Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (AQST)
SIC breadcrumb: Manufacturing > Chemicals And Allied Products > SIC 2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1398733. Latest filing source: 0001398733-26-000018.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read AQST's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read AQST's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 44,545,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-04 |
| Net income | -83,784,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-04 |
| Assets | 160,425,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-04 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-04. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001398733.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 67,430,000 | 52,609,000 | 45,849,000 | 50,832,000 | 47,680,000 | 50,583,000 | 57,561,000 | 44,545,000 | ||
| Net income | -8,943,000 | -61,376,000 | -66,246,000 | -55,783,000 | -70,539,000 | -54,410,000 | -7,870,000 | -44,137,000 | -83,784,000 | |
| Operating income | -113,000 | -48,934,000 | -52,668,000 | -42,893,000 | -34,679,000 | -42,066,000 | -15,102,000 | -30,771,000 | -71,051,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | -1.66 | -1.85 | -1.12 | -0.13 | -0.51 | -0.78 | ||||
| Operating cash flow | 5,824,000 | -12,991,000 | -60,210,000 | -45,459,000 | -32,979,000 | -9,819,000 | -6,380,000 | -35,759,000 | -52,432,000 | |
| Capital expenditures | 2,068,000 | 1,824,000 | 663,000 | 517,000 | 913,000 | 1,024,000 | 995,000 | 159,000 | 562,000 | |
| Assets | 43,116,000 | 86,851,000 | 78,479,000 | 62,884,000 | 61,993,000 | 57,070,000 | 57,418,000 | 101,424,000 | 160,425,000 | |
| Liabilities | 69,611,000 | 76,771,000 | 84,601,000 | 111,381,000 | 144,127,000 | 175,624,000 | 163,905,000 | 161,580,000 | 194,087,000 | |
| Stockholders' equity | -57,197,000 | -26,495,000 | 10,080,000 | -6,122,000 | -48,497,000 | -82,134,000 | -118,554,000 | -106,487,000 | -60,156,000 | -33,662,000 |
| Free cash flow | 3,756,000 | -14,815,000 | -60,873,000 | -45,976,000 | -33,892,000 | -10,843,000 | -7,375,000 | -35,918,000 | -52,994,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -91.02% | -125.92% | -121.67% | -138.77% | -114.11% | -15.56% | -76.68% | |||
| Operating margin | -72.57% | -100.11% | -93.55% | -68.22% | -88.23% | -29.86% | -53.46% | |||
| Return on assets | -20.74% | -70.67% | -84.41% | -88.71% | -113.79% | -95.34% | -13.71% | -43.52% | -52.23% | |
| Current ratio | 1.83 | 2.25 | 3.68 | 2.11 | 2.15 | 1.01 | 2.24 | 4.68 | 3.14 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001398733-26-000018; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001398733-26-000018; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001398733-26-000018; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001398733-26-000018; filed 2026-03-04. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-13. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001398733.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.36 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.23 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.11 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-03-31 | 8,068,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 13,241,000 | -0.10 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-06-30 | -5,792,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 13,002,000 | -0.03 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 13,206,000 | -8,111,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 12,053,000 | -12,828,000 | -0.17 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-03-31 | -12,828,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 20,099,000 | -0.03 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-06-30 | -2,745,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 13,542,000 | -0.13 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 11,867,000 | -17,055,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 8,720,000 | -22,930,000 | -0.24 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-31 | -22,930,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 10,003,000 | -0.14 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-06-30 | -13,548,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 12,807,000 | -0.14 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 13,015,000 | -31,860,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 14,446,000 | -8,057,000 | -0.07 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001398733-26-000030; filed 2026-05-13. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001398733-26-000030; filed 2026-05-13. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001398733-26-000030; filed 2026-05-13. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001398733-26-000030.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read this section in conjunction with our condensed interim financial statements and related notes included in Part I Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our audited financial statements and related notes thereto and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 included in our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K. All dollar amounts are stated in thousands except for share data.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and certain other communications made by us include 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 advancement and related timing of our product candidate Anaphylm™ (dibutepinephrine) sublingual film through clinical development and approval by the FDA, including our ability to address the concerns raised by the FDA in the Complete Response Letter (CRL) dated January 30, 2026 and Type A meeting with the FDA on March 26, 2026, and for the FDA to approve Anaphylm or whether the FDA may request further information from us, disagree with our protocols, study designs, or findings or otherwise undertake a lengthy review of our resubmission, and challenges regarding the following commercial launch of Anaphylm, if approved by the FDA; the advancement and related timing of potential international regulatory filings and marketing authorization of Anaphylm outside of the U.S.; Anaphylm’s potential to be the first and only oral administration of epinephrine and to be accepted as an alternative to existing standards of care, if approved by the FDA; the expected growth of the U.S. epinephrine market including in value and the opportunity such growth presents to the Company should Anaphylm be approved by the FDA; the advancement, growth and related timing of our AdrenaVerse™ pipeline epinephrine prodrug product candidates, including AQST-108 (epinephrine) topical gel, through clinical development and FDA regulatory approval process, including design and timing of clinical studies including those necessary to support the targeted indication of alopecia areata for AQST-108 or other possible indications; the potential sale or outlicensing of Anaphylm, Libervant or other product candidates; the approval for U.S. market access of Libervant and overcoming the orphan drug market exclusivity of an FDA approved nasal spray product of another company extending to January 2027; the commercial opportunity of Libervant, Anaphylm, AQST-108 and our other product candidates, should these product candidates be approved by the FDA; the focus on continuing to manufacture Suboxone®, Emylif®, Sympazan®, Ondif® and other licensed products; the potential benefits our products and product candidates could bring to patients; the achievement of clinical and commercial milestones, product orders and fulfillment; our cash requirements, cash funding and cash burn; short-term and longer term liquidity and the ability to fund our business operations; our growth and future financial and operating results and financial position, including with respect to our 2026 financial outlook; and business strategies, market opportunities, and other statements that are not historical facts.
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 our development work, including any delays or changes to the timing, cost and success of our product development activities and clinical trials and plans, including those relating to Anaphylm, AQST-108, and our other product candidates; risk of delays in advancement of the regulatory approval process through the FDA of our product candidates, including the filing of the respective NDAs, for Anaphylm, AQST-108, Libervant and other product candidates, or failure to receive FDA approval at all of any of these product candidates; risk of FDA inspections of manufacturing and clinical study sites for any of our product candidates, including Anaphylm; risk of government shutdowns or actions to reduce government workforces on the ability of the FDA to act on the approval of our product candidates, including Anaphylm and Libervant; risk of the Company’s ability to generate sufficient clinical and other human factor data, including with respect to our submission of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) comparability data for FDA approval of Anaphylm; risks associated with our ability to address the FDA’s comments on and identified deficiencies in our NDA for Anaphylm, including the concerns raised by the FDA in the CRL and Type A Meeting; risks associated with the success of any competing products, including generics; risks and uncertainties inherent in commercializing a new product (including technology risks, financial risks, market risks and implementation risks and regulatory limitations); risk of development of a sales and marketing capability for commercialization of our product candidates, including Anaphylm, if approved by the FDA; risks associated with the potential impact on the value of the Company of the sale or outlicensing of our product and product candidates, including Libervant and Anaphylm and other product candidates; risk of insufficient capital and cash resources, including insufficient access to available debt and equity financing, including under our ATM facility and the RTW Funding Agreement, and revenues from operations, to satisfy all of our short-term and longer-term liquidity and cash requirements to support our growth strategy, and other cash needs, at the times and in the amounts needed, and to fund future clinical development and commercial activities for our product candidates, including Anaphylm, AQST-108 and Libervant should these product candidates be approved by the FDA; risk of the impact of our obligations under the Company's Purchase Agreement and the Royalty Rights Agreement with third parties, each of which
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Table of Contents
agreements requires the Company to make payments to each counterparty thereof, respectively, of a portion of our revenues, on our ability to contribute to the funding of our operations and the payment of interest on our debt; risk that our manufacturing capabilities will be insufficient to support demand of our product candidates in the U.S. and abroad, including Anaphylm, if such product candidates should be approved by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and our licensed products in the U.S. and abroad; risk of eroding market share for Suboxone® as a sunsetting product, which accounts for a substantial part of our current operating revenue; risk of default of our debt instruments; risks related to the outsourcing of certain sales, marketing and other operational and staff functions to third parties; risk of the rate and degree of market acceptance in the U.S. and abroad of Anaphylm, AQST-108, Libervant and our other product candidates, should these product candidates be approved by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and for our licensed products in the U.S. and abroad; risk associated with the size and growth of our product markets; risk associated with our 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 our products; risk that our patent applications for our product candidates, including for Anaphylm, will not be timely issued, or issued at all, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) or, if issued, will be sufficient to provide long-term commercial success of these product candidates; risk of unexpected patent developments; risk of legislation and regulatory actions and changes in laws or regulations affecting our business, including relating to our products and product candidates and product pricing, reimbursement or access therefor; risk of loss of significant customers; risks related to claims and legal proceedings against us including patent infringement, securities, business torts, investigative, product safety or efficacy and antitrust litigation matters; risk of product recalls and withdrawals; risks related to any disruptions in our information technology networks and systems, including the impact of cybersecurity attacks; risk of increased cybersecurity attacks and data accessibility disruptions due to remote working arrangements; risk of adverse developments affecting the financial services industry; risks related to inflation and changing interest rates; risks related to the impact of pandemic diseases on our business; risks and uncertainties related to general economic, political (including the Ukraine, Israel and Iran wars and other acts of war and terrorism), business, industry, regulatory, financial and market conditions and other unusual items; risks related to uncertainty about presidential administration initiatives and their impact on our business, including imposition of government tariffs and other trade restrictions; and other uncertainties affecting the Company including those described in the "Risk Factors" section and in other sections included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include the matters discussed and referenced in the risk factors of the Company’s 2025 Annual Report on Form 10‑K and our other Quarterly Reports on Form 10‑Q and in our Current Reports on Form 8-K and our other filings with the SEC. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as 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. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements, or outlook or guidance after the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Readers should not rely on the forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as representing our views as of any date after the date of the filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10‑Q.
Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to “Aquestive,” the "Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc.
Overview
Aquestive is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to bring meaningful improvement to patients' lives through innovative science and delivery technologies. The worldwide leader in delivering trusted, quality medications on oral film, Aquestive operates as both a developer of its own proprietary products and a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for licensees, with its headquarters in New Jersey and U.S.-based manufacturing facilities in Indiana. The Company is the exclusive manufacturer of four commercialized products marketed by its licensees across six continents using proprietary, best-in-class technologies like PharmFilm®. A
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part 1 Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. All dollar amounts are stated in thousands.
Overview
Aquestive is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to bring meaningful improvement to patients' lives through innovative science and delivery technologies. We are developing pharmaceutical products to deliver complex molecules through administrations that are alternatives to invasive and inconvenient standard of care therapies. We are advancing our late stage non-device based epinephrine prodrug product candidate for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, under the Anaphylm™ trade name, and our Adrenaverse™ epinephrine prodrug pipeline platform. We have four licensed commercialized products which are marketed by our licensees in the U.S. and around the world. We are the exclusive manufacturer of these licensed products. Aquestive also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm®, and has proven drug development and commercialization capabilities. Our production facilities are located in Portage, Indiana, and our corporate headquarters and primary research laboratory facilities are based in Warren, New Jersey.
We manufacture licensed products at our facilities and anticipate that our current manufacturing capacity is sufficient for commercial quantities of our licensed products and product candidates currently in development. Our facilities have been inspected by the FDA, TGA, and DEA, and are subject to inspection by all applicable health agencies, including ANVISA and EMA. Not all collaborative or licensed products of the Company that may be commercially launched in the future will necessarily be manufactured by us.
Financial Operations Overview
Revenues
Our revenues to date have been earned from our manufactured products made to order for licensees, as well as revenue from our self-developed, self-commercialized proprietary product, Libervant for ARS patients between two and five years of age which lost U.S. market access as a result of a court case challenging FDA's approval of Libervant in April 2025. Revenues are also earned from our product development services provided under contracts with customers, and from the licensing of our intellectual property. We generate revenues in four primary categories: manufacture and supply revenue, license and royalty revenue, co-development and research fees, and proprietary product revenue, net.
Manufacture and Supply Revenue
We manufacture based on receipt of purchase orders from our licensees, and our licensees have an obligation to accept these orders once quality assurance validates the quality of the manufactured product with agreed upon technical specifications. In most cases, our licensees are responsible for all other aspects of commercialization of these products, and we have no role, either direct or indirect, in our customers’ commercialization activities, including those related to marketing, pricing, sales, payor access and regulatory operations.
We expect future manufacture and supply revenue from licensed products to be based on volume demand for existing licensed products, and for manufacturing and supply rights under license and supply agreements for existing or new agreements for successful product development collaborations.
License and Royalty Revenue
We realize revenue from licenses of our intellectual property. For licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by us, our licensee has acquired the right to use the licensed intellectual property for self-development of their product candidate, for manufacturing, commercialization or other specified purposes, upon the effective transfer of those rights, and related revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints, if any. For licenses that may provide substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by us, such as development services or the manufacture of specific products, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. We also earn royalties based on our licensees’ sales of products that use our intellectual property that are marketed and sold in the countries where we have patented technology rights.
