Alimera Sciences Announces Launch of Direct-to-Patient Marketing Campaign to Raise Awareness and Educate Consumers on Diabetic Macular Edema and ILUVIEN®


Pilot program to be initiated in four U.S. cities leveraging radio, print and social media channels, with potential for future expansion

ILUVIEN’s CONTINUOUS MICRODOSING™ delivery enables patients diagnosed with diabetic macular edema (DME) to maintain vision longer with fewer intra-ocular injections

ATLANTA, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alimera Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALIM) (“Alimera”), a leader in the commercialization and development of prescription ophthalmology treatments for the management of retinal diseases, announces the launch of a direct-to-patient (DTP) marketing campaign intended to raise awareness and educate patients diagnosed with diabetic macular edema (DME) and their caregivers about the therapeutic and dosing benefits of ILUVIEN. The campaign will be supported by the website www.iluvienmoments.com.

The Company will utilize digital, radio, and in-office marketing programs highlighting the benefits of ILUVIEN in addressing challenges faced by patients with DME. The initial DTP campaign will pilot in four U.S. cities, with potential for future expansion as determined by the Company.  Interested parties can access the radio spot here.

With its patented and proprietary CONTINUOUS MICRODOSING™ technology, ILUVIEN is a sustained-release intravitreal implant that is administered directly into the eye to control the recurrence of DME. In clinical trials, ILUVIEN has demonstrated the ability to reduce edema in the retina for up to 36 months with one intra-ocular injection, thereby enabling patients to maintain vision longer with fewer injections.

“We believe ILUVIEN is extremely attractive to patients suffering from DME, according to our research,” said Rick Eiswirth, Alimera’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “However, patient awareness of ILUVIEN itself is relatively low. Therefore, we are launching our initial DTP campaign in select cities, to educate and empower DME patients and their caregivers to ask their doctor if ILUVIEN treatment is right for them.”

About Diabetic Macular Edema (DME)

DME, the primary cause of vision loss associated with diabetic retinopathy, is a disease affecting the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision. When the blood vessel leakage associated with diabetic retinopathy results in swelling of the macula, the condition is called DME. The onset of DME is painless and may go unreported by the patient until it manifests with the blurring of central vision or acute vision loss. The severity of this blurring may range from mild to profound loss of vision. The Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy found that over a 10-year period, approximately 19% of people with diabetes included in the study were diagnosed with DME. All people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing DME.

About ILUVIEN

ILUVIEN (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant) 0.19 mg is a sustained release intravitreal implant, injected into the back of the eye. With its CONTINUOUS MICRODOSING™ technology, ILUVIEN is designed to release submicrogram levels of fluocinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid, for 36 months, to control the recurrence of disease, enabling patients to maintain vision longer with fewer injections. ILUVIEN is approved in the U.S., Canada, Kuwait, Lebanon and the U.A.E to treat diabetic macular edema (DME) in patients who have been previously treated with a course of corticosteroids and did not have a clinically significant rise in intraocular pressure. In 17 European countries, ILUVIEN is indicated for the treatment of vision impairment associated with chronic DME considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies. In March 2019, ILUVIEN received approval in the 17 countries under the Mutual Recognition Procedure for prevention of relapse in recurrent non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye. The 17 EU countries include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.  The regulatory process is now in the national phase in which the U.K. and each additional European member state are expected to finalize the label for the new indication to meet each country’s local requirements. Timeline to this goal varies by each country.

See www.ILUVIEN.com for important safety information.

About Alimera Sciences, Inc.

www.alimerasciences.com

Alimera, founded in June 2003, is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the commercialization and development of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Alimera is presently focused on diseases affecting the back of the eye, or retina, because these diseases are not well treated with current therapies and will affect millions of people in our aging populations. For more information, please visit www.alimerasciences.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding, among other things, Alimera’s belief that the DTP pilot will be effective with patients and that increased awareness will have the intended effect. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change either of them, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in its forward-looking statements. Meaningful factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Alimera’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.

For press inquiries:    For investor inquiries:
Jules Abraham    Scott Gordon
for Alimera Sciences    for Alimera Sciences
917-885-7378    scottg@coreir.com
julesa@coreir.com