Acerus Expands its Urology Franchise by Acquiring Canadian Rights to Stendra from Metuchen

Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced that it has entered into an exclusive distributor and license agreement with Metuchen Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving men’s health, granting Acerus the exclusive rights to commercialize STENDRA in Canada.

STENDRA is a new chemical entity targeting the large and growing Erectile Dysfunction (“ED”) market. If approved, STENDRA will be one of only two branded PDE5 Inhibitors in Canada. According to the Canadian Study of Erectile Dysfunction, approximately 49% of men over 40 suffer from ED, a condition affecting their physical and psychosocial well-being and quality of life. Contemporary treatment focuses on highly-effective, minimally invasive therapies, the most common of which is the PDE5 Inhibitor. The size of the ED market in Canada is estimated at $225M as of June 2017.

“This is a great partnership for Acerus as STENDRA is well-aligned with our strategy of becoming a Canadian leader in urology and men’s health and maintaining an active dialogue with Canadian patients and their physicians. Acerus intends to file a New Drug Submission with Health Canada for STENDRA in the second half of 2018, and, if approved, expects commercialization in the second half of 2019”, said Tricia Symmes, Chief Operating Officer of Acerus.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Metuchen to bring this innovative PDE5 Inhibitor to the Canadian market and offering a new treatment option for patients. This transaction will help broaden our product portfolio and take full advantage of our existing salesforce,” added Luc Mainville, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Acerus.

Greg Ford, President and CEO of Metuchen, noted: “we are extremely pleased to be partnering with Acerus Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on men’s health, with a strong presence in Urology. We believe they have all the expertise required to make STENDRA a commercial success in Canada.”

Under the terms of the sublicense agreement, Metuchen will receive regulatory milestone payments upon Acerus filing a NDS with Health Canada and upon Acerus receiving marketing approval in Canada. Metuchen will also receive milestone payments based on Acerus achieving sales targets. Metuchen will oversee the manufacturing of STENDRA and will receive a supply price for the product comprised of a transfer price and royalties on net sales of the product.