Apricus Biosciences Receives Complete Response Letter from FDA for Vitaros™

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 16, 2018 -- Apricus Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:APRI), a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines in urology and rheumatology, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has issued a complete response letter (“CRL”) for the New Drug Application (“NDA”) of Vitaros™ (alprostadil, DDAIP.HCl), a topical cream for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. 

The CRL indicates that the FDA cannot approve the NDA for Vitaros in its present form, identifying deficiencies related to Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (“CMC”) and certain safety concerns specific to the 2.5% concentration of DDAIP.HCl contained in the current formulation.

“We are disappointed with the outcome of the review given the substantial amount of CMC, clinical and non-clinical data and analysis provided to the FDA in the Vitaros resubmission. We are assessing the content of the complete response letter with our regulatory experts, including the information that may be needed to resolve the deficiencies and the time it would take to obtain such information with the goal of providing the market an update on our assessment in early March of this year,” stated Richard W. Pascoe, Chief Executive Officer.  

About Apricus Biosciences, Inc.

Apricus Biosciences, Inc. (APRI) is a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines in urology and rheumatology. Apricus has two product candidates: Vitaros, a product candidate in the United States for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, which is in-licensed from Warner Chilcott Company, Inc., now a subsidiary of Allergan plc (Allergan); and RayVa, a product candidate which has completed a Phase 2a clinical trial for the treatment of the circulatory disorder Raynaud’s phenomenon, secondary to scleroderma, for which Apricus owns worldwide rights.

For further information on Apricus, visit http://www.apricusbio.com.

Vitaros™ is Apricus’ trademark in the United States, which is pending registration and subject to the agreement with Allergan.  Vitaros^® is a registered trademark of Ferring International Center S.A. in certain countries outside of the United States.  RayVa™ is Apricus’ trademark, which is registered in certain countries throughout the world and pending registration in the United States.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things: the timing of any clinical and non-clinical studies to address the FDA’s concerns and whether the results of such studies would be sufficient to overcome the deficiencies raised in the CRL; the timing of any interaction with Allergan; and the timing and results of Apricus’ evaluation on the path forward for the company. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to a variety of reasons that are outside of Apricus’ control, including, but not limited to: Apricus’ financial position and need for additional capital to fund its operations, which may be adversely impacted if Apricus is unable to maintain the continued listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq stock market; Apricus’ ability to address any conditions for approvability of Vitaros raised by the FDA in the CRL; the risks of any additional adverse safety or other data arising from the sales and use of Vitaros in certain countries in Europe and elsewhere; competition in the ED market; and other risks identified by Apricus in its reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Apricus assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to read the risk factors set forth in Apricus’ most recent annual report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, and other filings made with the SEC. Copies of these reports are available from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or without charge from Apricus.

CONTACT:
Matthew Beck
[email protected]
The Trout Group
(646) 378-2933