Co-development and Research Fees
Co-development and research fees are earned through performance of specific tasks, activities or completion of stages of development defined within a contractual development or feasibility study agreement with a customer. The nature of these
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performance obligations, broadly referred to as milestones or deliverables, are usually dependent on the scope and structure of the project as contracted, as well as the complexity of the product and the specific regulatory approval path necessary for that product. Accordingly, the duration of our R&D projects may range from several months to approximately three years. Although each contractual arrangement is unique, common milestones contained in these arrangements include those for the performance of efficacy and other tests, reports of findings, formulation of initial prototypes, production of stability clinical and/or scale-up batches, and stability testing of those batches. Additional milestones may be established and linked to clinical results of the product submission and/or approval of the product by the FDA and the commercial launch of the product.
Proprietary product revenue, net
This net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Libervant for ARS patients between two to five years of age while Libervant had U.S. market access through April 2025, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Once receivables are collected, allowances are reclassified and treated as accrued liabilities. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to incurred amounts are eliminated, estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted as needed on no less than a quarterly basis.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are primarily the result of the following activities: generation of manufacture and supply revenues; development of our pipeline of proprietary product candidates; and selling, general and administrative expenses, including pre-launch and post-launch commercialization efforts, intellectual property procurement, protection, prosecution and litigation expenses, corporate management functions, medical and clinical affairs administration; public company costs, share-based compensation expenses and interest on our corporate borrowings. We primarily record our costs and expenses in the following categories:
Manufacture and Supply Costs and Expenses
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses are primarily incurred from the manufacture of our commercialized licensed pharmaceutical products, including raw materials, direct labor and overhead costs principally in our Portage, Indiana facilities. Our material costs include the costs of raw materials used in the production of our proprietary dissolving film and primary packaging materials. Direct labor costs consist of payroll costs (including taxes and benefits) of employees engaged in production activities. Overhead costs principally consist of indirect payroll, facilities rent, utilities and depreciation for leasehold improvements and production machinery and equipment. These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the costs of materials, purchased at market pricing, and the amount of direct labor required to produce a product, along with the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on production volume.
Our manufacture and supply costs and expenses are impacted by our customers’ supply requirements. Costs of production reflect the costs of raw materials that are purchased at market prices and production efficiency (measured by the cost of a salable unit). These costs can increase or decrease based on the amount of direct labor and materials required to produce a product and the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on the levels of production.
In addition to our proprietary products coming online, we may add licensee products which may need additional resources to manufacture. If such growth should occur for higher volume product opportunities such as Suboxone and Ondif, we would incur increased costs associated with hiring additional personnel to support the increased manufacturing and supply costs arising from higher manufactured volumes from proprietary and licensed products.
Research and Development Expenses
Since our inception, we have focused significant resources on our R&D activities. R&D expenses primarily consist of:
•employee-related expenses, including compensation, benefits, share-based compensation and travel expense;
•external R&D expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as CROs, investigational sites and consultants;
•the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical study materials; and
•costs associated with preclinical and clinical activities and regulatory operations.
We expect our R&D expenses to continue to be significant over the next several years as we continue to develop existing product candidates such as Anaphylm, AQST-108, and others, and as we identify and develop or acquire additional
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product candidates and technologies. We may hire or engage additional skilled colleagues or third parties to perform these activities, conduct clinical trials and ultimately seek regulatory approvals for any product candidate that successfully completes those clinical trials.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, General and Administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, share-based compensation, other related costs for executive, finance, and operational personnel. Other costs include facility and related costs not otherwise included in R&D expenses such as: professional fees for patent-related expenses and for other legal expenses, legal expenditures, regulatory fees, consulting, tax and accounting services, insurance, market research, advisory board and key opinion leaders, depreciation, and general corporate expenses, inclusive of IT systems related costs. In addition, these expenses also include warehousing, distribution, selling and business development, and other costs.
Our general and administrative costs include costs related to accounting, audit, legal, regulatory, and tax-related services required to maintain compliance with exchange listing and SEC regulations, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs. We continue to incur significant costs in seeking to protect our intellectual property rights, including significant litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties’ at-risk launch of generic products.
We will continue to manage business costs to prepare for a potential future decline in Suboxone revenue and other external factors affecting our business. We continue to focus on our core business as well as regulatory and pre-commercial launch activities for Anaphylm.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest costs on the outstanding balances of our 13.5% Notes at a fixed rate of 13.5%, payable quarterly, and amortization of issuance costs and debt discounts. The issuance of our 13.5% Notes is discussed Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt. In addition, see Liquidity and Capital Resources below for further detail on our 13.5% Notes.
Interest Expense related to Royalty Obligations
In connection with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, we entered into the Royalty Rights Agreements with each of the Note Holders granting the Note Holders a tiered royalty between 1.0% and 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Anaphylm (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for a period of eight years from the first sale of Anaphylm on a global basis. The Note Holders are also entitled to a tiered royalty between 1.0% to 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Libervant until the earlier of (1) the first sale of Anaphylm and (2) eight years from the first sale of Libervant. These royalty agreements are classified as debt, and the value of the $45,000 13.5% Notes has been allocated between debt and the Royalty Obligations based on their relative fair market values. The excess of future estimated royalty payments over the allocated fair value is recognized as a discount related to the Royalty Right Agreements and is amortized as interest expense using the effective interest method. The 13.5% Notes are discussed in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt.
Interest Expense related to Sale of Future Revenue
On November 3, 2020, we entered into the Monetization Agreement with Marathon. Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold to Marathon all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion’s apomorphine product, KYNMOBI, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, which received approval from the FDA on May 21, 2020. In exchange for the sale of these rights, we received an upfront payment from Marathon of $40,000 and an additional payment of $10,000 through the achievement of the first milestone. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2025 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. In June 2023, Sunovion announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn KYNMOBI from the U.S. and Canadian markets, therefore, we likely will not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization agreement. We discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue under the Monetization agreement in the fourth quarter of 2022.
During the second quarter of 2020, under the Sunovion License Agreement, we recognized $8,000 of royalty revenue and corresponding royalty receivable, related to the $1,000 annual minimum guaranteed royalty that is due in each of the subsequent eight years. In connection with the Monetization Agreement, we performed an assessment under ASC 860, Transfer and Servicing to determine whether the existing receivable was transferred to Marathon and concluded that the receivable was not transferred. See Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17, Sale of Future Revenue, and Note 13, Other-Non-Current Assets for further detail.
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Interest Income and other income, net
Interest income and other income, net consists of earnings derived from an interest-bearing accounts, investments in money market Treasury mutual funds, Treasury bills and other miscellaneous income and expense items. These interest-bearing accounts have no minimum amounts to be maintained in the accounts for which interest and dividends are earned.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
The following discussion of our results of operations explains the material drivers of these results of operations.
Revenues
The following table sets forth our revenue data for the periods indicated.
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply revenue | $ | 40,225 | $ | 39,976 | $ | 249 | 1 | % | |||||||
| License and royalty revenue | 3,519 | 15,345 | (11,826) | (77 | %) | ||||||||||
| Co-development and research fees | 1,279 | 1,925 | (646) | (34 | %) | ||||||||||
| Proprietary product revenue, net | (478) | 315 | (793) | N/M | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 44,545 | $ | 57,561 | $ | (13,016) | (23 | %) |
Revenues decreased 23% or $13,016 for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. The decrease was primarily due to decreases in license and royalty revenue, proprietary product revenue, net, and co-development and research fees.
Manufacture and supply revenue increased 1% or $249 for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This increase was primarily due to a $3,795 increase in Ondif revenues, partially offset by a $3,482 decrease in Suboxone revenues.
License and royalty revenue decreased 77% or $11,826 for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This decrease was primarily due to the one-time recognition of deferred revenues of $11,544 due to the termination of licensing and supply agreements in the prior year.
Co-development and research fees decreased 34% or $646 for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The decrease was driven by the timing of the achievement of research and co-development performance obligations which are expected to fluctuate among reporting periods.
Proprietary product revenue, net decreased by $793 for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This decrease was primarily due to the change in the estimated returns allowance provision due to the withdrawal of Libervant from the market as U.S. market access ended in April 2025.
Expenses, Interest Income and Other Income:
The following table sets forth our expenses and income for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply | $ | 18,555 | $ | 17,872 | $ | 683 | 4 | % | |||||||
| Research and development | 17,192 | 20,280 | (3,088) | (15 | %) | ||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 79,849 | 50,180 | 29,669 | 59 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | 11,120 | 11,122 | (2) | — | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense related to royalty obligations | 5,737 | 5,459 | 278 | 5 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue | 243 | 236 | 7 | 3 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest income and other income, net | (4,367) | (3,437) | (930) | 27 | % |
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Manufacture and supply costs and expenses increased 4%, or $683, for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The increase in manufacture and supply costs was due to changes in product mix and inventory write downs.
R&D expenses decreased 15%, or $3,088, for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The decrease in R&D expenses is primarily due to decreases in clinical trial costs associated with the continued advancement of the Anaphylm program, partially offset by increases in product research expenses as well as R&D personnel costs and share-based compensation. The tables below provide a breakdown of the major costs included in total R&D expenses and project costs by type of expense for each of the main clinical development projects in which we are engaged for each period presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 3,476 | $ | 8,837 | $ | (5,361) | (61 | %) | |||||||
| Development and Manufacturing | 834 | 303 | 531 | 175 | % | ||||||||||
| Product Research Expenses | 2,002 | 1,119 | 883 | 79 | % | ||||||||||
| Total Project Costs | 6,312 | 10,259 | (3,947) | (38 | %) | ||||||||||
| Preclinical | 665 | 987 | (322) | (33 | %) | ||||||||||
| R&D personnel costs | 6,775 | 6,509 | 266 | 4 | % | ||||||||||
| Consulting and Outside Services | 416 | 331 | 85 | 26 | % | ||||||||||
| Share Based Compensation | 1,875 | 1,215 | 660 | 54 | % | ||||||||||
| Depreciation/Amortization | 61 | 70 | (9) | (13 | %) | ||||||||||
| All Other R&D | 1,088 | 909 | 179 | 20 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 17,192 | $ | 20,280 | $ | (3,088) | (15 | %) |
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | % inc / dec | Anaphylm | % inc / dec | AQST-108 | % inc / dec | Libervant | % inc / dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 3,476 | $ | 8,837 | (61%) | $ | 3,040 | $ | 8,231 | (63)% | $ | 436 | $ | 588 | (26)% | $ | — | $ | 18 | N/M | |||||||||||||
| Development and Manufacturing | 834 | 303 | 175% | 773 | 310 | 149% | 61 | 10 | 510% | — | (17) | N/M | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Product Research Expenses | 2,002 | 1,119 | 79% | 2,002 | 930 | 115% | — | 188 | N/M | — | 1 | N/M | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Project Costs | $ | 6,312 | $ | 10,259 | (38%) | $ | 5,815 | $ | 9,471 | (39%) | $ | 497 | $ | 786 | (37)% | $ | — | $ | 2 | N/M |
Total project expenses for Anaphylm decreased 39%, or $3,656, for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Anaphylm clinical trial expenses decreased $5,191 over the comparable period in 2024, partially offset by increases in Anaphylm product research expenses of $1,072 due to the continued advancement of the Anaphylm program. Total project expenses for AQST-108 decreased $289 over the comparable period in 2024 due to a credit received from a vendor and due to completion of feasibility work for AQST-108 performed in the prior year period.
R&D personnel costs and share-based compensation increased by $266, or 4% and $660, or 54%, respectively, primarily due to severance and acceleration of compensation expense, partially offset by forfeitures.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 59%, or $29,669, for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024. The increase primarily represents higher legal-related expenses of approximately $14,300, higher commercial spending of approximately $9,600 in preparation for the launch of Anaphylm, Anaphylm PDUFA fee of $4,310, higher personnel expenses of approximately $1,900, higher regulatory expenses related to Anaphylm of approximately $1,000, and higher share-based compensation expenses of approximately $900, partially offset by lower severance expenses of approximately $2,800 including the acceleration of share-based compensation, and lower insurance expenses of approximately $600.
Interest expense was $11,120 and $11,122 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. These amounts represent interest incurred on the outstanding 13.5% Notes, and amortization of the debt discount and capitalized debt issuance costs.
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Interest expense related to amortization of the discount on the royalty obligations was $5,737 and $5,459 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. These amounts are due to the accounting associated with the royalty obligations as part of the 13.5% Notes issuance.
Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue was $243 and $236 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and represents amortization of the issuance costs. These amounts are due to the accounting associated with the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI royalties sold to Marathon on November 3, 2020 and do not represent or imply a monetary obligation or cash output at any time during the life of the transaction. In June 2023, Sunovion announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn KYNMOBI from the U.S. and Canadian markets. Therefore, the Company likely will not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization agreement. As a result, we discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022. See Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17, Sale of Future Revenue for details.
Interest income and other income, net was $4,367 and $3,437 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The increase primarily represents a ERTC credit received in April 2025. In June 2024, the Company recorded a gain of $1,500 on the termination of a license and supply agreement, which was partially offset by the adjustment of $1,200 to the remaining balance of the intangible asset due to the termination of the agreement.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We had $121,169 in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2025. While our ability to execute our business objectives and achieve profitability over the longer term cannot be assured, our on-going business, existing cash and cash equivalents, expense management activities, potential asset sales or product outlicensing as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility, provide near term liquidity for us to fund our operating needs for at least the next twelve months as we continue to execute our business strategy.
