Aerie Pharmaceuticals

Aerie Pharmaceuticals

Aerie Pharmaceuticals was a Durham-based ophthalmic drug developer focused on glaucoma and dry eye disease. Its founding date and original founders are not publicly documented on its current website. The company's lead products were Rocklatan and Rhopressa, both FDA-approved for lowering intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients, and AR-15512, a Phase 3 candidate for dry eye. Alcon acquired Aerie in a deal valued at approximately $930 million, closed in November 2023. The acquisition added Aerie's commercial portfolio and R&D pipeline to Alcon's ophthalmic pharmaceutical business, which already included rights to Simbrinza (from Novartis in April 2021) and Eysuvis/Inveltys (from Kala in May 2022). Aerie was a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: AERI). Its strategy centered on developing novel therapies for eye diseases, targeting the $20 billion global ophthalmic pharmaceutical market. The acquisition was financed with debt by Alcon, a Swiss-based global eye care leader with over 24,000 employees and operations in more than 140 countries. Aerie's executive team and R&D staff were integrated into Alcon. Financial advisors for the transaction were J.P. Morgan (Alcon), and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Lazard (Aerie). Legal advisors included Skadden (Alcon) and Fried Frank (Aerie). Aerie's structural differentiator was its targeted R&D focus on ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, particularly a novel ROCK inhibitor mechanism (netarsudil) for glaucoma — an approach that differentiated its products from existing standard therapies. The company's pipeline and commercial products are now fully owned and commercialized by Alcon.