Ampio Pharmaceuticals Provides Corporate Update Following Conference Call

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: AMPE) announced their 2017 financial results during a conference call hosted on Wednesday, March 7th at 5:00 pm EST. Included below are highlighted disclosures from the corporate update and filed Annual report on Form 10K.

Year End and Fourth Quarter 2017 Highlights

• Pivotal trial, AP-003-C, demonstrated positive results for both primary and secondary endpoints with Ampion™ treatment in severe osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK)
• Primary endpoint achieved statistical significance when 71% of Ampion-treated patients met the OARSI responder criteria, which exceeded the historically based standard control for a meaningful treatment in severe OAK (p < 0.001).
• Ampion was statistically superior to the historic saline control group in a composite endpoint of pain and function at 12 weeks (p < 0.001).
• Quality of life measures demonstrated statistically significant improvement at 12 weeks with Ampion treatment compared to the historically based standard (p < 0.001).
• Ampion was safe and well tolerated with no drug-related serious treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs).
• The Open Label Extension (OLE) study to support the long-term continuous use of Ampion with up to five injections a year began following the completion of pivotal trial AP-003-C.
• Peer-reviewed publication of severely diseased osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) patients in Ampion clinical trials, the largest report of severely diseased patients to date, was published as a feature article in Orthopedics. https://doi.org/10.3928/01477447-20171114-05

Management Comments
Michael Macaluso, Ampio's CEO and chairman of the board, commented, "We are excited about the positive pivotal trial read-out at the end of 2017 and look forward to continuing to advance the Ampion program. The improvements patients recognize in both pain and function were supported by the safety and tolerability of the product. With a serious and chronic condition like OAK, safety and continuous long-term use are critical. We are pleased to report the continued safety and tolerability of the product following three injections of Ampion with no drug-related TEAEs or serious TEAEs reported in the OLE study."

Michael continued, "As a novel biologic, Ampion will be identified as a 'reference product' upon FDA approval.  Reference products are granted twelve years of exclusivity under the PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. § 262(k)(7). Specifically, FDA is not permitted to approve an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product until 12 years after the date of the first licensure of the reference product. Ampion is also supported by global patent coverage in all major jurisdictions for pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treating a range of conditions. The portfolio includes 125 issued patents and 85 pending patent applications throughout seven primary patent families having expiration dates that extend to 2035. This patent coverage and 12 years market exclusivity provide a strong runway for commercial market entry."

Receipt of Audit Opinion with Going Concern Qualification
The Company is required under the NYSE MKT Company Guide Sections 401(h) and 610(b) to publish certain disclosures. As previously disclosed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 6, 2018, the Company's audited financial statements contained a going concern explanatory paragraph in the audit opinion from its independent registered public accounting firm. This announcement does not represent any change or amendment to the Company's financial statements or to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.

As announced during the March 7, 2018, conference call, the company received an additional $2.8M in the first two months of 2018 from the exercise of options and warrants. This increased cash on the balance sheet without any further dilution to our shareholders. The company has reduced the warrant position from 17.5M outstanding warrants at December 1, 2017, to 7.8M warrants outstanding as of February 28, 2018.

About Ampio Pharmaceuticals
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of therapies to treat prevalent inflammatory conditions for which there are limited treatment options. We are developing compounds that decrease inflammation by (i) inhibiting specific pro-inflammatory compounds by affecting specific pathways at the protein expression and at the transcription level; (ii) activating specific phosphatase or depletion of the available phosphate needed for the inflammation process; and (iii) decreasing vascular permeability.

Forward-Looking Statements
Ampio's statements in this press release that are not historical fact, and that relate to future plans or events, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ampio's expectations with respect to Ampion™, as well as those associated with clinical trials, regulatory approvals, the ability of Ampio to enter into partnering arrangements, the Biological License Application (BLA) and decisions and changes in business conditions and similar events, all of which are inherently subject to various risks and uncertainties.  The risks and uncertainties involved include those detailed from time to time in Ampio's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, under Ampio's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ampio undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Company Contact
Tom Chilcott
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (720) 437-6500  

SOURCE Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.ampiopharma.com