize Rhopressa later in 2017 if our trials are successful. This financing also provides us with flexibility for potential strategic product in-licenses or acquisitions as we continue to build Aerie into what we believe may become a major ophthalmic pharmaceutical company. We are deeply appreciative of Deerfield’s confidence in Aerie’s product candidates and growth prospects,” commented Vicente Anido, Jr, PhD, Chairman and CEO at Aerie.
Aerie is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of first-in-class glaucoma therapies. The company has commenced two Phase III registration trials in the United States for triple-action Rhopressa, named Rocket 1 and Rocket 2, where the primary efficacy endpoint will be to demonstrate non-inferiority of IOP lowering for Rhopressa compared to timolol, and has now commenced a third Phase III safety trial, named Rocket 3, in Canada. The company also recently completed a Phase IIb clinical trial for quadruple-action Roclatan, which met the primary efficacy endpoint, demonstrating statistical superiority of Roclatan to each of its components. Roclatan is a fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa with latanoprost, the market-leading PGA, and if approved, has the potential to be the most efficacious IOP-lowering therapy. For more information, visit www.aeriepharma.com.
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