We established our first ATM facility in September 2019, and since inception to December 31, 2025, we have sold 27,315,145 shares of Common Stock which has generated net cash proceeds of approximately $81,753, net of commissions and other transactions costs of $3,890. On April 3, 2024, we filed a new shelf registration statement on Form S-3 to register the offer and sale of up to $250,000 worth of shares of Common Stock ("Registration Statement No. 333-278498" or the "2024 Registration Statement"), that was declared effective by the SEC on April 23, 2024. Included as part of the 2024 Registration Statement was a $100,000 ATM facility pursuant to the Amended Equity Distribution Agreement with Piper Sandler & Co.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold 7,457,627 shares under the ATM facility which provided net proceeds of approximately $21,229 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $771. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold 4,557,220 shares under the ATM facility which provided net proceeds of approximately $11,821 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $564. The remaining authorized balance of the ATM facility was $78,000 as of December 31, 2025.
On June 6, 2022, we entered into the Securities Purchase Agreements with certain purchasers. The Securities Purchase Agreements provided for the sale and issuance by us of an aggregate of: (i) 4,850,000 shares of Common Stock, (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 4,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (iii) Common Stock Warrants to purchase up to 8,850,000 shares of Common Stock. The pre-funded warrants were fully exercised in 2022. In June 2023, 3,689,452 Common Stock warrants issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements were exercised with proceeds of approximately $3,542.
On August 2023, we entered into the Letter Agreement with the Exercising Holder of 5,000,000 of the remaining Common Stock Warrants. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, the Exercising Holder and Aquestive agreed that the Exercising Holder would exercise all of its Existing Warrants at the then current exercise price of the Existing Warrants. The Exercising Holder subsequently exercised the Existing Warrants, with Aquestive receiving gross proceeds of $4,800. We also issued to the Exercising Holder New Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,750,000 shares of Common Stock. The New Warrants are exercisable after February 2, 2024, expire on February 2, 2029 and are exercisable only for cash, unless the shares of Common Stock underlying the New Warrants are not registered in accordance with the terms of the Letter Agreement, in which case the New Warrants may also be exercised by means of a "cashless exercise". The New Warrants have an exercise price of $2.60 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2025, 550,000 shares were issued upon the exercise of warrants with the Company receiving proceeds of $1,430 as it relates to the Warrants issued under Securities Purchase Agreements.
On November 1, 2023, we issued $45,000 aggregate principal amount of its 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. A portion of the net proceeds from that Offering was used to redeem all of the remaining outstanding 12.5% Notes and to pay expenses relating to that Offering, with the balance of the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. Interest on the 13.5% Notes accrues at a rate of 13.5% per annum and is payable quarterly in arrears on March 30, June 30, September 30 and December 30 of each year commencing on December 30, 2023. The 13.5% Notes are interest-only until June 30, 2026, whereupon on such date and each payment date thereafter we will also pay an installment of principal of the 13.5% Notes
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pursuant to a fixed amortization schedule, along with a portion of an Exit Fee determined as of the applicable date of prepayment, payment, acceleration, repurchase or redemption, as the case may be.
On March 22, 2024, we completed an underwritten public offering of 16,666,667 shares of our common stock at the public offering price of $4.50 per share. In addition, pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters' option, on April 22, 2024, we sold an additional 559,801 shares of Common Stock. Net proceeds from the 2024 Underwritten Public Offering, including the exercise of underwriters' option were $72,868, after deducting underwriting discounts of $4,651. In addition to the underwriting discounts related to this offering, we incurred professional fees and other costs totaling $894.
On August 13, 2025, we entered into a purchase and sale agreement with funds managed by RTW Investments LP ("RTW" or "Purchaser"). Under the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, in exchange for the Purchaser's payment to the Company of a purchase price of $75,000, upon approval of Anaphylm by the FDA by a specified date, the refinancing of the Company’s existing 13.5% Notes and certain other customary conditions, the Company agreed to a sale of assigned interests to the Purchaser, including a right for the Purchaser to tiered revenue share payments ranging from 7.5% to 1.0% of net sales (as defined in the Purchase and Sale Agreement) (and 9.5% if net sales do not achieve specified levels in subsequent calendar year periods beginning in 2027) in the United States. Revenue share payments commence in the first fiscal quarter in which the first commercial sale of Anaphylm in the United States after the closing of the transaction. Revenue share payments will cease upon the Purchaser's receipt of $187,500 by December 31, 2035 or $225,000 thereafter. The Purchase and Sale Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict the Company’s ability to, among other things, incur indebtedness (which restrictions are eliminated after the achievement by the Purchaser of a specified return on its investment), and other provisions customary for transactions of this nature, in each case subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Purchase Agreement.
On March 3, 2026, we entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated August 13, 2025, with funds managed by RTW. The Amendment extends the Marketing Approval Deadline for Anaphylm from its original date to June 30, 2027. Concurrently, we entered into a Warrant Issuance Agreement with funds managed by RTW, pursuant to which we agreed to issue a warrant to such funds to purchase up to 375,000 shares of our Common Stock at an exercise price of $4.00 per share, expiring on March 3, 2029. On March 3, 2026, we also entered into a Share Purchase Commitment Agreement with certain RTW-affiliated funds, pursuant to which such funds committed to purchase, in the aggregate, not less than $5.0 million of Common Stock during the 90-day period following the effective date of the agreement, at prices determined in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act.
On August 14, 2025, we completed an underwritten public offering of 21,250,000 shares of our common stock at the public offering price of $4.00 per share. Net proceeds from the 2025 Underwritten Public Offering were $79,900, after deducting underwriting discounts of $5,100. In addition to the underwriting discounts related to this offering, we incurred professional fees and other costs totaling $440.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Net cash used for operating activities | $ | (52,432) | $ | (35,759) | |||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (562) | (159) | |||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 102,617 | 83,592 | |||||
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 49,623 | $ | 47,674 |
Net Cash Used for Operating Activities
Net cash used for operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $16,673 compared to the same period in 2024. The increase in cash used for operating activities was primarily related to the increases in net loss by $39,647, in trade and other receivables by $11,466, and in inventories by $851, partially offset by increases in liabilities by $21,265 largely due to obligations under a confidential legal settlement, changes in deferred revenue of $12,272, which were mostly attributed to the recognition of deferred revenues due to the termination of license and supply agreements during the year ended December 31, 2024, and decreases in prepaid expenses and other assets by $921.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $403 compared to the same period in 2024. The use of cash was related to capital expenditures.
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Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $19,025 compared to the same period in 2024. The increase was primarily related to net proceeds of $79,460 from the 2025 Underwritten Public Offering as compared to net proceeds of $71,974 from the 2024 Underwritten Public Offering, higher ATM proceeds by $9,411 due to higher volumes and Common Stock prices as compared to the prior year, higher net proceeds from exercise of warrants by $1,265, and higher net proceeds from exercise of options by $538.
Funding Requirements
Our on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility, and potential asset sales or product outlicensing potentially provide near term funding opportunities for Aquestive, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources”. On November 1, 2023, we issued $45,000 in aggregate principal amount of the 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. Principal payments of the 13.5% Notes will commence in June 2026, unless the 13.5% Notes are refinanced or amended.
We have used and intend to continue to use our existing cash and cash equivalents, primarily to advance the development and commercialization of our product pipeline and for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We can provide no assurance that any sources of funding, either individually or in combination, will be available on reasonable terms, if at all, or sufficient to fund our business objectives. In addition, we may be required to utilize available financial resources sooner than expected. We have based our expectation on assumptions that could change or prove to be inaccurate, due to unrelated factors including factors arising in the capital markets, asset monetization markets, regulatory approval process, and regulatory oversight and other factors. Key factors and assumptions inherent in our planned continued operations and anticipated growth include, without limitation, those related to the following:
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for our manufactured products, including effects of generics and other competitive pressures as currently envisioned;
•approval of Anaphylm by the FDA;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for provided co-development and feasibility services, as well as regulatory support services for recently licensed products;
•our obligation to commence the 13.5% Notes principal payments in June 2026, unless they are refinanced or amended;
•access to debt or equity markets if, and at the time, needed for any necessary future funding, including our ability to access funding through our ATM facility, should we choose to access this facility;
•continuing review and appropriate adjustment of our cost structure consistent with our anticipated revenues and funding;
•continued growth and market penetration of Sympazan, including anticipated patient and physician acceptance and our licensee’s ability to obtain adequate reimbursement and payment support from government agencies and other private medical insurers;
•infrastructure and administrative costs at expected levels to support operations as an FDA and highly regulated public company;
•a manageable level of costs for ongoing efforts to protect our intellectual property rights and litigation matters in which we are involved;
•continued compliance with all covenants under our 13.5% Notes, including our ability to comply with our debt service obligations as required thereunder; and
•absence of significant unforeseen cash requirements.
We expect to continue to manage business costs to appropriately reflect the anticipated general decline in Suboxone revenue, and other external resources or factors affecting our business including, if available, future equity financing, other future access to the capital markets or other potential available sources of liquidity. In doing so, we plan to continue to focus on the core drivers of value for our stockholders, including, more importantly, continued investments in our ongoing product development activities in support of Anaphylm and AQST-108. Until profitability is achieved, if at all, additional capital and/or other financing or funding will be required, which could be material, to develop and commercialize our product pipeline, including AQST-108, and to fund additional development and commercial activities that are required by the FDA for Anaphylm under the CRL issued to the Company on January 30, 2026, and to meet our other cash requirements, including debt
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service, specifically our 13.5% Notes. Even as such, we expect to incur losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future and, therefore, we expect to be dependent upon external financing and funding to achieve our operating plan.
The sufficiency of our short-term and longer-term liquidity is directly impacted by our level of operating revenues and our ability to achieve our operating plan for revenues, regulatory approval in the time period planned for our product candidates and licensed rights within planned timeframes, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in any transaction. Our operating revenues have fluctuated in the past and can be expected to fluctuate in the future. We expect to incur significant operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future, and we have a significant level of debt with principal payments starting in June 2026 through the debt maturity date, substantial ongoing interest payments, and royalty obligation payments projected to be made through 2035, which are further discussed in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt. A substantial portion of our current and past revenues has been dependent upon our licensing, manufacturing and sales with one customer, Indivior, which is expected to continue, and it could take significantly longer than planned to achieve anticipated levels of cash flows to help fund our operations and cash needs.
We are currently engaging in plans to commercialize Anaphylm through our own sales force in the United States, should Anaphylm be approved by the FDA. We will need to raise significant funding to support the continued commercialization of Anaphylm over the long-term, in addition to the funds we may receive under the Purchase Agreement and the funds we received in the 2025 Underwritten Public Offering. To the extent such additional financing through debt or debt-like instruments is required, we may have increased repayment obligations and potential limits on our flexibility to raise additional debt. To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuance of equity securities, our stockholders would experience further dilution, and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences (if and to the extent permitted under the Indenture Agreement) that would adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. Our ability to secure additional equity financing could be significantly impacted by numerous factors including our operating performance and prospects, positive or negative developments in the regulatory approval process for our product candidates, our existing level of debt which is secured by substantially all of our assets under the Indenture Agreement, and general financial market conditions, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to be successful in raising capital or that any such needed financing will be available on favorable or acceptable terms, if at all.
If adequate funds are not available for our short-term or longer-term liquidity needs and cash requirements as and when needed, we would be required to engage in expense management activities such as reducing staff, delaying, significantly scaling back, or even discontinuing some or all of our current or planned launch activities, R&D programs and clinical and other product development activities, and otherwise significantly reducing our other spending and adjusting our operating plan, and we would need to seek to take other steps intended to improve our liquidity. We also may seek outlicensing opportunities for our proprietary products and product candidate programs that we may self-commercialize, including for Libervant and Anaphylm, or explore other potential liquidity options or strategic opportunities. Such strategic opportunities could include asset sales, outlicensing or other monetization opportunities of our proprietary products and product candidates, including Libervant and Anaphylm, although we cannot assure that any of these actions or opportunities would be available or available on acceptable terms. While an outlicensing of our proprietary products and product candidates, if approved by the FDA, could limit our exposure to the costs of commercialization of the product and provide a potential source of royalty and milestone revenues, the benefit from the potential future value that could result from our independent commercialization of these products and product candidates, assuming a successful launch of our proprietary products and product candidates, if approved by the FDA, would likely be limited. In addition, in the event of any such asset sales or outlicensing transactions, the future growth of the Company would be dependent on continued successful development of our early stage product candidates and/or asset acquisitions or other strategic transactions for the Company. There is no assurance that any such outlicensing or other strategic opportunities will be available or available on reasonable terms.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We have entered into various contractual agreements under which we have long term obligations. For more information regarding our commitments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 23, Contingencies.
For more information regarding our future lease payments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 11, Right-of-Use Assets and Lease Obligations for our minimum lease payments schedule. The expected timing of our leases may be different in future years, depending on our decision to extend terms of leases entered in proceeding years and/or enter into new leases.
