RVL Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Strengthens Leadership Team as Commercial Launch of Upneeq® Expands
-- Addition of Dr. Raymond Douglas, M.D., PhD, further enhances RVL’s commitment to advancing the clinical and scientific platform supporting Upneeq --
BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Nov. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RVL Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: OSMT) (“Osmotica”), announced the addition of Dr. Raymond Douglas, M.D. to its leadership team as Global Head, Scientific Affairs."We are thrilled to have Dr. Douglas join our organization and are committed to building upon the recent launch success of Upneeq. Dr. Douglas will immediately become an integral member of the organization,” said Brian Markison, Chief Executive Officer of Osmotica. “His clinical training in ophthalmology, and surgical and cosmetic expertise in practice, will undoubtedly further support our strategic initiatives as we expand the launch of Upneeq.”
Dr. Douglas is a board-certified Aesthetic Reconstructive and Oculoplastic specialist. His expertise has made him a highly respected educational and surgical authority for both reconstructive and cosmetics arts of facial plastics. In addition to his private practice in Beverly Hills, CA, Dr. Douglas is a clinical research author, advocate and educator, internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research on treatments and restorative surgical techniques for Thyroid Eye Disease. Dr. Douglas graduated with academic distinction from the University of Pennsylvania where he began his medical training and earned a PhD in immunology and autoimmune inflammatory disorders. He went on to complete a sub-specialized fellowship in Orbital Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute. To date, he has held several prestigious positions at the UCLA School of Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Greater Los Angeles Veterans Hospital, Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.
"In a short time since launch, I have seen firsthand the positive impact of Upneeq on both patients and providers,” stated Dr. Douglas. “I am excited to join the organization and look forward to building on the early success and the opportunity to advance this novel product beyond the existing treatment paradigms.”
*IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION*
UPNEEQ™ (oxymetazoline hydrochloride ophthalmic solution), 0.1% is indicated for the treatment of acquired blepharoptosis in adults.
*WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS*
· Alpha-adrenergic agonists as a class may impact blood pressure. Advise UPNEEQ patients with cardiovascular disease, orthostatic hypotension, and/or uncontrolled hypertension or hypotension to seek medical care if their condition worsens.
· Use UPNEEQ with caution in patients with cerebral or coronary insufficiency or Sjögren’s syndrome. Advise patients to seek medical care if signs and symptoms of potentiation of vascular insufficiency develop.
· UPNEEQ may increase the risk of angle closure glaucoma in patients with untreated narrow-angle glaucoma. Advise patients to seek immediate medical care if signs and symptoms of acute narrow-angle glaucoma develop.
· Patients should not touch the tip of the single patient-use container to their eye or to any surface, in order to avoid eye injury or contamination of the solution.
*ADVERSE REACTIONS*
Adverse reactions that occurred in 1-5% of subjects treated with UPNEEQ were punctate keratitis, conjunctival hyperemia, dry eye, blurred vision, instillation site pain, eye irritation and headache.
*DRUG INTERACTIONS*
· Alpha-adrenergic agonists, as a class, may impact blood pressure. Caution in using drugs such as betablockers, anti-hypertensives, and/or cardiac glycosides is advised. Caution should also be exercised in patients receiving alpha adrenergic receptor antagonists such as in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, or benign prostatic hypertrophy.
· Caution is advised in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors which can affect the metabolism and uptake of circulating amines.
*About Acquired Blepharoptosis*
Acquired blepharoptosis, also known as ptosis, or droopy eyelid, is a unilateral or bilateral drooping of the upper eyelid that usually occurs from a partial or complete dysfunction of the muscles that elevate the upper eyelid. It can generally be classified as congenital or acquired, with the most common type being age-related aponeurotic ptosis. The current standard of care is surgery, which is often reserved only for severe cases.
*About Upneeq*
Upneeq (oxymetazoline hydrochloride ophthalmic solution), 0.1% is a novel, once-daily ophthalmic formulation of oxymetazoline, a direct-acting alpha adrenergic receptor agonist, which when administered to the eye, is believed to selectively target Müller muscle and elevate the upper eyelid. Upneeq is the first and only FDA-approved pharmacologic treatment indicated for the treatment of acquired blepharoptosis (ptosis, or droopy eyelid) in adults.
*Forward Looking Statements *
This press release includes statements that express the Company’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” The Company’s actual results may vary significantly from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements, which can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “projects,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” or “anticipates,” or, in each case, their negatives or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They include statements regarding the Company’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, our review of strategic alternatives and efforts to maximize shareholder value, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, financial guidance, growth plan, strategies, trends and other events, particularly relating to sales of current products and the development, approval and introduction of new products, FDA and other regulatory applications, approvals and actions, the continuation of historical trends, and the sufficiency of our cash balances and cash generated from operating and financing activities for future liquidity and capital resource needs. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We may not achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place significant reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Important factors that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include the following: our business may be adversely affected by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak; our ability to successfully develop or commercialize new products, or do so on a timely or cost effective basis; our dependence on a limited number of products; failures of or delays in clinical trials or other delays in obtaining regulatory approval or commencing product sales for new products; the impact of legal proceedings; our ability to service our substantial debt; our ability to raise additional capital; the impact of competition from both brand and generic companies; any interruption at our manufacturing facility, our warehouses or at facilities operated by third parties that we rely on for our products; our dependence on our major customers; our ability to develop and maintain our sales capabilities; the impact of any litigation related to allegations of infringement of intellectual property; any changes to the coverage and reimbursement levels for our products by governmental authorities and other third-party payors as a result of healthcare reform or otherwise; the impact of any changes in the extensive governmental regulation that we face; manufacturing or quality control issues that we may face; and other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020 and other filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the time of this release and we do not undertake to publicly update or revise them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
*About Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc*
Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: OSMT) is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of specialty products that target markets with underserved patient populations. The company has a diverse portfolio consisting of promoted and non-promoted products, several of which incorporate Osmotica’s proprietary Osmodex® drug delivery system. RVL Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is the Company’s ophthalmic subsidiary supporting Upneeq. Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC represents the Company’s diversified branded portfolio and Trigen Laboratories, LLC represents the Company’s non-promoted products, including complex generic formulations.
Osmotica has operations in the United States, Argentina, and Hungary.
*Investor and Media Relations for Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc*
Lisa M. Wilson
In-Site Communications, Inc.
T: 212-452-2793
E: lwilson@insitecony.com