– USA, CA – Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AERI) a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with glaucoma and other diseases of the eye, today announced that Julie McHugh and Michael M. du Toit have been elected to the Company’s Board of Directors. Both individuals bring extensive senior healthcare-focused leadership experience, Ms. McHugh from large pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms and Mr. du Toit in media and marketing. Their elections are effective immediately, bringing the total number of Aerie’s Board members to nine.
“We are pleased to welcome Julie McHugh and Michael M. du Toit to the Company’s Board. They join us at an exciting time. We have recently made important progress, including positive feedback from FDA for our RhopressaTM clinical program, and we anticipate reporting three-month efficacy results from our Rocket 2 study of RhopressaTM later in the third quarter of 2015,” Vicente Anido, Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We expect to benefit significantly from Julie’s and Mike’s extensive expertise as we continue to develop and execute our business strategies in the ophthalmology sector.”
About Julie McHugh
Ms. McHugh brings over 28 years of experience in the drug development industry. She recently served as Chief Operating Officer for Endo Health Solutions, Inc., responsible for the specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug businesses. Prior to this, Ms. McHugh was CEO of Nora Therapeutics, Inc., a venture capital backed biotech start-up company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of infertility disorders. Previously, she served as company group Chairman for Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide virology business unit, and prior to this, she was president of Centocor, Inc., a J&J subsidiary. In this role, Ms. McHugh oversaw the development and launches of several products, including Remicade® (infliximab), Prezista® (darunavir) and Intelence® (etravirine). Prior to joining Centocor, Ms. McHugh led the marketing communications for gastrointestinal drug Prilosec® (omeprazole) at Astra-Merck Inc. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of EPIRUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc., New Xellia Group A/S, Trevena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and she previously served on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI), the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association, and ViroPharma Inc. Ms. McHugh received her masters of business administration degree from St. Joseph’s University and her Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University.
About Michael M. du Toit
Mr. du Toit brings more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare and consumer media and marketing. He is President of Everyday Health, Inc., a leading digital health and wellness company. Prior to this, Mr. du Toit served as Global Group President of Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, the third largest advertising and media company in the world. Prior to this, he held various senior executive positions at Digitas Health, where he was a founding member, and at Razorfish Health. Mr. du Toit also has held executive roles at premier marketing agencies including Grey Advertising, TMX Communications, and Ventiv Health Communications, as well as senior marketing positions at pharmaceutical companies such as Glaxo and Boehringer Ingelheim. At Glaxo as Vice President of Marketing, he launched several blockbuster pharmaceutical products, including Serevent® (salmeterol) and Flonase® (fluticasone nasal). Mr. du Toit previously served as member of the National Pharmaceutical Council, Pharmaceutical Advertising Council, Advertising Club of Fairfield, Advertising Club of New York, Editorial Board of Medical Marketing and Media, Prescription Drug Advertising Coalition, and Triangle Advertising Federation. He started his career at Unilever and has also worked at Grey Global Group and BBD&O. Mr. du Toit received a B.S. in Economics and Marketing from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
About Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aerie is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. The Company is currently conducting a Phase 3 registration trial in the United States named Rocket 2, where the primary efficacy endpoint is to demonstrate non-inferiority of IOP lowering for RhopressaTM compared to timolol, along with a Phase 3 registration safety-only trial, named Rocket 3, in Canada. The Company recently completed its initial Phase 3 registration trial, named Rocket 1, the three-month efficacy results of which were initially reported in April 2015, and expects to commence a fourth Phase 3 registration trial, named Rocket 4, in the third quarter of 2015. The Company also completed in 2014 a Phase 2b clinical trial in which RoclatanTM met the primary efficacy endpoint, demonstrating the statistical superiority of RoclatanTM to each of its components, and plans to commence the first Phase 3 registration trial for RoclatanTM, named Mercury 1, in the third quarter of 2015.
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