For more information on our obligations related to the 13.5% Notes, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
We have based our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations on our Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in the U.S. The preparation of the Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience when available and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While significant accounting policies are more fully described in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, included in this filing, we believe that the following accounting policies are those that are most critical to the significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition
License and Royalty Revenue – license revenues are determined based on an assessment of whether the license is distinct from any other performance obligations that may be included in the underlying licensing arrangement. If the customer is able to benefit from the license without provision of any other performance obligations by the Company and the license is thereby viewed as a distinct or functional license, the Company then determines whether the customer has acquired a right to use the license or a right to access the license. For functional licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by the Company, the customer is viewed as acquiring the right to use the license as, and when, transferred and revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints. For symbolic licenses providing substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by the Company, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. Such other obligations provided by the Company generally include manufactured products, additional development services or other deliverables that are contracted to be provided during the license term. Payments received in excess of amounts ratably or otherwise earned are deferred and recognized over the term of the license or as contingencies or other performance obligations are met.
Royalty revenue is estimated and recognized when sales under supply agreements with commercial licensees are recorded, absent any contractual constraints or collectability uncertainties. Royalties based on sales of licensed products have been recorded in this manner.
Revenue recognition arising from milestone payments is dependent upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the milestone payments. Milestone payments based on a non-sales metric such as a development-based milestone (i.e., an NDA filing or obtaining regulatory approval) represent variable consideration and are included in the transaction price subject to any constraints. If the milestone payments relate to future development, the timing of recognition depends upon historical experience and the significance a third party has on the outcome. For milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of a sales threshold, the revenue from the milestone payments is recognized at the later of when the actual sales occur or the performance obligation to which the sales relate to has been satisfied.
Co-development and Research Fees – co-development and research fees are earned through performance of specific tasks, activities or completion of stages of development defined within a contractual development or feasibility study agreement with a customer. The nature of these performance obligations, broadly referred to as milestones or deliverables, are usually dependent on the scope and structure of the project as contracted, as well as the complexity of the product and the specific regulatory approval path necessary for that product. Accordingly, the duration of the Company’s R&D projects may range from several months to approximately three years. Although each contractual arrangement is unique, common milestones included in these arrangements include those for the performance of efficacy and other tests, reports of findings, formulation of initial prototypes, production of stability clinical and/or scale-up batches, and stability testing of those batches. Additional milestones may be established and linked to clinical results of the product submission and/or approval of the product by the FDA and the commercial launch of the product.
Proprietary product revenue, net - this net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Libervant for patients between two to five years of age while Libervant had U.S. market access through April 2025, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Once receivables are collected, allowances are reclassified and treated as accrued liabilities. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to incurred amounts are eliminated,
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estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted on no less than a quarterly basis.
Royalty Obligations and Interest Expense
In connection with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, we entered into a Royalty Rights Agreement with each of the Note Holders granting the Note Holders a tiered royalty between 1.0% and 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Anaphylm (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for a period of eight years from the first sale of Anaphylm on a global basis. The note holders are also entitled to a tiered royalty between 1.0% to 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film until the earlier of (1) the first sale of Anaphylm and (2) eight years from the first sale of Libervant. The Royalty Rights Agreements are classified as debt, and the value of the $45,000 13.5% Notes has been allocated between debt and the royalty obligations based on their relative fair market values. The excess of future estimated royalty payments over the allocated fair value is recognized as a discount related to the Royalty Right Agreements and is amortized over the life of the Royalty Rights Agreements. Such amortization is reflected as interest expense related to royalty obligations in the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. The 13.5% Notes are discussed in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt.
Liability and interest expense related to sale of future revenue
We treated the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI as debt financing in accordance with ASC 470 Debt, amortized under the effective interest rate method over the estimated life of the related expected royalty stream. The liability related to the sale of future revenue has been initially recorded at its proceeds, net of deferred cost. The liability related to the sale of future revenue and the related interest expense are based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. We periodically assess the expected royalty payments using a combination of internal projections and forecasts from external resources. To the extent our future estimates of royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the timing of such payments is materially different than its previous estimates, we will prospectively adjust the related interest expense. Amortization of debt is reflected as interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. For further discussion of the sale of the future revenue, see Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17, Sale of Future Revenue.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying Notes to our Financial Statements for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
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MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001628280-25-010506.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part 1 Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. All dollar amounts are stated in thousands.
Overview
Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to bring meaningful improvement to patients' lives through innovative science and delivery technologies. We are developing pharmaceutical products to deliver complex molecules through administrations that are alternatives to invasive and inconvenient standard of care therapies. We have a proprietary commercial product, Libervant® (diazepam) Buccal Film for the acute treatment of intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity (i.e., seizure clusters, acute repetitive seizures) that are distinct from a patient’s usual seizure pattern in patients with epilepsy between two and five years of age, which was launched in April 2024. We are advancing a product pipeline for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, under the trade name "Anaphylm™", and our Adrenaverse™ epinephrine prodrug pipeline platform. We have five licensed commercialized products which are marketed by our licensees in the U.S. and around the world. We are the exclusive manufacturer of these licensed products. Aquestive also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm, and has proven drug development and commercialization capabilities. Our production facilities are located in Portage, Indiana, and our corporate headquarters and primary research laboratory facilities are based in Warren, New Jersey.
Financial Operations Overview
Revenues
We generate revenues in four primary categories: manufacture and supply revenue, license and royalty revenue, co-development and research fees, and proprietary product revenue, net.
Manufacture and Supply Revenue
We manufacture based on receipt of purchase orders from our licensees, and our licensees have an obligation to accept these orders once quality assurance validates the quality of the manufactured product with agreed upon technical specifications. In most cases. our licensees are responsible for all other aspects of commercialization of these products, and we have no role, either direct or indirect, in our customers’ commercialization activities, including those related to marketing, pricing, sales, payor access and regulatory operations.
We expect future manufacture and supply revenue from licensed products to be based on volume demand for existing licensed products, and for manufacturing and supply rights under license and supply agreements for existing or new agreements for successful product development collaborations.
License and Royalty Revenue
We realize revenue from licenses of our intellectual property. For licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by us, our licensee has acquired the right to use the licensed intellectual property for self-development of their product candidate, for manufacturing, commercialization or other specified purposes, upon the effective transfer of those rights, and related revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints, if any. For licenses that may provide substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by us, such as development services or the manufacture of specific products, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. We also earn royalties based on our licensees’ sales of products that use our intellectual property that are marketed and sold in the countries where we have patented technology rights.
Co-development and Research Fees
Co-development and research fees are earned through performance of specific tasks, activities or completion of stages of development defined within a contractual development or feasibility study agreement with a customer. The nature of these performance obligations, broadly referred to as milestones or deliverables, are usually dependent on the scope and structure of the project as contracted, as well as the complexity of the product and the specific regulatory approval path necessary for that product. Accordingly, the duration of our research and development projects may range from several months to as long as three years. Although each contractual arrangement is unique, common milestones contained in these arrangements include those for the performance of efficacy and other tests, reports of findings, formulation of initial prototypes, production of stability clinical
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and/or scale-up batches, and stability testing of those batches. Additional milestones may be established and linked to clinical results of the product submission and/or approval of the product by the FDA and the commercial launch of the product.
Proprietary product revenue, net
This net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Libervant for patients between two to five years of age, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once all related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to collectable amounts are eliminated, estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted on no less than a quarterly basis.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are primarily the result of the following activities: generation of manufacture and supply revenues; development of our pipeline of proprietary product candidates; and selling, general and administrative expenses, including pre-launch and post-launch commercialization efforts, intellectual property procurement, protection, prosecution and litigation expenses, corporate management functions, medical and clinical affairs administration; public company costs, share-based compensation expenses and interest on our corporate borrowings. We primarily record our costs and expenses in the following categories:
Manufacture and Supply Costs and Expenses
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses are primarily incurred from the manufacture of our commercialized licensed pharmaceutical products, including raw materials, direct labor and overhead costs principally in our Portage, Indiana facilities. Our material costs include the costs of raw materials used in the production of our proprietary dissolving film and primary packaging materials. Direct labor costs consist of payroll costs (including taxes and benefits) of employees engaged in production activities. Overhead costs principally consist of indirect payroll, facilities rent, utilities and depreciation for leasehold improvements and production machinery and equipment. These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the costs of materials, purchased at market pricing, and the amount of direct labor required to produce a product, along with the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on production volume.
Our manufacture and supply costs and expenses are impacted by our customers’ supply requirements. Costs of production reflect the costs of raw materials that are purchased at market prices and production efficiency (measured by the cost of a salable unit). These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the amount of direct labor and materials required to produce a product and the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on the levels of production.
In addition to our proprietary products coming online, we may add licensee products which may need additional resources to manufacture. If such growth should occur for higher volume product opportunities such as Suboxone and Ondif, we would incur increased costs associated with hiring additional personnel to support the increased manufacturing and supply costs arising from higher manufactured volumes from proprietary and licensed products.
Research and Development Expenses
Since our inception, we have focused significant resources on our research and development activities. Research and development expenses primarily consist of:
•employee-related expenses, including compensation, benefits, share-based compensation and travel expense;
•external research and development expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as CROs, investigational sites and consultants;
•the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical study materials; and
•costs associated with preclinical and clinical activities and regulatory operations.
We expect our research and development expenses to continue to be significant over the next several years as we continue to develop existing product candidates such as Anaphylm, AQST-108 and others, and as we identify and develop or acquire additional product candidates and technologies. We may hire or engage additional skilled colleagues or third parties to perform these activities, conduct clinical trials and ultimately seek regulatory approvals for any product candidate that successfully completes those clinical trials.
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, General and Administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, share-based compensation, other related costs for executive, finance, and operational personnel. Other costs include facility and related costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses such as: professional fees for patent-related and other legal expenses, regulatory fees, consulting, tax and accounting services; insurance; market research; advisory board and key opinion leaders; depreciation; and general corporate expenses, inclusive of IT systems-related costs. In addition, these expenses also include warehousing, distribution, selling and business development and other costs.
Our general and administrative costs include costs related to accounting, audit, legal regulatory, and tax-related services required to maintain compliance with exchange listing and SEC regulations, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs. We continue to incur significant costs in seeking to protect our intellectual property rights, including significant litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties’ at-risk launch of generic products.
We will continue to manage business costs to prepare for a potential future decline in Suboxone revenue and other external factors affecting our business, as we continue to focus on our core business:
•Continuing the development of Anaphylm and AQST-108; and
•Commercializing Libervant for after approval from the FDA on April 26, 2024 for the acute treatment of intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity that are distinct from a patient’s usual seizure pattern in pediatric patients with epilepsy between two to five years of age.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest costs on the outstanding balances of our 12.5% Notes and 13.5% Notes at a fixed rate of 12.5% and 13.5%, respectively, payable quarterly, as well as amortization of loan costs and debt discounts. The redemption of 12.5% Notes and the issuance of 13.5% Notes are discussed in Note 15, Long-Term Debt, to our financial statements. In addition, see Liquidity and Capital Resources below for further detail on our 12.5% Notes and 13.5% Notes.
Interest Expense related to Royalty Obligations
In connection with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, we entered into the Royalty Rights Agreements with each of the Note Holders granting the Note Holders a tiered royalty between 1.0% and 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Anaphylm (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for a period of eight years from the first sale of Anaphylm on a global basis. The Note Holders are also entitled to a tiered royalty between 1.0% to 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film until the earlier of (1) the first sale of Anaphylm and (2) eight years from the first sale of Libervant. These royalty agreements are classified as debt, and the value of the $45,000 13.5% Notes has been allocated between debt and the Royalty Obligations based on their relative fair market values. The excess of future estimated royalty payments of $56,926 over the $13,856 of the allocated fair value is recognized as a discount related to the Royalty Right Agreements and is amortized as interest expense using the effective interest method. The 13.5% Notes are discussed in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt.
Interest Expense related to Sale of Future Revenue
On November 3, 2020, we entered into the Monetization Agreement with Marathon. Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold to Marathon all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion’s apomorphine product, KYNMOBI, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, which received approval from the FDA on May 21, 2020. In exchange for the sale of these rights, we received an upfront payment from Marathon of $40,000 and an additional payment of $10,000 through the achievement of the first milestone. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2024 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. In June 2023, Sunovion announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn KYNMOBI from the U.S. and Canadian markets, therefore, we likely will not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization agreement. We discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue under the Monetization agreement in the fourth quarter of 2022.
During the second quarter of 2020, under the Sunovion License Agreement, we recognized $8,000 of royalty revenue and corresponding royalty receivable, related to the $1,000 annual minimum guaranteed royalty that is due in each of the subsequent eight years. In connection with the Monetization Agreement, we performed an assessment under ASC 860, Transfer and Servicing to determine whether the existing receivable was transferred to Marathon and concluded that the receivable was
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not transferred. See Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17, Sale of Future Revenue, and Note 13, Other-Non-Current Assets for further detail.
Interest Income and other income, net
Interest income and other income, net consists of earnings derived from an interest-bearing account, investments in money market Treasury mutual funds and other miscellaneous income and expense items. The interest-bearing account and money market Treasury mutual funds have no minimum amounts to be maintained in the accounts nor any fixed length of period for which interest and dividends are earned.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
The following discussion of our results of operations explains the material drivers of these results of operations.
Revenues
The following table sets forth our revenue data for the periods indicated.
