The chief scientific officer of Durham-based Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. sold $661,024 in company stock last week, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Casey C. Kopczynski sold 10,000 shares at a price of $60.0024 and another 1,000 shares at a price of $61, according to a Form 4 filed on Sept. 4.

Kopczynski, who co-founded the company in 2005, now directly owns 147,517 shares worth more than $8.8 million.

He previously was vice president of research at Ercole Biotech, where he established Ercole’s research and development strategy and led all drug discovery efforts to develop novel antisense therapeutics for cancer, inflammation and orphan genetic diseases. He also managed corporate collaborations with pharmaceutical partners and played a key role in securing new investors.

Last month, Aerie Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in eye treatments, reported a larger-than-expected loss during its second quarter.

Aerie Pharmaceuticals shares closed on Friday at $58.30, up 75 cents.

The filing can be found here.