Aquestive Therapeutics Completes FDA Type A Meeting on Libervant

Rhea-AI Summary

The FDA confirmed that issues identified in its Complete Response Letter (CRL) dated September 25, 2020, can potentially be addressed through modeling and simulations for Aquestive's drug candidate, Libervant™. Following a Type A meeting on November 12, 2020, the agency recommended a follow-up meeting before resubmission of the New Drug Application (NDA). Aquestive believes no additional clinical studies will be required and is preparing the requested analysis for resubmission as soon as the follow-up meeting is scheduled.

Positive

• FDA indicates a potential pathway for resubmission of NDA for Libervant.
• No additional clinical studies are expected for NDA resubmission.

Negative

• Concerns from FDA's CRL still need to be addressed before resubmission.

• FDA confirms issues identified in FDA Complete Response Letter (CRL) of September 25, 2020 may be addressed by utilizing modeling and simulations for an updated dosing regimen
  
• FDA recommends and Aquestive agrees to a follow-up FDA meeting prior to resubmission

WARREN, N.J., Nov. 18, 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, announced today the completion of a Type A meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirming a pathway for resubmission for approval of the Company’s drug candidate Libervant™ (diazepam) Buccal Film for management of seizure clusters.

In preliminary comments provided by the FDA prior to the Type A meeting and again at the Type A meeting held on November 12, 2020, the FDA confirmed that the issues identified in the CRL may be addressed by utilizing modeling and simulations based upon the information provided by Aquestive in its FDA meeting package submitted in October 2020. The FDA requested in its preliminary comments that Aquestive confirm that Libervant is linear across the potential dosage levels. Aquestive believes that this information is available based on previously conducted studies and will include this information in its upcoming resubmission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for Libervant. The FDA also recommended a follow-up meeting to review the final modeling and simulations, as well as the totality of safety information, prior to resubmission. Aquestive plans on scheduling this follow-up meeting with the FDA prior to resubmission.   

Based on the FDA’s preliminary comments and the discussion with the FDA during the Type A meeting, Aquestive continues to believe that no additional clinical studies will be required for the resubmission of the NDA for Libervant. Aquestive will work to prepare the analysis requested and schedule the follow-up meeting with the FDA as soon as is practical. The Company expects to resubmit the NDA for Libervant as soon as possible after the follow-up meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.   

“We are pleased with our recent interaction with the FDA,” said Keith J. Kendall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquestive. “The FDA has exhibited a collaborative approach to reaching a successful path for resubmission of our NDA for Libervant and we look forward to meeting with the Agency and resubmitting our NDA as quickly as possible,” concluded Mr. Kendall.

About Libervant
Libervant™ is a buccally, or inside of the cheek, administered soluble film formulation of diazepam, a benzodiazepine intended for rapid treatment of acute uncontrolled seizures in selected, refractory patients with epilepsy on stable regimens of AEDs who require intermittent use of diazepam to control bouts of increased seizure activity. Aquestive is developing Libervant as an alternative to Diastat (diazepam rectal gel), the current standard of care rescue therapy for patients with refractory epilepsy which, as a rectal gel, is invasive, inconvenient, and difficult to administer. As a result, a large portion of the patient population does not receive adequate treatment or foregoes treatment altogether. The Company believes that Libervant will enable a larger share of these patients to receive more appropriate treatment by providing consistent therapeutic dosing in a non-invasive and innovative treatment form for epileptic seizures.

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 the FDA’s confirmation that modeling and simulations are a potential path forward to approval; the Company’s belief that the additional information requested by the FDA is available based on previously conducted studies and that no additional clinical studies will be required for resubmission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for Libervant; the timing of the NDA resubmission to the FDA; ability to address the concerns identified in the FDA’s Complete Response Letter dated September 25, 2020 regarding the NDA for Libervant and obtain FDA approval of Libervant for U.S. market access; therapeutic benefits of Libervant; 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 other FDA marketing exclusivity that blocks U.S. market access for Libervant; 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. 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^® 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

What is the status of the NDA for AQST's Libervant?

The FDA confirmed issues in the CRL can be addressed through modeling for the NDA resubmission of Libervant.

When will AQST resubmit the NDA for Libervant?

Aquestive plans to resubmit the NDA for Libervant after scheduling a follow-up meeting with the FDA.

What did the FDA recommend regarding AQST's Libervant?

The FDA recommended a follow-up meeting to review modeling results and safety information prior to NDA resubmission.

Will AQST need additional clinical studies for Libervant's NDA?

No additional clinical studies are expected to be required for the NDA resubmission for Libervant.

What is Libervant used for?

Libervant is used for the management of acute uncontrolled seizures in specific patients with epilepsy.