14 September 2018 - - David W. Gryska has been appointed to US-based ophthalmic pharmaceutical company Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AERI) board of directors and will also be a member of the audit committee of the board, the company said.

Gryska brings executive level healthcare-focused and financial leadership experience from large global biopharmaceutical firms.

He recently announced his planned retirement at the end of 2018 as the chief financial officer and executive vice president of Incyte Corp., and is currently on the boards of Seattle Genetics, Inc. and PDL BioPharma, Inc.

Previously, Gryska held the position of president, CEO, COO and director at Myrexis, Inc., chief financial officer and senior vice president at Celgene Corp., and chief financial officer and senior vice president at Scios, Inc.

Gryska has spent over 20 years as a senior executive at life science and biotechnology companies with extensive experience relating to financings, acquisitions, global expansion and strategic transactions.

He was previously a member of Aerie's board of directors from May of 2012 through May of 2015.

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, retina diseases and other diseases of the eye.

Aerie's first product, Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02%, a once-daily eyedrop approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure 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, cornea verticillata, instillation site pain, and conjunctival hemorrhage.

Aerie's advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan (netarsudil/latanoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.02%/0.005%, a fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa and the widely-prescribed PGA (prostaglandin analog) latanoprost, achieved its 3-month primary efficacy endpoint in two Phase 3 registration trials, Mercury 1 and Mercury 2, and also showed safety and efficacy throughout 12 months in Mercury 1.

Aerie submitted the Roclatan New Drug Application in May 2018 and, in July 2018, the FDA set the PDUFA (Prescription Drug User Fee Act) goal date for the completion of the FDA's review of the Roclatan NDA for March 14, 2019.