Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AERI) (Aerie), 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, today announced that it has entered into an
amendment of its existing credit agreement with certain affiliates
of Deerfield Management Company L.P. (Deerfield).
The amendment provides for an additional $100 million senior
secured delayed draw term loan facility (the additional credit
facility), pursuant to which Aerie may borrow up to $100 million in
aggregate in one or more borrowings at any time on or prior to July
23, 2020. Amounts drawn under the additional credit facility will
amortize in equal annual installments beginning on July 20, 2023
and will mature on July 23, 2024. With the additional credit
facility, Aerie has $200 million in total available. When added to
the $203 million in cash and cash equivalents reported as of
December 31, 2018, the additional credit facility brings Aerie’s
total pro forma liquidity to over $400 million for 2019.
The additional credit facility includes an interest rate on
drawn amounts of LIBOR (subject to a floor of 2%) plus 7.20%, up to
a maximum rate of 13.00%, and fees on undrawn amounts of 2.0% per
annum. Fees on undrawn amounts accrue through, and are payable on,
the earlier of July 23, 2020 and the termination of the facility,
and no principal payments will be due on drawn amounts, if any,
until July 23, 2020. The additional credit facility may be
terminated by Aerie at any time for an additional one-time fee of
$2.625 million if undrawn, or $5.25 million if any amounts have
been drawn, which fee (or applicable portion thereof) will be
payable in connection with any repayment of drawn amounts and, to
the extent not previously paid, upon the maturity of the additional
facility. In addition, certain premiums and/or make-whole fees will
be payable on any drawn amounts that are prepaid on or prior to
July 23, 2022. The material terms of the original $100 million
facility remain unchanged.
The additional credit facility is available to Aerie for working
capital and business expansion and business development purposes,
if needed, subject to customary conditions. No amounts were drawn
under the additional credit facility at closing. Aerie currently
believes it has adequate cash and cash equivalents to support
ongoing business operations including the commercialization of
Rocklatan®, and currently has no intention to draw on the
additional credit facility.
“We are once again delighted about Deerfield’s ongoing support
of Aerie. Using our year-end cash and cash equivalents of $203
million as a starting point, we have more than $400 million in
liquidity for 2019, representing significant resources at our
disposal if needed to build the Company through sales execution,
geographic expansion and internal pipeline development, and to be
opportunistic with innovative business development prospects,” said
Vicente Anido, Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at
Aerie.
About Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the
reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with
open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, was launched
in the United States in April 2018. In clinical
trials of Rhopressa®, the most common adverse reactions were
conjunctival hyperemia, corneal verticillata, instillation site
pain, and conjunctival hemorrhage. More information about
Rhopressa®, including the product label, is available
at www.rhopressa.com. Aerie’s second product for the reduction
of elevated IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular
hypertension, Rocklatan® (netarsudil and latanoprost
ophthalmic solution) 0.02%/0.005%, the first and only fixed-dose
combination of Rhopressa® and the
widely-prescribed PGA (prostaglandin analog) latanoprost,
has been approved by the FDA and was launched in the
United States in the second quarter of 2019. In clinical trials of
Rocklatan®, the most common adverse reactions were
conjunctival hyperemia, corneal verticillata, instillation site
pain, and conjunctival hemorrhage. More information about
Rocklatan®, including the product label, is available
at www.rocklatan.com. Aerie continues to focus on global
expansion and the development of additional product candidates and
technologies in ophthalmology, including for
wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular
edema. More information is available
at www.aeriepharma.com.
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 include statements regarding our
intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current
expectations concerning, among other things: our expectations
regarding the commercialization and manufacturing of
Rhopressa® and Rocklatan® or any future product candidates,
including the timing, cost or other aspects of the commercial
launch of Rhopressa® and Rocklatan® or any future product
candidates; our commercialization, marketing, manufacturing and
supply management capabilities and strategies; the success, timing
and cost of our ongoing and anticipated preclinical studies and
clinical trials for Rhopressa® and Rocklatan®, with respect to
regulatory approval outside of the United States or
additional indications, and any future product candidates,
including statements regarding the timing of initiation and
completion of the studies and trials; the timing of and our ability
to request, obtain and maintain FDA or other regulatory
authority approval of, or other action with respect to, as
applicable, Rhopressa®, Rocklatan® or any future product
candidates, including the expected timing of, and timing of
regulatory and/or other review of, filings for, as applicable,
Rhopressa®, Rocklatan® or any future product candidates; the
potential advantages of Rhopressa® and Rocklatan® or any
future product candidates; our plans to pursue development of
additional product candidates and technologies within and beyond
ophthalmology; our plans to explore possible uses of our existing
proprietary compounds beyond glaucoma, including development of our
retina program; our ability to protect our proprietary technology
and enforce our intellectual property rights; our expectations
regarding strategic operations, including our ability to in-license
or acquire additional ophthalmic products, product candidates or
technologies; and our expectations regarding anticipated capital
requirements and anticipated borrowings under the credit facility.
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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In
particular, FDA approval of Rhopressa® and
Rocklatan® do not constitute regulatory approval of Rhopressa® and
Rocklatan® in jurisdictions outside the United States and
there can be no assurance that we will receive regulatory approval
for Rhopressa® and Rocklatan® in jurisdictions
outside the United States. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and our actual results of
operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development
of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any
forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak
only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation
to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this
press release.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190502005980/en/
Media: Tad Heitmann
949-526-8747; theitmann@aeriepharma.comInvestors: Ami Bavishi
908-947-3949; abavishi@aeriepharma.com
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