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply revenue | $ | 39,976 | $ | 43,805 | $ | (3,829) | (9 | %) | |||||||
| License and royalty revenue | 15,345 | 5,376 | 9,969 | 185 | % | ||||||||||
| Co-development and research fees | 1,925 | 1,402 | 523 | 37 | % | ||||||||||
| Proprietary product revenue, net | 315 | — | 315 | N/M | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 57,561 | $ | 50,583 | $ | 6,978 | 14 | % |
Revenues increased 14% or $6,978 in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The increase was primarily due to certain one-time increases in license and royalty revenue and increases in co-development and research fees, partially offset by decreases in manufacture and supply revenue.
Manufacture and supply revenue decreased 9% or $3,829 for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a $4,069 decrease in Suboxone revenues mainly due to a decrease in volume and retroactive price increases in the prior period that were not present in 2024, and a $702 decrease in Sympazan revenue. These decreases were partially offset by a $586 increase in Emylif revenues from Zambon and a $368 increase in Ondif revenue which were attributable to an increase in volume. As part of the Indivior Amendment 11 to the Commercial Exploitation Agreement, we received retroactive price increases related to 2022 Suboxone purchases in the amount of $1,682 which was recognized in Manufacture and supply revenue in the year ended December 31, 2023. There were no retroactive price adjustments included in Manufacture and supply revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024.
License and royalty revenue increased 185% or $9,969 for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to the one-time recognition of deferred revenues of $11,544 due to the terminations of licensing and supply agreements. These increases were partially offset by a $1,500 decrease in milestone licensing revenue for Azstarys from Zevra Therapeutics recognized in the prior year.
Co-development and research fees increased 37% or $523 for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The increase was driven by the timing of the achievement of research and development performance obligations which are expected to fluctuate from one reporting period to the next.
Proprietary product revenue, net increased by $315 for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 due to the launch of Libervant for patients between two to five years of age. This increase was partially offset by an additional accrual for returns allowances related to the period prior to the outlicensing to Assertio of our proprietary product, Sympazan, which is recorded as an addition to accrued distribution expenses and sales return provision.
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Expenses, Interest Income and Other Income:
The following table sets forth our expense data for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply | $ | 17,872 | $ | 20,831 | $ | (2,959) | (14 | %) | |||||||
| Research and development | 20,280 | 13,104 | 7,176 | 55 | % | ||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 50,180 | 31,750 | 18,430 | 58 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | 11,122 | 6,337 | 4,785 | 76 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense related to royalty obligations | 5,459 | 905 | 4,554 | N/M | |||||||||||
| Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue | 236 | 220 | 16 | 7 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest income and other income, net | (3,437) | (16,321) | 12,884 | (79) | % | ||||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — | 1,382 | (1,382) | N/M |
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses decreased 14%, or $2,959, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease in manufacture and supply costs was due to lower volume of strips sold, changes in product mix, and lower production costs.
Research and development expenses increased 55%, or $7,176, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The increase in research and development expenses is primarily due to clinical trial costs and product research expenses associated with the continued advancement of the Anaphylm and AQST-108 programs, increases in personnel costs, and an increase in share-based compensation. The tables below provide a breakdown of the major costs included in total Research and development expenses and project costs by type of expense for each of the main clinical development projects in which we are engaged for each period presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 8,837 | $ | 3,597 | $ | 5,240 | 146 | % | |||||||
| Development and Manufacturing | 303 | 664 | (361) | (54 | %) | ||||||||||
| Product Research Expenses | 1,119 | 678 | 441 | 65 | % | ||||||||||
| Total Project Costs | 10,259 | 4,939 | 5,320 | 108 | % | ||||||||||
| Preclinical | 987 | 659 | 328 | 50 | % | ||||||||||
| R&D personnel costs | 6,509 | 5,775 | 734 | 13 | % | ||||||||||
| Consulting and Outside Services | 331 | 323 | 8 | 2 | % | ||||||||||
| Share Based Compensation | 1,215 | 456 | 759 | 166 | % | ||||||||||
| Depreciation/Amortization | 70 | 91 | (21) | (23 | %) | ||||||||||
| All Other R&D | 909 | 861 | 48 | 6 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 20,280 | $ | 13,104 | $ | 7,176 | 55 | % |
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | % inc / dec | Anaphylm | % inc / dec | AQST-108 | % inc / dec | Libervant | % inc / dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 8,837 | $ | 3,597 | 146% | $ | 8,231 | $ | 4,687 | 76% | $ | 588 | $ | — | N/M | $ | 18 | $ | (1,090) | N/M | |||||||||||||
| Development and Manufacturing | 303 | 664 | (54%) | 310 | 676 | (54%) | 10 | — | N/M | (17) | (12) | 42% | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Product Research Expenses | 1,119 | 678 | 65% | 930 | 463 | 101% | 188 | — | N/M | 1 | 215 | N/M | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Project Costs | $ | 10,259 | $ | 4,939 | 108% | $ | 9,471 | $ | 5,826 | 63% | $ | 786 | $ | — | N/M | $ | 2 | $ | (887) | N/M |
Total project expenses for Anaphylm increased 63%, or $3,645, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Clinical trial expenses and product research expenses for Anaphylm increased $3,544 and $467, respectively, offset by decreases in development and manufacturing of $366 for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. In 2024, Clinical trial expenses for Anaphylm of $8,231 were primarily due to Clinical trial costs
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associated with the continued advancement of the Anaphylm program. In 2023, Clinical trial expenses for Anaphylm of $4,687 were related to the activities leading up to the Phase 3 PK Study. Total project expenses for AQST-108 increased $786 for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 and were related to feasibility work for AQST-108. In 2023, Clinical trial expenses for Libervant of $1,090 were a credit from third party contractors upon the post completion audit of a study. In 2023, product research expenses for Libervant of $215 were primarily due to data integration and modeling work.
R&D personnel costs increased by 13%, or $734, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, due to additional headcount. R&D share-based compensation increased by $759, or 166%, which was primarily related to awards granted to our Chief Medical Officer upon his commencement of employment and the effect of new grants in 2024 to R&D personnel. All other R&D expenses include rent, utilities, maintenance and other expenses and fees.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 58%, or $18,430, for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. The increase primarily represents higher commercial spending of approximately $3,750, higher personnel costs of approximately $3,000, severance costs of approximately $2,900, higher share-based compensation expenses of $2,300, higher regulatory and licensing fees of approximately $1,400 related to the regulatory fee for Libervant, higher legal fees of $520, and higher expenses of $4,600 due to a change in the allocation of manufacture and supply costs compared to the prior period, partially offset by lower insurance expenses of $1,150.
Interest expense increased 76%, or $4,785, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The increase was mostly driven by the increased amortization of debt issuance costs and discounts and higher interest expense on the 13.5% Notes refinanced in November 2023.
Interest expense related to amortization of the discount on the royalty obligations was $5,459 and $905 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. These amounts are due to the accounting associated with the royalty obligations as part of the 13.5% Notes issuance in November 2023. The year ended December 31, 2024 reflects 12 months of activity while the year ended December 31, 2023 reflects 2 months of activity.
Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue was $236 and $220 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. These amounts are due to the accounting associated with the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI royalties sold to Marathon on November 3, 2020 and do not represent or imply a monetary obligation or cash output at any time during the life of the transaction. These amounts represent amortization of issuance costs. In June 2023, Sunovion announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn KYNMOBI from the U.S. and Canadian markets, therefore, we likely will not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization agreement. As a result, we discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022. See Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17, Sale of Future Revenue for details.
Interest income and other income, net was $3,437 and $16,321 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decrease by $12,884 is due to other income of $6,000 related to the Amendment 11 to the Indivior Commercial Exploitation Agreement, $8,500 related to the patent litigation settlement with BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. and the receipt of the ERTC, which were recognized in the year ended December 31, 2023 and did not recur in 2024. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized a gain of $1,500 on the termination of a license and supply agreement, which was partially offset by the adjustment of $1,200 to the remaining balance of the intangible asset due to the termination of the agreement. We also recognized higher interest income of $2,713 due to higher cash balances invested in interest-bearing and dividend-earning money market accounts.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of $1,382 for prepayment penalties resulting from 12.5% Notes principal payments made in the first quarter of 2023 and fees related to the repayment of the 12.5% Notes in the fourth quarter of 2023. There was no loss on extinguishment of debt in 2024.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We had $71,546 in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024. While our ability to execute our business objectives and achieve profitability over the longer term cannot be assured, our on-going business, existing cash and cash equivalents, expense management activities, potential asset sales or product outlicensing as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility, provide near term liquidity for us to fund our operating needs for at least the next twelve months as we continue to execute our business strategy.
On October 7, 2021, we entered into a supplemental indenture for the 12.5% Notes, pursuant to which the amortization schedule for the 12.5% Notes was amended to provide for the date of the first principal payment to be extended to March 30, 2023. The indenture did not change the maturity date of the 12.5% Notes or the interest payment obligation due under the 12.5% Notes. In connection with the indenture, we entered into a Consent Fee Letter with the holders of the 12.5% Notes,
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pursuant to which we agreed to pay the holders of the 12.5% Notes an additional cash payment of $2,700 in the aggregate, payable in four quarterly payments beginning May 15, 2022. These payments were made by December 31, 2023.
In 2023, we redeemed $5,647 of our outstanding 12.5% Notes. We also made three scheduled principal payments totaling $11,463 prior to the refinancing of the 12.5% Notes on November 1, 2023. We also paid $353 in prepayment premium as result of the early retirement of debt which was reflected as a loss on extinguishment of debt in our Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the year ended December 31, 2023.
We established our first ATM facility in September 2019, and since inception to December 31, 2024, we have sold 19,857,518 shares of Common Stock which has generated net cash proceeds of approximately $60,524, net of commissions and other transactions costs of $3,119. On April 3, 2024, we filed a new shelf registration statement on Form S-3 to register the offer and sale of up to $250,000 worth of shares of Common Stock ("Registration Statement No. 333-278498" or the "2024 Registration Statement"), that was declared effective by the SEC on April 23, 2024. Included as part of the 2024 Registration Statement was a $100,000 ATM facility pursuant to the Amended Equity Distribution Agreement with Piper Sandler & Co.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold 4,557,220 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $11,821 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $564. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold 4,958,341 shares under the ATM facility which provided net proceeds of approximately $8,962 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $502. In the period subsequent to December 31, 2024 through March 5, 2025, we sold 7,457,627 shares under our ATM facility, which generated net proceeds of approximately $21,400 net of commissions of $605000. The remaining authorized balance of the ATM facility was $78,000,000 as of March 5, 2025.
On April 12, 2022, we entered into the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, which provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell to Lincoln Park up to $40,000 worth of shares of our Common Stock from time to time over the 36-month term of the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we did not sell shares in connection with the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement. We have no current intent to use the Lincoln Park facility and the Lincoln Park Purchase agreement will expire on April 12, 2025.
On June 6, 2022, we entered into the Securities Purchase Agreements with certain purchasers. The Securities Purchase Agreements provided for the sale and issuance by us of an aggregate of: (i) 4,850,000 shares of Common Stock, (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 4,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (iii) Common Stock Warrants to purchase up to 8,850,000 shares of Common Stock. The pre-funded warrants were fully exercised in 2022. In June 2023, 3,689,452 Common Stock warrants issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements were exercised with proceeds of approximately $3,542.
On August 2023, we entered into the Letter Agreement with the Exercising Holder of 5,000,000 of the remaining Common Stock Warrants. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, the Exercising Holder and Aquestive agreed that the Exercising Holder would exercise all of its Existing Warrants at the then current exercise price of the Existing Warrants. The Exercising Holder subsequently exercised the Existing Warrants, with Aquestive receiving gross proceeds of $4,800. We also issued to the Exercising Holder New Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,750,000 shares of Common Stock. The New Warrants are exercisable after February 2, 2024, expire on February 2, 2029 and are exercisable only for cash, unless the shares of Common Stock underlying the New Warrants are not registered in accordance with the terms of the Letter Agreement, in which case the New Warrants may also be exercised by means of a "cashless exercise". The New Warrants have an exercise price of $2.60 per share.
On November 1, 2023, we issued $45,000 aggregate principal amount of its 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. A portion of the net proceeds from that Offering was used to redeem all of the remaining outstanding 12.5% Notes and to pay expenses relating to that Offering, with the balance of the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. Interest on the 13.5% Notes accrues at a rate of 13.5% per annum and is payable quarterly in arrears on March 30, June 30, September 30 and December 30 of each year commencing on December 30, 2023. The 13.5% Notes are interest-only until June 30, 2026, whereupon on such date and each payment date thereafter we will also pay an installment of principal of the 13.5% Notes pursuant to a fixed amortization schedule, along with a portion of an Exit Fee determined as of the applicable date of prepayment, payment, acceleration, repurchase or redemption, as the case may be. We accounted for this transaction as an extinguishment of debt and recognized a debt extinguishment charge of $1,029 for the year ended December 31, 2023. The debt extinguishment charge is included in Loss on the extinguishment of debt in the Company’s Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss.
On March 22, 2024, we completed the underwritten public offering of 16,666,667 shares of our common stock at the public offering price of $4.50 per share. In addition, pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters' option, on April 22, 2024, we sold an additional 559,801 shares of Common Stock. Net proceeds from the underwritten public offering, including the exercise of underwriters' option were $72,868, after deducting underwriting discounts of $4,651. In addition to the underwriting discounts related to this offering, we incurred professional fees and other costs totaling $894 as of December 31, 2024.
