Aerie Pharma (AERI) Misses Q4 EPS by 27c

Aerie Pharma (NASDAQ: AERI) reported Q4 EPS of ($1.00), $0.27 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.73). Revenue for the quarter came in at $24.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $22.36 million.

“Our fourth quarter 2020 net revenues of $24.7 million exceeded third quarter by nearly 23 percent, reflecting strong sequential volume growth in our glaucoma franchise and increased net revenue per bottle. We believe our glaucoma franchise is increasingly benefiting from broader physician awareness of the two product profiles and expanded formulary access. We have recently reduced the fees we pay our wholesalers and continue to refine our payer rebate contracts, and with that we expect our net revenue per bottle to continue increasing as we proceed through 2021. Additionally, we ended 2020 well-funded with cash and investments of over $240 million reflecting stronger revenues, well-controlled operating expenses and the Santen upfront payment. While we are not currently providing full year 2021 financial guidance due to continuing uncertainties surrounding the impact of the ongoing pandemic on ophthalmic practices, based on our volume and net revenue per bottle trajectory, we are comfortable with current consensus analyst estimates,” said Vicente Anido, Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Anido added, “With our Santen collaboration agreement now signed and the first Phase 3 trial for Rhopressa® underway in Japan, we are now receiving inbound interest from multiple potential collaborators in Europe, now that we have regulatory approval for both glaucoma products in the region and the positive topline Mercury 3 results in hand. Turning to our pipeline, we have announced a new preclinical implant for the potential treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, AR-14034, a sustained-release retinal implant containing the pan-VEGF inhibitor axitinib formulated in a unique bio-erodible polymer blend using our exclusive PRINT® technology. We believe, based on the predictability of our PRINT® platform and the formulation capabilities provided by our access to a large variety of polymers, that this preclinical implant may have the potential to provide up to one year of treatment from a single injection with potentially better efficacy than currently available products and product candidates. This is another example of the potential flexibility of our sustained-release ophthalmic platform, and we expect there will be other opportunities for this technology well into the future. Turning to the most advanced product candidates in our pipeline, the Phase 2b clinical trial of AR-15512, our dry eye product candidate, is well underway. We also remain excited about the previously announced topline Phase 2 results for AR-1105, which indicated up to six months of sustained efficacy for patients with macular edema associated with retinal vein occlusion, a significantly differentiated profile for a retinal steroid implant. We are in discussions with both the FDA and EMA to develop a Phase 3 strategy for AR-1105 in the United States and Europe.”

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