Aequus Provides Third Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Record Third Quarter Revenues – 67% Increase Over Same Period Last Year

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX-V: AQS, OTCQB: AQSZF) (“Aequus” or the “Company”), a specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus on developing, advancing and promoting differentiated products, today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2020 (“Q3 2020”) and associated Company developments. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are in Canadian currency.

“We are very encouraged by our performance in the third quarter” said Doug Janzen, Charmain and CEO of Aequus. “We saw strong revenue growth from both ^PrVistitan and Tacrolimus and our losses were sharply reduced by 62% over the same period last year. We have received Health Canada approval for 2 Evolve-branded Dry Eye products. These two products were both approved as medical devices and make up approximately 75% of our roughly $9M peak revenue forecast for the Evolve line. Late on Friday, Health Canada informed us that the 3^rd Evolve product would not be approved as a medical device, and should be resubmitted as an OTC (Over-the-Counter) product. We will meet with our regulatory consultants and partners at Medicom and determine if pursuing an OTC approval for this single product makes commercial sense, given that additional Dry Eye products are already under consideration. We are confident that continued growth from our existing products and the Evolve launches will positively contribute to our bottom-line going forward into 2021.”

General Update

Revenues in the third quarter in 2020 were $618,984 (2019 - $370,799), a 67% increase over the same quarter in 2019 (“Q3 2019”). The increase can be primarily attributed to an increase in market access and general increases in sales as ^PrVistitan and Tacrolimus continue to increase market share. Notable business highlights since July 1, 2020 are as follows:   

• On October 16, 2020, the Company agreed to a contract extension under modified terms for its promotional service agreement with Sandoz Canada Inc. for Tacrolimus IR to December 31st, 2021. Aequus began promotional efforts in December 2015 for Sandoz’s generic tacrolimus, and has since achieved over 10x growth of the product in Canada through increased brand awareness, new patient adoption programs, and leveraging conversion experience and relationships across provinces.