Aerie Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Gianluca Corbinelli as Chief Commercial Officer - Europe

Apr 01, 2019 06:30 am
DURHAM, N.C. -- 

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, retinal diseases and other diseases of the eye today announced the appointment of Gianluca Corbinelli as Chief Commercial Officer - Europe, reporting to Thomas Mitro, Aerie’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Corbinelli will be responsible for overseeing the execution of all aspects of Aerie’s commercialization activities in Europe, to develop the commercial infrastructure necessary to support Aerie’s business plans in Europe including ultimately the successful commercialization of products in the region upon their approval.

Mr. Corbinelli recently held related leadership positions at Shire International AG and Bayer AG. He brings significant experience in international commercialization strategy and execution, particularly in ophthalmology markets.

“Europe represents the second largest glaucoma market after the U.S. and has always been an important component of our strategy. We have had an active presence in Europe since before we initiated our Mercury 3 trial for Rocklatan™ (netarsudil and latanoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.02%/0.005%, which commenced in September of 2017. Since then, our Mercury 3 trial has been ongoing, our regulatory filing for Rhokiinsa®, known as Rhopressa® (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02% in the U.S., has been accepted for review by the European authorities, and we have continued to build our presence at various ophthalmology congresses in Europe. The interest in our product candidates is notably increasing across the region,” said Vicente Anido, Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.”

Dr. Anido continued, “We are now at a point where we need focused senior leadership as we prepare to ultimately enter this critical market. We believe Gianluca brings the perfect background for this new position, including broad international strategy, marketing, commercialization and business expertise, with significant leadership experience in the European region and ophthalmology markets. We wish him great success in this exciting role.”

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 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, 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 intraocular pressure (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 is expected to be 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; 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). FDA approval of Rhopressa® and Rocklatan™ also 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.

Media: Tad Heitmann 949-526-8747; [email protected]
Investors: Ami Bavishi 908-947-3949; [email protected]