Alimera Sciences Inc (ALIM)

[mick]

good morning, news/ Alimera Sciences Begins Selling ILUVIEN® in the Middle East
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/alimera-sciences-begins-selling-iluvien-113000658.html
GlobeNewswire•October 26, 2016

ATLANTA, Oct. 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)
-- Alimera Sciences, Inc. (ALIM) (Alimera), a leader in research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals,
today announced that its subsidiary, Alimera Sciences B.V.,
has begun shipping ILUVIEN®,

an eye implant for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME),
to MEAgate International FZLLC, headquartered in Dubai, for Named Patient Sales in the Middle East.

MEAgate is the ILUVIEN distributor for
Bahrain,
Egypt,
Iraq,
Jordan,
Kuwait,
Lebanon,
Oman,
Qatar,
Saudi Arabia,
UAE, and
Yemen,
where combined an estimated 16 million people today are living with diabetes.

Following the successful completion of a technical review,
the Health Authority
- Abu Dhabi (HAAD) code for ILUVIEN was published on October 11, 2016.

The HAAD code allows for the reimbursement of ILUVIEN by HAAD.

In addition, some large Middle East institutions are finalizing compassionate use programs in order to include ILUVIEN in their available treatment options.

The first DME patient in the region was treated with ILUVIEN
under the Named Patient Sales program,
an early access program whereby health authorities allow selected institutions to provide globally approved innovative medications
to their patients while the products are still in the process of approval and full registration.

“Diabetes and its complications have been listed among the top priorities of health authorities across the region,”
said Dream Samir, MEAgate’s chief executive officer.
“In several Middle-East countries,
prominent ophthalmologists have confirmed that ILUVIEN will address
an unmet need for a significant number of their patients with diabetes.”

“We are pleased to begin providing ILUVIEN to this population,”

said Dan Myers,
Alimera’s chief executive officer.
“Given the high incidence of diabetes in the region,
we believe a continuous microdosing delivery system will be welcomed
by both retinal specialists and their patients with diabetic macular edema.”

About ILUVIEN

www.ILUVIEN.com.

ILUVIEN (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant) 0.19 mg is
a sustained release intravitreal implant approved in the U.S.
to treat diabetic macular edema in patients who have been
previously treated with a course of corticosteroids and did
not have a clinically significant rise in intraocular pressure.
Each ILUVIEN implant is designed to release submicrogram levels
of fluocinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid, for 36 months.

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 Alimera Sciences, Inc.

www.alimerasciences.com

Alimera, founded in June 2003, is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization 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.

Alimera’s commitment to retina specialists and their patients is manifest in Alimera’s product and development portfolio designed
to treat early- and late-stage diseases.
For more information, please visit
http://www.alimerasciences.com.

About MEAgate International FZ LCC

The management team of MEAgate includes seasoned pharmaceutical
and
life sciences executives with over 35 years combined experience
in selling pharmaceuticals and medical devices in much of the Middle East.

They have developed a Middle East hub to address the needs of small
to medium innovative companies,
and become the partner of choice that ensures highest scientific
and compliant standards while managing
– on behalf of the company
– a network of carefully chosen country distributors.

Teams are centrally selected, hired and trained, ensuring that the same high standards are applied across the region.