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Cash Flows
The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| (In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash used for operating activities | $ | (35,759) | $ | (6,380) | |||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (159) | (995) | |||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 83,592 | 3,974 | |||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 47,674 | $ | (3,401) |
Net Cash Used for Operating Activities
Net cash used for operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $29,379 compared to the same period in 2023. The increase in cash used for operating activities was primarily related to the change in net loss of $36,267 and deferred revenue of $13,809, which was mostly attributed to the recognition of deferred revenues due to the termination of license and supply agreements during the year ended December 31, 2024, and increases in trade and other receivables of $4,167. Other changes were mainly due to higher amortization of debt issuance costs and discounts of $8,742 on the 13.5% Notes refinancing in November 2023 and an increase in share-based compensation of $4,410 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $836 compared to the same period in 2023. The use of cash was related to capital expenditures.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $79,618 compared to the same period in 2023. The increase was primarily related to the underwritten public offering which provided net proceeds of $71,974, and higher ATM proceeds by $2,871 due to higher volumes and Common Stock prices as compared to the prior year. These increases during the year ended December 31, 2024 were also due to the absence of 12.5% Notes principal payments and premium paid to retire debt and the absence of the financing costs associated with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, partially offset by no proceeds received from the issuance of the 13.5% Notes and the issuance of the Royalty Rights Agreements as compared to the prior year, and lower proceeds by $8,142 from the exercise of warrants.
Funding Requirements
Our on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility, and potential asset sales or product outlicensing potentially provide near term funding opportunities for Aquestive, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources”. On November 1, 2023, we issued $45,000 in aggregate principal amount of the 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. A portion of the net proceeds from the Offering were used to redeem all of the outstanding 12.5% Notes and to pay expenses relating to the Offering, with the balance of the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes.
On March 22, 2024, we completed the Underwritten Public Offering of 16,666,667 shares of our common stock at the public offering price of $4.50 per share. In addition, pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters' option, on April 22, 2024, we sold an additional 559,801 shares of Common Stock. Net proceeds from the Underwritten Public Offering, including the exercise of underwriters' option were $72,868 after deducting underwriting discounts of $4,651. In addition to the underwriting discounts related to this offering, we incurred professional fees and other costs totaling $894 as of December 31, 2024.
We have used and intend to continue to use the net proceeds received from these transactions, together with the Company’s existing cash and cash equivalents, primarily to advance the development and commercialization of our product pipeline, including Anaphylm™ (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for the treatment of severe life-threatening allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, and the continued commercial expansion of Libervant® (diazepam) Buccal Film for the treatment of ARS patients aged between two and five years, and for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We can provide no assurance that any of these sources of funding, either individually or in combination, will be available on reasonable terms, if at all, or sufficient to fund our business objectives. In addition, we may be required to utilize available financial resources sooner than expected. We have based our expectation on assumptions that could change or prove to be inaccurate, due to unrelated factors including factors arising in the capital markets, asset monetization markets, regulatory approval process, and regulatory oversight and other factors. Key factors and assumptions inherent in our planned continued operations and anticipated growth include, without limitation, those related to the following:
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•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for our manufactured products, including effects of generics and other competitive pressures as currently envisioned;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for provided co-development and feasibility services, as well as regulatory support services for recently licensed products;
•access to debt or equity markets if, and at the time, needed for any necessary future funding, including our ability to access funding through our ATM facility, should we choose to access this facility;
•continuing review and appropriate adjustment of our cost structure consistent with our anticipated revenues and funding;
•continued growth and market penetration of Sympazan, including anticipated patient and physician acceptance and our licensee’s ability to obtain adequate reimbursement and payment support from government agencies and other private medical insurers;
•effective commercialization within anticipated cost levels and expected ramp-up timeframes of our product Libervant for pediatric patients between two and five years of age;
•infrastructure and administrative costs at expected levels to support operations as an FDA and highly regulated public company;
•a manageable level of costs for ongoing efforts to protect our intellectual property rights and litigation matters in which we are involved;
•continued compliance with all covenants under our 13.5% Notes, including our ability to comply with our debt service obligations as required thereunder; and
•absence of significant unforeseen cash requirements.
We expect to continue to manage business costs to appropriately reflect the anticipated general decline in Suboxone revenue, and other external resources or factors affecting our business including, if available, future equity financing, other future access to the capital markets or other potential available sources of liquidity. In doing so, we plan to continue to focus on the core drivers of value for our stockholders, including, more importantly, continued investments in our ongoing product development activities in support of Anaphylm and AQST-108. Until profitability is achieved, if at all, additional capital and/or other financing or funding will be required, which could be material, to further advance the commercialization of Libervant for pediatric patients between two and five years of age and development and commercialization of Anaphylm and AQST-108, if approved by the FDA, and to meet our other cash requirements, including debt service, specifically our 13.5% Notes. We plan to conservatively manage our launch spending as to both timing and level relating to Libervant in light of the approval of Libervant by the FDA for patients between two and five years of age. Even as such, we expect to incur losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future and, therefore, we expect to be dependent upon external financing and funding to achieve our operating plan.
The sufficiency of our short-term and longer-term liquidity is directly impacted by our level of operating revenues and our ability to achieve our operating plan for revenues, regulatory approval in the time period planned for our product candidates and our ability to monetize other royalty streams or other licensed rights within planned timeframes, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in any monetization transaction. Our operating revenues have fluctuated in the past and can be expected to fluctuate in the future. We expect to incur significant operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future, and we have a significant level of debt on which we have substantial ongoing interest payments have principal repayments related to our 13.5% Notes starting in June 2026 through the debt maturity date and royalty obligation payments projected to be made from the fourth quarter of 2024 to 2034, which are further discussed in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt. A substantial portion of our current and past revenues has been dependent upon our licensing, manufacturing and sales with one customer, Indivior, which is expected to continue, and it could take significantly longer than planned to achieve anticipated levels of cash flows to help fund our operations and cash needs.
To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuance of equity securities, our stockholders would experience further dilution and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences (if and to the extent permitted under the Indenture) that would adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. Our ability to secure additional equity financing could be significantly impacted by numerous factors including our operating performance and prospects, positive or negative developments in the regulatory approval process for our product candidates, our existing level of debt which is secured by substantially all of our assets under the Indenture, and general financial market conditions, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to be successful in raising capital or that any such needed financing will be available, available on favorable or acceptable terms, if at all.
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If adequate funds are not available for our short-term or longer-term liquidity needs and cash requirements as and when needed, we would be required to engage in expense management activities such as reducing staff, delaying, significantly scaling back, or even discontinuing some or all of our current or planned launch activities and research and development programs and clinical and other product development activities, and otherwise significantly reducing our other spending and adjusting our operating plan, and we would need to seek to take other steps intended to improve our liquidity. We also may seek outlicensing opportunities for our proprietary products and product candidate programs that we currently plan to self-commercialize, including for Libervant and Anaphylm, or explore other potential liquidity options or strategic opportunities. Such strategic opportunities could include asset sales, outlicensing or other monetization opportunities of our proprietary products and product candidates, including Libervant and Anaphylm, although we cannot assure that any of these actions or opportunities would be available or available on acceptable terms. While an outlicensing of our proprietary products and product candidates, if approved by the FDA, could limit our exposure to the costs of commercialization of the product and provide a potential source of royalty and milestone revenues, the benefit from the potential of additional future value that could result from our independent commercialization of these products and product candidates, assuming a successful launch of our proprietary products and product candidates, if approved by the FDA, would likely be limited. In addition, in the event of any such asset sales or outlicensing transactions, the future growth of the Company would be dependent on continued successful development or our early stage product candidates and/or asset acquisitions or other strategic transactions for the Company. There is no assurance that any such outlicensing or other strategic opportunities will be available or available on reasonable terms.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We have entered into various contractual agreements under which we have long term obligations. For more information regarding our commitments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 23, Contingencies.
For more information regarding our future lease payments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 11, Right-of-Use Assets and Lease Obligations for our minimum lease payments schedule. The expected timing of our leases may be different in future years, depending on our decision to extend lease terms and/or enter into leases in preceding years.
For more information on our payments related to the 13.5% Notes, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
We have based our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations on our Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in the U.S. The preparation of the Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience when available and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While significant accounting policies are more fully described in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, included in this filing, we believe that the following accounting policies are those that are most critical to the significant judgements and estimates used in the preparation of our Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition
Proprietary product revenue, net - this net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Libervant for patients between two to five years of age, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once all related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to collectable amounts are eliminated, estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted on no less than a quarterly basis.
License and Royalty Revenue – license revenues are determined based on an assessment of whether the license is distinct from any other performance obligations that may be included in the underlying licensing arrangement. If the customer is able to benefit from the license without provision of any other performance obligations by Aquestive and the license is
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thereby viewed as a distinct or functional license, Aquestive then determines whether the customer has acquired a right to use the license or a right to access the license. For functional licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by Aquestive, the customer is viewed as acquiring the right to use the license as, and when, transferred and revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints. For symbolic licenses providing substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by Aquestive, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. Such other obligations provided by Aquestive generally include manufactured products, additional development services or other deliverables that are contracted to be provided during the license term. Payments received in excess of amounts ratably or otherwise earned are deferred and recognized over the term of the license or as contingencies or other performance obligations are met.
Royalty revenue is estimated and recognized when sales under supply agreements with commercial licensees are recorded, absent any contractual constraints or collectability uncertainties. Royalties based on sales of licensed products have been recorded in this manner.
Revenue recognition arising from milestone payments is dependent upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the milestone payments. Milestone payments based on a non-sales metric such as a development-based milestone (e.g., an NDA filing or obtaining regulatory approval) represent variable consideration and are included in the transaction price subject to any constraints. If the milestone payments relate to future development, the timing of recognition depends upon historical experience and the significance a third party has on the outcome. For milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of a sales threshold, the revenue from the milestone payments is recognized at the later of when the actual sales are incurred or the performance obligation to which the sales relate to has been satisfied.
Royalty Obligations and Interest Expense
In connection with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, we entered into a Royalty Rights Agreement with each of the Note Holders granting the Note Holders a tiered royalty between 1.0% and 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Anaphylm (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for a period of eight years from the first sale of Anaphylm on a global basis. The note holders are also entitled to a tiered royalty between 1.0% to 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film until the earlier of (1) the first sale of Anaphylm and (2) eight years from the first sale of Libervant. The Royalty Rights Agreements are classified as debt, and the value of the $45,000 13.5% Notes has been allocated between debt and the royalty obligations based on their relative fair market values. The excess of future estimated royalty payments of $56,926 over the $13,856 of allocated fair value is recognized as a discount related to the Royalty Right Agreements and is amortized over the life of the Royalty Rights Agreements. Such amortization is reflected as interest expense related to royalty obligations in the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. The 13.5% Notes are discussed in Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15, Long-Term Debt.
Liability and interest expense related to sale of future revenue
We treated the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI as debt financing in accordance with ASC 470 Debt, amortized under the effective interest rate method over the estimated life of the related expected royalty stream. The liability related to the sale of future revenue has been initially recorded at its proceeds, net of deferred cost. The liability related to the sale of future revenue and the related interest expense are based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. We periodically assess the expected royalty payments using a combination of internal projections and forecasts from external resources. To the extent our future estimates of royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the timing of such payments is materially different than its previous estimates, we will prospectively adjust the related interest expense. Amortization of debt is reflected as interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. For further discussion of the sale of the future revenue, see Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17, Sale of Future Revenue.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying Notes to our Financial Statements for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001628280-24-009010.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part 1 Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. All dollar amounts are stated in thousands.
Overview
Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to bring meaningful improvement to patients' lives through innovative science and delivery technologies. We are developing pharmaceutical products to deliver complex molecules through administrations that are alternatives to invasive and inconvenient standard of care therapies. We have five licensed commercialized products which are marketed by our licensees in the U.S. and around the world. We are the exclusive manufacturer of these licensed products. Aquestive also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm, and has proven drug development and commercialization capabilities. We are advancing a product pipeline for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. We have also developed a product pipeline focused on treating diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS. For a summary of our products and product candidates, please refer to Item I. Business of this Form 10-K.
Financial Operations Overview
Revenues
Our revenues to date have been earned from our manufactured products made to order for licensees, as well as revenue from our self-developed, now outlicensed proprietary product, Sympazan. Revenues are also earned from our product development services provided under contracts with customers, and from the licensing of our intellectual property. These activities generate revenues in four primary categories: manufacture and supply revenue, co-development and research fees, license and royalty revenue, and proprietary product sales, net.
Manufacture and Supply Revenue
We manufacture based on receipt of purchase orders from our licensees, and our licensees have an obligation to accept these orders once quality assurance validates the quality of the manufactured product with agreed upon technical specifications. With the exception of our license of Exservan, our licensees are responsible for all other aspects of commercialization of these products, and we have no role, either direct or indirect, in our customers’ commercialization activities, including those related to marketing, pricing, sales, payor access and regulatory operations. With regard to our license of Exservan to MTHA and Haisco, we continue to hold the NDA for that product and, as such, are responsible for certain regulatory obligations relating to the sale of the product so long as we are the holder of the NDA for the product.
We expect future manufacture and supply revenue from licensed products to be based on volume demand for existing licensed products, and for manufacturing and supply rights under license and supply agreements for existing or new agreements for successful product development collaborations.
