Aquestive Therapeutics Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer and Appointment of Interim Chief Financial Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AQST) announced the resignation of CFO John Maxwell, effective year-end 2020, to pursue other interests. Maxwell joined the company in January 2017 and was instrumental in its evolution into a public pharmaceutical entity. Ernie Toth will succeed him as interim CFO. The company confirmed no operational issues are linked to Maxwell's departure and maintained its 2020 financial outlook. The company specializes in developing innovative therapies, including the commercial product Sympazan and a pipeline targeting central nervous system diseases.

Positive

• Ernie Toth brings seasoned financial expertise as interim CFO.
• Maxwell's tenure saw significant development, including a successful public transition.

Negative

• Concerns arise regarding continuity and experience gaps with Maxwell's departure.

WARREN, N.J., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQST), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing differentiated products that address patients’ unmet needs and solve therapeutic problems, today announced that John Maxwell, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company, has provided his intent to resign his positions with the Company to pursue other interests. Current plans call for Mr. Maxwell to continue to serve as CFO of the Company until his departure, which currently is anticipated at year end. Mr. Ernie Toth, a seasoned financial executive most recently with EHE Health as Chief Financial Officer, will assume the role of CFO on an interim basis upon Mr. Maxwell’s departure.

“We have made meaningful progress in our business since John joined the Company in January 2017,” said Keith J. Kendall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquestive. “John has been a valuable part of the continued development of the Company. We thank him for his contributions, especially in shepherding our efforts to become a public company and close several critical capital markets transactions. The management team and board of directors of Aquestive joins me in wishing him well in his future business pursuits. We anticipate effecting a very smooth transition over the next few weeks and are pleased to welcome Mr. Toth as the new interim CFO to our team,” concluded Mr. Kendall.

“I have enjoyed my time with Aquestive Therapeutics,” said Mr. Maxwell. “Upon arrival, my immediate objective was to help evolve the capitalization of the Company. Aquestive was in the midst of its transformation into a commercial proprietary pharmaceutical company. Having accomplished this critical goal, I believe the Company is well positioned for future growth and I believe in the strength of the Aquestive business. I wish the team all the best for its continued success.”

The Company also reported that Mr. Maxwell’s departure is not related to the Company’s operations, financial reporting or controls.

2020 Outlook

The Company also announced that there is no change to its full year 2020 financial outlook.

About Aquestive Therapeutics
Aquestive Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company that applies innovative technology to solve therapeutic problems and improve medicines for patients. The Company has commercialized one internally-developed proprietary product to date, Sympazan, has a commercial proprietary product pipeline focused on the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS, and other unmet needs, and is developing orally administered complex molecules to provide alternatives to invasively administered standard of care therapies. The Company also collaborates with other pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm^®, and has proven capabilities for drug development and commercialization.

Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding therapeutic benefits and plans and objectives for regulatory approvals of AQST-108 and Libervant; ability to address the concerns identified in the FDA’s Complete Response Letter dated September 25, 2020 regarding the New Drug Application for Libervant and obtain FDA approval of Libervant for U.S. market access; ability to obtain FDA approval and advance AQST-108, Libervant and our other product candidates to the market; about our growth and future financial and operating results and financial position; regulatory approval and pathway; clinical trial timing and plans; our and our competitors’ orphan drug approval and resulting drug exclusivity for our products or products of our competitors; short-term and long-term liquidity and cash requirements, cash funding and cash burn; business strategies, market opportunities, and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are also subject to the uncertain impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on our business including with respect to our clinical trials including site initiation, patient enrollment and timing and adequacy of clinical trials; on regulatory submissions and regulatory reviews and approvals of our product candidates; pharmaceutical ingredient and other raw materials supply chain, manufacture, and distribution; sale of and demand for our products; our liquidity and availability of capital resources; customer demand for our products and services; customers’ ability to pay for goods and services; and ongoing availability of an appropriate labor force and skilled professionals. Given these uncertainties, the Company is unable to provide assurance that operations can be maintained as planned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the Company's development work, including any delays or changes to the timing, cost and success of our product development activities and clinical trials and plans; risk of delays in FDA approval of Libervant and our other drug candidates or failure to receive approval; risk of our ability to demonstrate to the FDA “clinical superiority” within the meaning of the FDA regulations of our drug candidate Libervant relative to FDA-approved diazepam rectal gel and nasal spray products including by establishing a major contribution to patient care within the meaning of FDA regulations relative to the approved products as well as risks related to other potential pathways or positions which are or may in the future be advanced to the FDA to overcome the seven year orphan drug exclusivity granted by the FDA for the approved nasal spray product of a competitor in the U.S. and there can be no assurance that we will be successful; risk that a competitor obtains FDA orphan drug exclusivity for a product with the same active moiety as any of our other drug products for which we are seeking FDA approval and that such earlier approved competitor orphan drug blocks such other product candidates in the U.S. for seven years for the same indication; risk inherent in commercializing a new product (including technology risks, financial risks, market risks and implementation risks and regulatory limitations); risks for consummating the monetization transaction for KYNMOBI and other risks and uncertainties concerning the royalty and other revenue stream of KYNMOBI, achievement of royalty targets worldwide or in any jurisdiction and certain other commercial targets required for contingent payments under the monetization transaction, and of sufficiency of net proceeds of the monetization transaction after satisfaction of and compliance with 12.5% Senior Notes obligations, as applicable, and for funding the Company’s operations; risk of development of our sales and marketing capabilities; risk of legal costs associated with and the outcome of our patent litigation challenging third party at risk generic sale of our proprietary products; risk of sufficient capital and cash resources, including access to available debt and equity financing and revenues from operations, to satisfy all of our short-term and longer term cash requirements and other cash needs, at the times and in the amounts needed; risk of failure to satisfy all financial and other debt covenants and of any default; risk related to government claims against Indivior for which we license, manufacture and sell Suboxone® and which accounts for the substantial part of our current operating revenues; risk associated with Indivior’s cessation of production of its authorized generic buprenorphine naloxone film product, including the impact from loss of orders for the authorized generic product and risk of eroding market share for Suboxone and risk of sunsetting product; risks related to the outsourcing of certain marketing and other operational and staff functions to third parties; risk of the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product and product candidates; the success of any competing products, including generics; risk of the size and growth of our product markets; risks of compliance with all FDA and other governmental and customer requirements for our manufacturing facilities; risks associated with intellectual property rights and infringement claims relating to the Company's products; risk of unexpected patent developments; the impact of existing and future legislation and regulatory provisions on product exclusivity; legislation or regulatory actions affecting pharmaceutical product pricing, reimbursement or access; claims and risks that may arise regarding the safety or efficacy of the Company's products and product candidates; risk of loss of significant customers; risks related to legal proceedings, including patent infringement, investigative and antitrust litigation matters; changes in government laws and regulations; risk of product recalls and withdrawals; uncertainties related to general economic, political, business, industry, regulatory and market conditions and other unusual items; and other uncertainties affecting the Company described in the “Risk Factors” section and in other sections included in our Annual Report on Form 10 K, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Given those uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. All subsequent forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or outlook or guidance after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

PharmFilm^®, Sympazan^® and the Aquestive logo are registered trademarks of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. All other registered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Investor Inquiries:

Westwicke, an ICR Company
Stephanie Carrington
stephanie.carington@westwicke.com
646-277-1282

FAQ

Who is the new interim CFO of Aquestive Therapeutics?

Ernie Toth will assume the role of interim CFO following John Maxwell's resignation.

What prompted John Maxwell's resignation from Aquestive Therapeutics?

John Maxwell resigned to pursue other interests, and his departure is not linked to company operations.

Will the change in CFO affect Aquestive Therapeutics' financial outlook for 2020?

The company confirmed there is no change to its financial outlook for 2020 despite the CFO transition.

What were John Maxwell's contributions to Aquestive Therapeutics?

Maxwell played a vital role in transitioning the company to a public entity and managing critical capital market transactions.

When is John Maxwell's resignation effective?

John Maxwell's resignation is anticipated to be effective at the end of the year 2020.