Aequus sees fiscal 2020 revenue rise by 59%, driven by strong sales of Vistitan and Tacrolimus

Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CVE:AQS) (OTCQB:AQSZF) (FRA:AEQ) posted fiscal 2020 results that saw its annual revenue jump 59% year-over-year on the back of strong sales led by PRVistitan and Tacrolimus eye treatments.      For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based specialty pharmaceutical company reported its highest annual revenue to date of $2.6 million, up 59%, compared to $1.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. The company chalked the bump in revenue to higher sales.  For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020, the company clocked up $851,187 in revenue, a 59% increase, compared to the same quarter a year earlier.  READ: Aequus Pharmaceuticals receives $1.48 million from warrant acceleration exercises In a statement accompanying the numbers, Aequus CEO and Chairman Doug Janzen said: “We had a very strong end to our fiscal year and set new records for both the fourth quarter and annual revenue. Our fourth quarter is traditionally our strongest quarter, and we will work to carry this momentum forward into 2020.” “We significantly improved on our bottom line as well; the net loss for fiscal 2020 was $1,045,360, a 66% reduction compared to a net loss of $3,106,104 in fiscal 2019 and the net loss for Q4 2020 dropped to $165,376 compared to $1,037,354 for the same period in 2019.” Janzen emphasized that he is “very pleased” with the company’s performance. “We have dramatically narrowed our operating losses and continue to close in on our goal of reaching operational break-even,” added Janzen. “With the recent launch of the Evolve and Revive products our focus remains on commercial execution while expanding our existing partnerships to include the acquisition of new products for our growing pipeline.” The Aequus boss revealed that in the next few weeks, the company will be submitting the “first tranche of information to Health Canada” to support the approval of Zimed-PF, a preservative-free prescription product for open-angle Glaucoma. “We are very excited about introducing this product to the Canadian market,” added Janzen. “We are also encouraged by the pace of negotiations we are having with potential new partners and B2B relationships, despite the challenges associated with the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on our partners and customers.” Meanwhile, Grant Larsen who is the chief commercial officer, at Aequus pointed out that the company adapted well to the challenges of the pandemic. “We’ve used COVID as an opportunity to improve our remote selling capabilities and scale out our technology with video conferencing and professional CRM implementation,” said Larsen. “Vistitan revenue at +15% and Tacrolimus at +49% showed strong consistent growth as we increased clinic and transplant center penetration respectively,” he added. The company said that on January 10, 2020, it advanced the filings for provincial reimbursement in both Quebec and British Columbia for its lead product, PRVistitan (Bimatoprost 0.03%). “If successful, this additional coverage would advance sales in the second and third largest markets in Canada and would trigger an increase in the percentage of total revenue that Aequus receives from its partner Sandoz,” noted the company. Aequus has positioned itself as a key partner for international companies looking to access the Canadian marketplace and will continue its strategy of adding to its existing product portfolio through promotional partnership agreements, asset acquisitions, and in-licenses. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive