WATERTOWN, Mass.—EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EYPT), a specialty biopharma company working to develop and commercialize innovative ophthalmic products, said this week it has “has made significant progress in building its commercial infrastructure in preparation for two ophthalmic product launches in the near-term.” The company provided a 2019 commercial update in which president and chief executive officer Nancy Lurker said EyePoint expects to launch the two new products—Yutiq and Dexycu—in the first quarter of this year.

“As a result of the diligence with which our team has worked to execute on commercial manufacturing scale-up, communicate with payors, build our distribution network and our hub for patient and physician support, I am pleased to be able to announce that along with the launch of Yutiq in the first quarter of calendar 2019, we also now anticipate launching Dexycu in the first quarter of calendar 2019, earlier than initially expected,” Lurker said in the announcement. “We are excited to be able to commercialize both of these innovative ocular products and we look forward to making a meaningful difference in the established treatment paradigms for cataract surgery and posterior uveitis, which are both areas of high unmet medical need.”

Dexycu (dexamethasone intraocular suspension) 9% was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Feb. 9, 2018, and is the first and only FDA-approved single dose, sustained release, intracameral steroid for the treatment of postoperative inflammation.

Yutiq (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant) 0.18 mg was approved by the FDA on Oct. 12, 2018, and is the first long-lasting, FDA approved micro-insert for up to three years of continuous control in chronic, non-infectious posterior segment uveitis, the third leading cause of blindness in the U.S., according to the EyePoint announcement.