Shares in the spin-out have risen by a quarter on announcement of its latest trial results.
Aerie Pharmaceuticals, a Duke University spin-out, is approaching a major success. The company has reported successful results in a Phase 2b trial for a therapy against glaucoma.
The company’s shares jumped 25% on announcement, and traded for $26.37. The company was incorporated in 2005 and only went public in October 2013 in a $67.2m IPO.
Dubbed Roclatan, the once-daily eyedrop therapy was tested in 297 patients over 28 days, and was proven to be more efficient than the currently prescribed drug Latanoprost. The company is now gearing up for a Phase 3 trial – the final hurdle before submitting a new drug application – which it expects to launch in July 2014. The company is hoping to have final results in 2015, and submit a new drug application in mid-2016.
The market for glaucoma treatments is increasingly profitable for the pharma industry, with sales exceeding $4.5bn in the US, Europe and Japan. As the world’s population ages, prescription volume is expected to grow even further.
Vicente Anido, chief executive of Aerie, said: “With this strong data, we are even more confident that our products have blockbuster potential. We continue to expect to market our products through our own sales force in North America, and plan to commence licensing discussions for commercialisation outside of North America.”
