NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Announces Preliminary 2018 Net Sales and Introduces 2019 Net Sales Guidance

By January 7, 2019

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (January 7, 2019)NovaBay® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NBY), a biopharmaceutical company focusing on commercializing prescription Avenova® for the domestic eye care market, announces 2018 net sales are expected to be $12.6 million to $12.7 million. The company also introduces expectations for 2019 net sales to be approximately $16.0 to $16.5 million, representing an increase of up to 30% over 2018.

“During 2018 we launched a number of refinements to our Avenova commercial strategy as we gained experience from our initial approach,” said Jack McGovern, NovaBay Interim CEO and CFO. “The successful execution on these refinements gives us confidence in returning to double-digit year-over-year sales growth in 2019 and sustainable growth thereafter.

“Key drivers of our expected growth include engaging specialty pharmacy providers as channel partners, which provides the dual benefit of significantly improving the overall patient experience and supporting higher per-unit revenue,” he added. “Avenova is sold through these partners at pre-contracted prices. That allows us to reduce rebating, which has been an issue as patient insurance deductibles reset at the start of each benefit year. To date we’ve contracted with five specialty pharmacy providers serving patients in all important metro areas, and we are in active discussions with several more.

“We also are advancing a strategy of expanding and upgrading our salesforce, and deploying our sales representatives in territories we’ve identified as having favorable health plan coverage to improve per-unit revenue,” he added. “I’m pleased to report that the seasoned sales representatives we hired in mid-2018 have become increasingly productive as they gained tenure in their territories. Last month, we hired 10 similarly highly qualified sales representatives, bringing our salesforce to 49 at the close of 2018. We have plans to add six more reps by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

“Importantly, Avenova faces ample room for growth,” said McGovern. “Avenova is a proven product that addresses the large underserved conditions of blepharitis and bacterial dry eye that, together, represent about 85% of the dry eye market. We are diligently working to educate ophthalmologists and optometrists about the bacterial nature of most cases of dry eye. We strongly believe that Avenova is the best product available to treat the underlying cause of blepharitis and evaporative dry eye.”

About Avenova®

Avenova is an eye care product formulated with our proprietary, stable and pure form of hypochlorous acid. It has proven in laboratory testing to have broad antimicrobial properties as a preservative in solution as it removes foreign material including microorganisms and debris from the skin on the eyelids and lashes without burning or stinging. Avenova is marketed to optometrists and ophthalmologists throughout the U.S. by NovaBay’s direct salesforce. It is accessible from more than 90% of retail pharmacies in the U.S. through agreements with McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.

About NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Going Beyond Antibiotics®

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on commercializing and developing its non-antibiotic anti-infective products to address the unmet therapeutic needs of the global, topical anti-infective market with its two distinct product categories: the NEUTROX® family of products and the AGANOCIDE® compounds. The Neutrox family of products includes AVENOVA® for the eye care market, NEUTROPHASE® for wound care market, and CELLERX® for the aesthetic dermatology market. The Aganocide compounds, still under development, have target applications in the dermatology and urology markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations, assumptions, estimates, projections and beliefs. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our business strategies and future focus, our estimated future revenue, and generally the Company’s expected future financial results. Forward-looking statements can be identified with words like (and variations of): “expect,” and “believe.” These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or achievements to be materially different and adverse from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to returning to double digit revenue growth, the size of the potential market for our products, improving sales rep productivity and product distribution, obtaining adequate insurance reimbursement, and any potential regulatory problems. Other risks relating to NovaBay’s business, including risks that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements in this press release, are detailed in NovaBay’s latest Form 10-Q/K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially under the heading “Risk Factors.” The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date, and NovaBay disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement except as required by law.

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NovaBay Contacts
For NovaBay Avenova purchasing information:
Please Call us toll free: 1-800-890-0329 or email sales@avenova.com
www.Avenova.com

From the Company
Jack McGovern
Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
510-899-8800
jmcgovern@novabay.com

Investor Contact
LHA
Jody Cain
310-691-7100
jcain@lhai.com

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