Three Arch's shares of AcelRx common stock acquired in a private transaction led by Leerink Revelation Partners and Industry Ventures

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRX), (AcelRx or the Company), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapies for use in medically supervised settings, today announced that all of AcelRx shares owned by Three Arch Partners III, L.P., Three Arch Associates III, L.P., Three Arch Partners IV, L.P. and Three Arch Associates IV, L.P. (Three Arch or the Funds) were acquired by investors led by Leerink Revelation Partners and Industry Ventures (collectively, the Investors). The Three Arch funds that held the AcelRx shares were each formed between 1999 and 2004 and are at the end of their respective terms.  The Funds are in the dissolution process and are each finalizing the liquidation of their entire respective portfolios consisting of the Funds' remaining assets, which included their respective investments in AcelRx, comprised of 9,367,041 shares in the aggregate across all of the Funds.  AcelRx did not receive any proceeds from these transactions.

"We're excited to step into Three Arch's position as a leading shareholder of AcelRx and we're looking forward to the Company creating significant value for all AcelRx shareholders," said Scott Halsted, Managing Partner, Leerink Revelation Partners.

"We welcome our new shareholders and are appreciative that Three Arch was able to agree to the sale of its position to long-term shareholders that understand the potential value in AcelRx," said Vince Angotti, Chief Executive Officer of AcelRx.  "We remain on track to achieve the remaining key milestones this year, with the expectation of another approved product in Europe and our first approved product in the U.S. with DSUVIA™," continued Angotti.

No changes were made to the composition or size of AcelRx's Board of Directors.  Mark Wan, Managing Member at Three Arch and a current member of AcelRx's Board of Directors, remains a director of the Company following the closing of the transaction. 

About AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for use in medically supervised settings. AcelRx's proprietary, non-invasive sublingual formulation technology delivers sufentanil with consistent pharmacokinetic profiles. The Company has two product candidates including DSUVIA^™ (sufentanil sublingual tablet, 30 mcg), known as DZUVEO^™ in Europe, with a proposed indication for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings, and Zalviso^® (sufentanil sublingual tablet system, SST system, 15 mcg) being developed as an innovatively designed patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system for reduction of moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings.

For additional information about AcelRx's clinical programs, please visit www.acelrx.com.

About Leerink Revelation Partners
Leerink Revelation Partners is a San Francisco-based investment firm that invests in healthcare companies acquired in negotiated transactions from existing shareholders. We invest broadly across healthcare sectors with a focus on commercial companies with proven business models or companies with novel technologies that have clear clinical and regulatory pathways. We actively invest in the following healthcare verticals - medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, healthcare IT and healthcare services. For more information, please visit: www.revelation-partners.com.

About Industry Ventures LLC
Industry Ventures is a leading investment firm that focuses on venture capital. The firm has three investment strategies: secondary investments, primary fund of funds investments, and direct co-investments. Founded in 2000, the firm manages over $3 billion of institutional capital and is headquartered in San Francisco, with an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.industryventures.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the potential value of AcelRx, the ability of AcelRx to create significant value for all shareholders, and its expectations for achieving the remaining key milestones, including obtaining approvals for its DSUVIA™, DZUVEO^™ and Zalviso®. These forward-looking statements are based on AcelRx's current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. AcelRx's actual results and timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in AcelRx's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 9, 2018 and Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 10, 2018. AcelRx undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations, except as required by law.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/three-archs-shares-of-acelrx-common-stock-acquired-in-a-private-transaction-led-by-leerink-revelation-partners-and-industry-ventures-300653289.html

SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.