Co-development and Research Fees
We work with our licensees to co-develop pharmaceutical products. In this regard, we earn fees through performance of specific tasks, activities, or completion of stages of development defined within a contractual arrangement with the relevant licensee. The nature and extent of these performance obligations, broadly referred to as milestones or deliverables, are usually dependent on the scope and structure of the project as contracted, as well as the complexity of the product and the specific regulatory approval path necessary for that product.
License and Royalty Revenue
We realize revenue from licenses of our intellectual property. For licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by us, our licensee has acquired the right to use the licensed intellectual property for self-development of their product candidate, for manufacturing, commercialization or other specified purposes, upon the effective transfer of those rights, and related revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints, if any. For licenses that may provide substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by us, such as development services or the manufacture of specific products, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. We also earn royalties based on our licensees’ sales of products that use our intellectual property that are marketed and sold in the countries where we have patented technology rights. Royalty revenue related to the sale of future revenue is described further in this section under Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates.
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Proprietary Product Sales, Net
We commercialized our first proprietary CNS product, Sympazan, in December 2018. Revenues from sales of proprietary product are recorded net of prompt payment discounts, wholesaler service fees, returns allowances, rebates and co-pay support redemptions, each of which are described in more detail below. These reserves are based on estimates of the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales. These amounts are treated as variable consideration, estimated and recognized as a reduction of the transaction price at the time of the sale. We include these estimated amounts in connection with the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized for such transaction will not occur, or when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. The calculation of some of these items requires management to make estimates based on sales data, historical return data, contracts and other related information that may become known in the future. The adequacy of these provisions is reviewed on a quarterly basis. In October 2022, we entered into the Assertio Agreement with Otter Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a subsidiary of Assertio (NASDAQ: ASRT), a specialty pharmaceutical company offering differentiated products to patients, pursuant to which we granted an exclusive, worldwide license of its intellectual property for Sympazan to Assertio during the term of that agreement. We are the exclusive sole manufacturer and supplier of Sympazan for Assertio and began recognizing Manufacture and Supply Revenues and License and Royalty Revenues subsequent to entering into the Assertio Agreement.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are primarily the result of the following activities: generation of manufacture and supply revenues; development of our pipeline of proprietary product candidates; and selling, general and administrative expenses, including pre-launch and post-launch commercialization efforts, intellectual property procurement, protection, prosecution and litigation expenses, corporate management functions, medical and clinical affairs administration; public company costs, share-based compensation expenses and interest on our corporate borrowings. We primarily record our costs and expenses in the following categories:
Manufacture and Supply Costs and Expenses
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses are primarily incurred from the manufacture of our commercialized licensed pharmaceutical products, including raw materials, direct labor and overhead costs principally in our Portage, Indiana facilities. Our material costs include the costs of raw materials used in the production of our proprietary dissolving film and primary packaging materials. Direct labor costs consist of payroll costs (including taxes and benefits) of employees engaged in production activities. Overhead costs principally consist of indirect payroll, facilities rent, utilities and depreciation for leasehold improvements and production machinery and equipment. These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the costs of materials, purchased at market pricing, and the amount of direct labor required to produce a product, along with the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on production volume.
Our manufacture and supply costs and expenses are impacted by our customers’ supply requirements. Costs of production reflect the costs of raw materials that are purchased at market prices and production efficiency (measured by the cost of a salable unit). These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the amount of direct labor and materials required to produce a product and the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on the levels of production.
We expect to continue to seek to rationalize and manage costs to prepare for a potential decline in Suboxone volumes as the generics in that market continue to take market share, at least partially offset by anticipated manufacturing revenue of our licensed product including Sympazan, subsequent to the Assertio Agreement in October 2022. In addition to our proprietary products coming online, we may add licensee products which may need additional resources to manufacture. If such growth should occur for higher volume product opportunities such as Suboxone and Ondansetron, we would incur increased costs associated with hiring additional personnel to support the increased manufacturing and supply costs arising from higher manufactured volumes from proprietary and licensed products.
Research and Development Expenses
Since our inception, we have focused significant resources on our research and development activities. Research and development expenses primarily consist of:
•employee-related expenses, including compensation, benefits, share-based compensation and travel expense;
•external research and development expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as CROs, investigational sites and consultants;
•the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical study materials; and
•costs associated with preclinical and clinical activities and regulatory operations.
We expect our research and development expenses to continue to be significant over the next several years as we continue to develop existing product candidates such as Anaphylm, AQST-108 and others, and we identify and develop or
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acquire additional product candidates and technologies. We may hire or engage additional skilled colleagues or third parties to perform these activities, conduct clinical trials and ultimately seek regulatory approvals for any product candidate that successfully completes those clinical trials.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, General and Administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, share-based compensation, other related costs for executive, finance, and operational personnel. Other costs include facility and related costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses such as: professional fees for patent-related and other legal expenses, regulatory fees, consulting, tax and accounting services; insurance; market research; advisory board and key opinion leaders; depreciation; and general corporate expenses, inclusive of IT systems-related costs. In addition, these expenses also include warehousing, distribution, selling and business development and other costs,
Our general and administrative costs include costs related to accounting, audit, legal regulatory, and tax-related services required to maintain compliance with exchange listing and SEC regulations, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs. We continue to incur significant costs in seeking to protect our intellectual property rights, including significant litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties’ at-risk launch of generic products.
We will continue to manage business costs to prepare for a potential future decline in Suboxone revenue and other external factors affecting our business, as we continue to focus on our core business:
•Continuing the development of Anaphylm and AQST-108 along the 505(b)(2) pathway; and
•Seeking to obtain the approval and subsequent launch of Libervant, subject to approval by the FDA for U.S. market access, which cannot be assured.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest costs on the outstanding balances of our 12.5% Notes and 13.5% Notes at a fixed rate of 12.5% and 13.5%, respectively, payable quarterly, as well as amortization of loan costs and debt discounts. The redemption of 12.5% Notes and the issuance of 13.5% Notes are discussed in Note 14, Long-Term Debt, to our consolidated financial statements. In addition, see Liquidity and Capital Resources below for further detail on our 12.5% Notes and 13.5% Notes.
Interest Expense related to Royalty Obligations
In connection with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, we entered into the Royalty Rights Agreements with each of the Note Holders granting the Note Holders a tiered royalty between 1.0% and 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Anaphylm (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for a period of eight years from the first sale of Anaphylm on a global basis. The Note Holders are also entitled to a tiered royalty between 1.0% to 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film until the earlier of (1) the first sale of Anaphylm and (2) eight years from the first sale of Libervant. These royalty agreements are classified as debt, and the value of the $45,000 13.5% Notes has been allocated between debt and the Royalty Obligations based on their relative fair market values. The excess of future estimated royalty payments of $56,926 over the $13,856 of the allocated fair value is recognized as a discount related to the Royalty Right Agreements and is amortized as interest expense using the effective interest method. The 13.5% Notes are discussed in Note 14, Long-Term Debt, to our consolidated financial statements.
Interest Expense related to Sale of Future Revenue
On November 3, 2020, we entered into the Monetization Agreement with Marathon. Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold to Marathon all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion’s apomorphine product, KYNMOBI, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, which received approval from the FDA on May 21, 2020. In exchange for the sale of these rights, we received an upfront payment from Marathon of $40,000 and an additional payment of $10,000 through the achievement of the first milestone. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2023 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. In June 2023, Sunovion announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn KYNMOBI from the U.S. and Canadian markets, therefore, we likely will not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization agreement.
As royalties are remitted to Marathon from Sunovion, the collection of the royalty receivable and balance of the liability related to the sale of future revenue will be effectively repaid over the life of the agreement. In order to determine the
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amortization of the liability related to the sale of future revenue, we are required to estimate the total amount of future royalty and milestone payments to Marathon over the life of the Monetization Agreement and contingent milestone payments from Marathon. The sum of future royalty payments less the $50,000 in proceeds received and future contingent payments is recorded as interest expense over the life of the Monetization Agreement. Based on the public forecast by Sunovion, we discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue.
During the second quarter of 2020, under the Sunovion License Agreement, we recognized $8,000 of royalty revenue and corresponding royalty receivable, related to the $1,000 annual minimum guaranteed royalty that is due in each of the next eight years. In connection with the Monetization Agreement, we performed an assessment under ASC 860, Transfer and Servicing to determine whether the existing receivable was transferred to Marathon and concluded that the receivable was not transferred. See Note 16, Sale of Future Revenue, to our consolidated financial statements for further detail.
Interest Income and other income (expense), net
Interest income and other income (expense), net consists of earnings derived from an interest-bearing account and other miscellaneous income and expense items. The interest-bearing account has no minimum amount to be maintained in the account nor any fixed length of period for which interest is earned.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
The following discussion of our results of operations explains the material drivers of these results of operations.
Revenues
The following table sets forth our revenue data for the periods indicated.
| Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply revenue | $ | 43,805 | $ | 36,378 | $ | 7,427 | 20 | % | |||||||
| License and royalty revenue | 5,376 | 2,351 | 3,025 | 129 | % | ||||||||||
| Co-development and research fees | 1,402 | 1,293 | 109 | 8 | % | ||||||||||
| Proprietary product sales, net | — | 7,658 | (7,658) | N/M | |||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 50,583 | $ | 47,680 | $ | 2,903 | 6 | % |
Revenues increased 6% or $2,903 in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The increase was due to higher manufacture and supply revenues, license and royalty revenue and co-development and research fees offset by the lack of proprietary product sales in 2023 as a result of the outlicensing agreement with Assertio in October 2022.
Manufacture and supply revenue increased 20% or $7,427 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This increase was primarily due to increased revenues of $4,382 for Suboxone primarily related to price increases, increased revenues of $2,141 for Zuplenz and increased revenues of $587 for Sympazan subsequent to the outlicensing agreement with Assertio in October 2022.
License and royalty revenue increased 129% or $3,025 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This increase was primarily due to $1,500 in milestone licensing revenues for Azstarys from Zevra, increased licensing revenue of $576 and royalty revenues of $680 for Sympazan and increased royalty revenue of $253 for Azstarys.
Co-development and research fees increased 8% or $109 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The increase was driven by the timing of the achievement of research and development performance obligations which are expected to fluctuate from one reporting period to the next.
Proprietary product sales, net which only includes sales of Sympazan decreased $7,658 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease was due to the outlicensing agreement with Assertio in October 2022. We began recognizing Sympazan sales in manufacture and supply revenue and license and royalty revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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Expenses:
The following table sets forth our expense data for the periods indicated:
| Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply | $ | 20,831 | $ | 19,386 | $ | 1,445 | 7 | % | |||||||
| Research and development | 13,104 | 17,481 | (4,377) | (25 | %) | ||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 31,750 | 52,879 | (21,129) | (40 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | 6,337 | 6,552 | (215) | (3 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense related to royalty obligations | 905 | — | 905 | N/M | |||||||||||
| Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue | 220 | 5,891 | (5,671) | (96 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest income and other income, net | (16,321) | (99) | (16,222) | N/M | |||||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | 1,382 | — | 1,382 | N/M |
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses increased 7% or $1,445 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The increase in manufacture and supply costs was due to higher costs related to raw materials, production and changes in product mix.
Research and development expenses decreased 25% or $4,377 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The tables below provide a breakdown of the major costs included in total Research and development expenses and project costs by type of expense for each of the main clinical development projects in which we are engaged for each period presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 3,597 | $ | 3,521 | $ | 76 | 2 | % | |||||||
| Development and Manufacturing | 664 | 2,831 | (2,167) | (77 | %) | ||||||||||
| Product Research Expenses | 678 | 1,354 | (676) | (50 | %) | ||||||||||
| Total Project Costs | 4,939 | 7,706 | (2,767) | (36 | %) | ||||||||||
| Preclinical | 659 | 1,045 | (386) | (37 | %) | ||||||||||
| R&D personnel costs | 5,775 | 6,268 | (493) | (8 | %) | ||||||||||
| Consulting and Outside Services | 323 | 595 | (272) | (46 | %) | ||||||||||
| Share Based Compensation | 456 | 672 | (216) | (32 | %) | ||||||||||
| Depreciation/Amortization | 91 | 173 | (82) | (47 | %) | ||||||||||
| All Other R&D | 861 | 1,022 | (161) | (16 | %) | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 13,104 | $ | 17,481 | $ | (4,377) | (25 | %) |
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | % inc /dec | Anaphylm | % inc /dec | AQST-108 | % inc /dec | Libervant | % inc /dec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 3,597 | $ | 3,521 | 2 | % | $ | 4,687 | $ | 3,494 | 34 | % | $ | — | $ | — | — | % | $ | (1,090) | $ | 27 | N/M | |||||||||||||
| Development and Manufacturing | 664 | 2,831 | (77 | %) | 676 | 2,466 | (73 | %) | — | 65 | N/M | (12) | 300 | N/M | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Product Research Expenses | 678 | 1,354 | (50 | %) | 463 | 921 | (50 | %) | — | 211 | N/M | 215 | 222 | (3 | %) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Project Costs | $ | 4,939 | $ | 7,706 | (36 | %) | $ | 5,826 | $ | 6,881 | (15 | %) | $ | — | $ | 276 | N/M | $ | (887) | $ | 549 | N/M |
Research and development expenses are largely driven by the timing of clinical trials as well as other product development activities associated with Aquestive's pipeline. For Anaphylm, expenses increased for clinical trials by 34% or $1,193 due to pilot clinical studies activities offset by decreases in development and manufacturing by 73% or $1,790 related to manufacturing scale–up activities in 2022 and 50% or $458 for product research related to PK modelling. For AQST-108, expenses decreased in total by $276 as the Company shifted priorities to Anaphylm as the lead product candidate in our
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pipeline. For Libervant, expenses were a credit of $1,090 and $12 in clinical trials and development and manufacturing, respectively, from third party contractors upon the post completion audit of the studies and a decrease in product research by 3% or $7 due to the completion of modeling work. Preclinical expense decreased by 37% or $386 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 related to activities in evaluating product candidates. R&D personnel costs decreased by 8% or $493 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 due to ongoing expense management. All Other R&D expenses which include rent, utilities, maintenance and other expenses and fees decreased by 16% or $161 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 40% or $21,129 for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease primarily reflects lower selling costs of $8,028 due to the reduction in our commercial organization subsequent to the outlicensing of Sympazan in October 2022, the absence of severance costs of $2,530 primarily due to the departure of our former CEO, lower stock compensation expense of $1,439, lower insurance costs of $888 and lower outside services of $6,100, including legal, consulting, IT and other expenses.
