December 18, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
ATLANTA – After a stock slide of more than 50 percent value since February, Georgia-based Alimera Sciences is in the early stages of exploring strategic options, which could include a possible sale, Reuters reported this morning.
Although no definitive plans were revealed, Reuters cited people “familiar with the matter,” who said the company has been meeting with investment bankers to determine a value of the company and hints as to any possible buyers. Alimera, which specializes in developing prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, has a market value of approximately $100, Reuters said.
Alimera is best known as the manufacturer of Iluvien, a sustained release intravitreal implant approved in the U.S. to treat diabetic macular edema (DME) in patients who have been previously treated with a course of corticosteroids and did not have a clinically significant rise in intraocular pressure. Each implant is designed to release submicrogram levels of fluocinolone acetonide (FAc), a corticosteroid, for 36 months, the company said. DME is the build-up of fluid (edema) in a region of the retina called the macula. The macula is important for the “straight-ahead vision” used for everyday activities like reading and driving. DME is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetic retinopathy. About half of all people with diabetic retinopathy will develop DME, according to data provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
In November, Alimera reported 188 percent growth in Iluvien sales in the U.S. during its third quarter. The company reported revenue increased to $6.9 million for the quarter, driven by sales of Iluvien, which launched in the U.S. earlier this year, the company said. However, the company reported a decline of 21 percent in international revenue.
“As we had anticipated, the market opportunity in the U.S. is significant for Alimera, and we believe we are only seeing the beginning of what the company will be able to accomplish. Importantly, a specific J-code for Iluvien has been posted and will be available on January 1, 2016. This should streamline the reimbursement process for both our current and potential customers. We anticipate that this will have a meaningful, positive impact on our sales in 2016,” Dan Myers, Alimera’s president and chief executive officer, said in November.
Still, those numbers may not be enough of a sales drive to sustain Alimera. Reuters reported the company is having a difficult time in getting physicians to prescribe its medication.
In its November statement, Alimera noted some physicians may hold off prescribing Iluvien until the J-code, or reimbursement code, is established.
While the company may not have seen strong sales in the U.S., earlier this month the company struck a deal with MEAgate International FZLLC, based in the United Arab Emirates, to distribute Iluvien throughout much of the Middle East. The countries included in the agreement are Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen, where an estimated 16 million people today are living with diabetes, Alimera said in a statement.
