Aerie Pharmaceuticals Announces Additional Undrawn $100M Credit Facility with Deerfield Management, Increasing Availability to $200M

DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–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.

Contacts

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