Aerie Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Ami Bavishi as Director, Investor Relations and Vincent Santucci, Pharm.D., as Director, Scientific Market Access

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AERI), 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, retina diseases and other diseases of the eye, today announced the appointment of Ami Bavishi as Director, Investor Relations, reporting to Richard Rubino, Aerie’s Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Bavishi will drive all of Aerie’s investor relations activities, and joins Aerie from Burns McClellan, a public relations and investor relations firm with which Aerie will maintain an ongoing relationship. Aerie also announced the appointment of Vincent Santucci, Pharm.D., as Director, Scientific Market Access, reporting to Theresa Heah, M.D., M.B.A., Aerie’s Vice President of Clinical Research, Medical and Professional Affairs. Dr. Santucci previously held related positions at Sanofi Genzyme and Celgene.

In connection with their acceptance of their respective positions as Director, Investor Relations and Director, Scientific Market Access, the appointees will collectively receive awards totaling 28,800 stock options. These stock options will vest over 4 years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the hire date and the remainder vesting ratably on each of the subsequent 36 monthly anniversaries of the hire date. These awards were made outside of Aerie’s stockholder-approved equity incentive plan and were approved by the Company’s independent directors as inducements material to the appointees entering into employment with the Company in reliance on NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), which requires this public announcement.

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, retina diseases and other diseases of the eye. Aerie’s first product, Rhopressa^® (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02%, a once-daily eyedrop 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, cornea verticillata, instillation site pain, and conjunctival hemorrhage. More information about Rhopressa^®, including the product label, is available at www.rhopressa.com. Aerie’s advanced-stage product candidate, Rocklatan^TM (netarsudil/latanoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.02%/0.005%, a fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa^® and the widely-prescribed PGA (prostaglandin analog) latanoprost, achieved its 3-month primary efficacy endpoint in two Phase 3 registration trials, Mercury 1 and Mercury 2, and also showed safety and efficacy throughout 12 months in Mercury 1. Aerie submitted the Rocklatan^TM New Drug Application (NDA) in May 2018 and, in July 2018, the FDA set the PDUFA (Prescription Drug User Fee Act) goal date for the completion of the FDA’s review of the Rocklatan^TM NDA for March 14, 2019. 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^TM or any future product candidates, including the timing, cost or other aspects of the commercial launch of Rhopressa^® and Rocklatan^TM 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^®, with respect to regulatory approval outside of the United States or additional indications, and Rocklatan^TM or any future product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of the studies and trials; our expectations regarding the effectiveness of Rhopressa^®, Rocklatan^TM or any future product candidates and results of our clinical 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^® and Rocklatan^TM or any future product candidates, including the expected timing of, and timing of regulatory and/or other review of, filings for, as applicable, Rhopressa^® and Rocklatan^TM or any future product candidates; the potential advantages of Rhopressa^® and Rocklatan^TM or any future product candidates; our plans to pursue development of additional product candidates and technologies within and beyond ophthalmology, including development of Rhopressa^® and Rocklatan^TM for additional indications and other therapeutic opportunities; 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; and our expectations regarding strategic operations, including our ability to in-license or acquire additional ophthalmic products, product candidates or technologies. 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^® does not constitute FDA approval of Rocklatan^TM, and there can be no assurance that we will receive FDA approval for Rocklatan^TM or any future product candidates. FDA approval of Rhopressa^® also does not constitute regulatory approval of Rhopressa^® in jurisdictions outside the United States and there can be no assurance that we will receive regulatory approval for Rhopressa^® in jurisdictions outside the United States. Our receipt of a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date notification for Rocklatan^TM does not constitute FDA approval of the Rocklatan^TM New Drug Application (NDA), and there can be no assurance that the FDA will complete its review by the PDUFA goal date of March 14, 2019, that the FDA will not require changes or additional data that must be made or received before it will approve the NDA, if ever, or that the FDA will approve the NDA. 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.

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