11 October 2019 - - US-based ophthalmic pharmaceutical company Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AERI) has appointed Charlene E. Davis, Esq., as vice president and chief compliance officer, reporting to John LaRocca, Aerie's general counsel, the company said.

Davis will oversee the world wide compliance and data privacy functions for the company.

She most recently held a related position at Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.

In connection with her acceptance of the position as vice president and chief compliance officer, Davis will receive awards totaling 50,060 stock options that will vest over four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the hire date and the remainder vesting ratably on each of the subsequent 36 monthly anniversaries of the hire date.

This award was made outside of Aerie's stockholder-approved equity incentive plan and was approved by the company's independent directors as an inducement material to Davis entering into employment with the company in reliance on NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c) (4), which requires this public announcement.

Aerie is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialisation 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 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, corneal verticillata, instillation site pain, and conjunctival hemorrhage.

Aerie's second product for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure 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 is now available in the United States. In clinical trials of Rocklatan, the most common adverse reactions were conjunctival hyperemia, corneal verticillata, instillation site pain, and conjunctival hemorrhage.

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.