Mr. Edward Gudaitis reports

ACERUS COMPLETES REFINANCING TRANSACTIONS INCLUDING US$18,000,000 IN GROSS PROCEEDS FROM NEW EQUITY FINANCING

Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corp. has closed the refinancing transactions previously announced on Feb. 12, 2020. Acerus received $18-million (U.S.) in gross proceeds from the private placement of 449,148,891 common shares of the company to First Generation Capital Inc. and converted $11.5-million (U.S.) (plus accrued interest of $526,021 (U.S.)) owing to First Generation under the subordinated secured term loan facility with First Generation previously entered into on July 19, 2019, as amended and restated on Dec. 18, 2019, into 300,081,885 common shares. In addition, an amendment to the company's existing credit facility with SWK Funding LLC is effective as of today. As consideration for and in connection with the SWK amendment, the company has paid SWK an amendment fee of $80,000 (U.S.) and amended the exercise price of the 6,693,107 outstanding common share purchase warrants of the company owned by SWK, which expire on Sept. 30, 2024, from 11 cents to 53.269 cents. The company also made a prepayment of $250,000 (U.S.) of principal to SWK. This prepayment is the first of the three instalments previously announced on Feb. 12, 2020.

As previously discussed, the refinancing transactions were negotiated under the supervision of a special committee of the board of directors of Acerus, comprising entirely independent directors unrelated to the parties involved.

Upon closing of these transactions, the company has 1,010,456,066 common shares issued and outstanding on a non-diluted basis.

It is expected that Acerus will seek approval from its shareholders for a share consolidation at the company's next annual meeting of shareholders, further details of which will be provided to shareholders in due course.

"We are pleased to have First Generation Capital lead the way on this significant financial injection into the company. This demonstrates confidence in the company's ability to deliver on our expected value creation catalysts," commented Edward Gudaitis, Acerus's president and chief executive officer. "This new injection of capital will strengthen our balance sheet and enable the company to aggressively pursue its commercial and strategic initiatives."

As previously disclosed, as a result of the company's reliance on the financial hardship exemption contained within the Toronto Stock Exchange company manual from certain shareholder approval requirements as a result of the company being in serious financial difficulty, the TSX has placed the company under remedial delisting review, which is customary in these circumstances. Although the company believes that it will be in compliance with all continued listing requirements of the TSX upon closing of the refinancing transactions, no assurance can be provided as to the outcome of such review or continued qualification for listing on the TSX.

About Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corp.

Acerus Pharmaceuticals is a Canadian-based specialty pharmaceutical company that is focused on the commercialization and development of innovative prescription products that improve patient experience, with a primary focus in the field of men's health.

We seek Safe Harbor.