Sean Ianchulev
Analyst · Ladenburg Thalmann. You may proceed with your question
Thank you Tram. And welcome, everyone, to Eyenovia's third quarter 2019 earnings conference. We are very pleased with our clinical progress this year as we continue to build a robust late-stage pipeline ophthalmology sing our next-generation intelligent microdosing platform, the completion of MicroStat Phase 3 studies for pharmacologic mydriasis as well as the initiation of our Phase 3 study for our MicroPine program for the treatment of progressive myopia earlier this year have helped to demonstrate the significant potential of our novel therapies. As we look ahead and work to maximize the value of our internal portfolio, we recently announced that our Board and senior management team conducted a comprehensive strategic review of all of our programs. As a result, we have reprioritized our efforts to focus on MicroPine, MicroStat and our newest program MicroLine for the improvement in near vision in patients with presbyopia. These three program, in our view, represent areas where there are currently no known drugs approved or where we believe we can greatly improve upon the patient experience bringing our novel technology into the hands of optometrists, ophthalmologists and patients. To build on this, the World Health Organization recently published a report entitled, the World Report on Vision. The report examines some of the most pressing vision related issues facing the global population today. The myopia epidemic, which starts with our children, was highlighted not only because of its considerable growth but also because there are currently no know FDA approved pharmacologic treatment options to address the disease process. According to the report, myopia currently affects nearly 2.6 billion people worldwide, with this number expected to grow to nearly 3.8 billion people by 2030, if nothing is done. To put that into perspective, according to the statistics published in the report, by 2030 nearly half of the world's population is expected to be myopic. It is into this world, that we are working towards bringing MicroPine to market as well as we believe will be one of the best options of treating myopia from where it starts in children. The report also reviewed presbyopia. According to the report, there are nearly 1.8 billion people worldwide who are presbyopic. In the United States, many of these people are our friends, neighbors and colleagues who are now relegated to wearing reading glasses when they might prefer to have another option. Our MicroLine is designed to offer presbyopics that option and our entire late stage portfolio is intended to help address growing vision related issues. And now, let me turn to our programs and highlight the progress we have been making. First, our latest addition to the pipeline, MicroLine, which has been garnering significant interest as it potentially could be one of the first pharmacologic therapies in a space that is dominated primarily by devices such as reading glasses and contacts. As many of you know, presbyopic is a non-preventable age-related hardening of the lens, which causes gradual loss of the eye's ability to focus on near objects, commonly known as farsightedness. Symptoms of presbyopia include blurred vision, difficulty reading materials at close range, eye strain and headaches and there are currently no known FDA approved drugs in this indication. Presbyopia is diagnosed through a basic eye exam, though for many who have had normal vision for most of their lives, it can cause a significant shift in lifestyle. In the United States, presbyopia affects an estimated 130 million people. Of that population, an estimated 43 million people are between the ages of 40 and 65 who have otherwise normal vision and available disposable income could benefit from a pharmacologic treatment option like MicroLine. The MicroLine program is based on our proprietary microdose formulation of pilocarpine, which causes constriction of the pupil producing a pinhole effect and temporarily correcting vision. MicroLine is designed to replace reading glasses on demand while our delivery system is designed to enhance tolerability and make installation easier versus traditional eye drops. We believe that we could enhance the lifestyle of millions of people with a cash-pay prescription drug for the improvement in near vision in those with presbyopia in the model of other aesthetic focused products. As we look ahead, we are currently preparing to initiate the two Phase 3 vision studies in 2020. We expect both studies to be double-masked, placebo-controlled, crossover, superiority trials which will enroll approximately 120 patients between the ages of 40 and 60 with presbyopia. Subjects will be randomized to receive treatment with either of two MicroLine concentrations or placebo. Our primary endpoint of the studies will be binocular distance corrected near visual acuity and we expect to complete both trials in 2020 as well. Moving now to MicroPine, our program to address myopia in children and where we believe there are no FDA approved therapies currently available. We initiate the CHAPERONE study in June, which is a U.S.-based, multi-center, randomized, double-masked trial that will enroll more than 400 children between three and 12 years of age. The study is investigating the safety and efficacy of MicroPine for the reduction of progressive myopia using Eyenovia's proprietary atropine topical micro-formulation. Subjects are being randomized to receive treatment with either of two, MicroPine concentrations or a placebo. And our primary endpoint is the change in refractive error from baseline through 36 months. With the study now underway, we are very excited to share some preliminary usability data regarding our Optejet dispenser. After enrolling in the study, children and their parents participate in a training session on how to use the Optejet. After being trained, we found that in all cases either the parent or child was able to successfully use the dispenser at home to deliver a microdose to the eye. In fact, in the vast majority of cases, the child, some as young as five years of age, was able to use the dispenser by him or herself, further supporting the ease-of-use of the Optejet. This early look into our CHAPERONE study is very encouraging and helps to further support our platform technology's potential to transform the way we deliver therapeutics to the eye. In addition to the preliminary usability data from our CHAPERONE study, one of our primary investigators recently presented a poster the American Academy of Optometry's Third World Congress of Optometry highlighting the very positive MicroStat Phase 3 MIST-1 and MIST-2 study results. MicroStat is our novel microdose pain-free co-formulation of phenylephrine and tropicamide for pharmacologic mydriasis and could potentially be our first product on the market. This co-formulation significantly reduces the amount of drugs delivered to the eye and potentially eliminates the need for an anesthetic, commonly used to reduce the discomfort often associated with traditional eye drop delivery of these drugs. To briefly recap the results, MicroStat was shown to be safe and effective for pharmacologic mydriasis, achieving clinically and statistically superior mean pupil dilation. Both studies achieved their primary endpoints demonstrating that approximately 93% of treated eyes achieved pupil dilation of at least six millimeter at 35 minutes post-instillation. Approximately two-thirds of patients reached the same endpoint in 20 minutes or less. We are now focused on completing the registration and stability manufacturing lots and expect to file our new drug application with the U.S. FDA in 2020. We believe that MicroLine, MicroPine and MicroStat represent the highest value opportunities for Eyenovia and our shareholders at this time. In addition, as we announced last month with the reprioritization of our pipeline, we also decided to defer the development activities for our MicroProst program for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, as well as MicroTears, our over-the-counter program for red eye and itch relief. We believe that we could restart both of these programs with minimal delay, if we so decide, as we have filed an IND for MicroProst with the FDA and MicroTears only requires OTC registration as a poster Phase 3 clinical study. I would now like to turn the call over to our VP of Commercial operations, Michael Rowe to discuss further the reprioritization of our pipeline as well as its anticipated commercial opportunities. Michael?