Interest expense decreased 3% or $215 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease was a result of a lower net carrying value of debt for the first ten months of 2023 compared to 2022 as a result of 12.5% Notes principal payments partially offset by the discount amortization and the interest on the 13.5% Notes.
Interest expense related to amortization of the discount on the royalty obligations was $905 for the year ended December 31, 2023. This amount is due to the accounting associated with the royalty obligations as part of the 13.5% Notes issuance. There were no expenses related to the royalty obligations in the same period in 2022.
Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue was $220 for the year ended December 31, 2023. This amount is due to the accounting associated with the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI royalties sold to Marathon on November 3, 2020 and does not represent or imply a monetary obligation or cash output at any time during the life of the transaction. In June 2023, Sunovion announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn KYNMOBI from the U.S. and Canadian markets, therefore, we likely will not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization agreement. As a result, we discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022, which led to a decrease in interest expense related to the sale of future revenue by $5,671 in 2023 as compared to 2022. See Note 16, Sale of Future Revenue to our Consolidated Financial Statements for details.
Interest income and other income, net increased $16,222 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The increase primarily reflects other income of $6,000 related to the Amendment 11 to the Indivior Commercial Exploitation Agreement, $8,500 patent litigation settlement with BDSI and the receipt of $1,250 ERTC refund recognized in 2023.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of $1,382 for prepayment penalties resulting from 12.5% Notes principal payments made in the first quarter of 2023 and fees related to the repayment of the 12.5% Notes in the fourth quarter of 2023. There was no loss on extinguishment of debt in 2022.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We had $23,872 in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2023. While our ability to execute our business objectives and achieve profitability over the longer term cannot be assured, Aquestive's on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities, including, but not limited to the ceasing of R&D activities, as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through its ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, provide near term liquidity for us to fund our operating needs for at least the next twelve months as it continues to execute its business strategy.
Our on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, potentially provide near term sources of funds. On November 1, 2023, we issued $45,000 in aggregate principal amount of 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. A portion of the net proceeds from the Offering were used to redeem all of the outstanding 12.5% Notes and to pay expenses relating to the Offering, with the balance of the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes.
On October 7, 2021, we entered into a supplemental indenture for the 12.5% Notes, pursuant to which the amortization schedule for the 12.5% Notes was amended to provide for the date of the first principal payment to be extended to March 30, 2023. The Fourth Supplemental Indenture did not change the maturity date of the Notes or the interest payment obligation due under the Notes. In connection with this supplemental indenture, we entered into a Consent Fee Letter with the holders of the 12.5% Notes, pursuant to which we agreed to pay the holders of the 12.5% Notes an additional cash payment of $2,700 in the aggregate, payable in four quarterly payments beginning May 15, 2022. These payments were made by December 31, 2023.
In 2019, we established the ATM facility and currently have a prospectus supplement registering the offer and sale of up to $35,000 of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the ATM facility. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold
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4,958,341 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $8,962 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $502. This ATM facility has approximately $23,952 available at December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we sold 2,860,538 shares under the ATM facility which provided net proceeds of approximately $3,907 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $289.
On April 12, 2022, we entered into the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, which provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell to Lincoln Park up to $40,000 worth of shares of our Common Stock from time to time over the 36-month term of the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement. The Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement contains an ownership limitation such that we will not issue, and Lincoln Park will not purchase, shares of Common Stock if it would result in Lincoln Park’s beneficial ownership of our outstanding Common Stock exceeding 9.99%, which is equivalent to 6,486,623 shares at December 31, 2023. Lincoln Park has covenanted under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement not to cause or engage in any manner whatsoever any direct or indirect short selling or hedging of our Common Stock. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we did not sell shares in connection with the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we sold 1,600,000 shares in addition to issuing 236,491 commitment shares, which provided proceeds of approximately $1,987 in connection with the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement.
On June 6, 2022, we entered into the Securities Purchase Agreements with certain purchasers. The Securities Purchase Agreements provide for the sale and issuance by us of an aggregate of: (i) 4,850,000 shares of Common Stock, (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 4,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (iii) Common Stock Warrants to purchase up to 8,850,000 shares of Common Stock. We received net proceeds of approximately $7,796,000, after deducting placement agent fees and offering expenses payable by Aquestive. We used the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes. The pre-funded warrants were fully exercised in 2022. On June 14, 2023, warrants to purchase 3,689,452 shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements were exercised with proceeds paid to Aquestive thereon of approximately $3,542.
On August 1, 2023, we entered into the Letter Agreement with one of purchasers under the Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Exercising Holder”) to sell 5,000,000 of the remaining Common Stock Warrants. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, the Exercising Holder and Aquestive agreed that the Exercising Holder would exercise all of its Common Stock Warrants for shares of Common Stock underlying the Common Stock Warrants at $0.96 per share of Common Stock, the exercise price of the Common Stock Warrants under the Securities Purchase Agreements. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, in consideration of the Exercising Holder exercising 5,000,000 of the Existing Warrants, Aquestive issued New Warrants to the Exercising Holder to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,750,000 shares of Common Stock. The New Warrants are exercisable after February 2, 2024, expire on February 2, 2029 and are issuable only for cash, subject to the exception that, if the shares of Common Stock underlying the New Warrants are not registered in accordance with the terms of the Letter Agreement, the New Warrants may also be exercised, in whole or in part, by means of a "cashless exercise". The New Warrants have an exercise price of $2.60 per share. On August 2, 2023, 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock underlying the Existing Stock Warrants were exercised pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement with the Exercising Holder, with Aquestive receiving gross proceeds therefrom of $4,800. The Company incurred $35 in expenses relating to this transaction.
In total, 8,689,452 Common Stock Warrants were issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements with proceeds of approximately $8,342 being received during the year ended December 31, 2023 on exercise of such Common Stock Warrants. The Company incurred $35 in expenses relating to this transaction.
On November 1, 2023, we issued (the “Offering”) $45,000 aggregate principal amount of its 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. A portion of the net proceeds from the Offering was used to redeem all of the outstanding 12.5% Notes and to pay expenses relating to the Offering, with the balance of the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. Interest on the 13.5% Notes accrues at a rate of 13.5% per annum and is payable quarterly in arrears on March 30, June 30, September 30 and December 30 of each year (each, a “Payment Date”) commencing on December 30, 2023. The 13.5% Notes are interest-only until June 30, 2026, whereupon on such date and each Payment Date thereafter we will also pay an installment of principal of the 13.5% Notes pursuant to a fixed amortization schedule, along with a portion of an Exit Fee determined as of the applicable date of prepayment, payment, acceleration, repurchase or redemption, as the case may be.
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Cash Flows
The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
| (In thousands) | 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash used for operating activities | $ | (6,380) | $ | (9,819) | |||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (995) | (2,524) | |||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 3,974 | 11,592 | |||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | $ | (3,401) | $ | (751) |
Net Cash Used for Operating Activities
Net cash used for operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $3,439 compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease was primarily related to a lower net loss by $46,540 offset by the decrease in 2023 in payments received from license and supply agreements and changes in operating assets and liabilities, mainly in Trade receivables and other receivables driven mostly by Indivior activity and changes due to outlicensing of Sympazan to Assertio. Other changes were due to a decrease in interest expense related to the sale of future revenue, lower share-based compensation and depreciation and amortization and impairment expenses offset by a one-time loss on extinguishment of debt in 2023 that did not occur in 2022 and higher amortization of debt issuance costs and discounts.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $1,529 compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease was due to the absence of investments in intangible assets in 2023.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $7,618 compared to the same period in 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the $51,500 repayment of the 12.5% Notes and $4,643 in issuance discount and financing costs related to the 13.5% Notes offset by $45,000 in proceeds from the issuance of the 13.5% Notes in 2023. Additionally, the net decrease in proceeds from issuance of Common Stock and warrants under private equity offerings was partially offset by higher Common Stock purchase proceeds under the ATM facility in 2023 as compared to 2022. See Note 1, Company Overview and Equity Transactions and Note 14, Long-Term Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements for details.
Funding Requirements
Our on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, potentially provide near term funding opportunities for Aquestive, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources”. On November 1, 2023, we issued $45,000 in aggregate principal amount of the 13.5% Notes due November 1, 2028. A portion of the net proceeds from the Offering were used to redeem all of the outstanding 12.5% Notes and to pay expenses relating to the Offering, with the balance of the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. We need to raise additional capital to continue to advance its clinical programs. We can provide no assurance that any of these sources of funding, either individually or in combination, will be available on reasonable terms, if at all, or sufficient to fund our business objectives. In addition, we may be required to utilize available financial resources sooner than expected. We have based our expectation on assumptions that could change or prove to be inaccurate, due to unrelated factors including factors arising in the capital markets, asset monetization markets, regulatory approval process, including the approval of Anaphylm, full approval of Libervant by the FDA for U.S. market access, and regulatory oversight and other factors. Key factors and assumptions inherent in our planned continued operations and anticipated growth include, without limitation, those related to the following:
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for our manufactured products, including effects of generics and other competitive pressures as currently envisioned;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for provided co-development and feasibility services, as well as regulatory support services for recently licensed products, such as Exservan;
•access to debt or equity markets if, and at the time, needed for any necessary future funding, including our ability to access funding through our ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement;
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•continuing review and appropriate adjustment of our cost structure consistent with our anticipated revenues and funding;
•continued growth and market penetration of Sympazan, including anticipated patient and physician acceptance and our licensee’s ability to obtain adequate price and payment support from government agencies and other private medical insurers;
•effective commercialization within anticipated cost levels and expected ramp-up timeframes of our product candidate Libervant, if approved for U.S. market access by the FDA;
•infrastructure and administrative costs at expected levels to support operations as an FDA and highly regulated public company;
•a manageable level of costs for ongoing efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, including litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties’ "at-risk" launch of generic products, and other litigation matters in which we are involved;
•continued compliance with all covenants under our 13.5% Notes, including our ability to comply with our debt service obligations as required thereunder;
•absence of significant unforeseen cash requirements; and
•the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, operations of our key suppliers and third-party clinical and other service providers, our colleagues and contractors and debt equity and other capital markets.
We expect to continue to manage business costs to appropriately reflect the anticipated general decline in Suboxone revenue, and other external resources or factors affecting our business including, if available, future equity financing, other future access to the capital markets or other potential available sources of liquidity, as well as the uncertainties associated with the coronavirus pandemic. In doing so, we plan to continue to focus on the core drivers of value for our stockholders, including, more importantly, continued investments in our ongoing product development activities in support of Anaphylm and AQST-108. Until profitability is achieved, if at all, additional capital and/or other financing or funding will be required, which could be material, to further advance the development and commercialization of Libervant, Anaphylm and AQST-108, if approved by the FDA for U.S. market access, and to meet our other cash requirements, including debt service, specifically our 13.5% Notes. We plan to conservatively manage our pre-launch spending as to both timing and level relating to Libervant in light of the tentative approval of Libervant by the FDA. In this regard and in light of our out-license of Sympazan, we have significantly reduced our cost on commercialization in 2023 compared to 2022. Even as such, we expect to incur losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future and, therefore, we expect to be dependent upon external financing and funding to achieve our operating plan.
The sufficiency of our short-term and longer-term liquidity is directly impacted by our level of operating revenues and our ability to achieve our operating plan for revenues, regulatory approval in the time period planned for our product candidates and our ability to monetize other royalty streams or other licensed rights within planned timeframes, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in any monetization transaction. Our operating revenues have fluctuated in the past and can be expected to fluctuate in the future. We expect to incur significant operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future, and we have a significant level of debt on which we have substantial ongoing interest payments have principal repayments related to our 13.5% Notes starting in June 2026 through the debt maturity date, which is further discussed in Note 14, Long-Term Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements. A substantial portion of our current and past revenues has been dependent upon our licensing, manufacturing and sales with one customer, Indivior, which is expected to continue, and it could take significantly longer than planned to achieve anticipated levels of cash flows to help fund our operations and cash needs.
To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuance of equity securities, our stockholders would experience further dilution and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences (if and to the extent permitted under the Indenture) that would adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. Our ability to secure additional equity financing could be significantly impacted by numerous factors including our operating performance and prospects, positive or negative developments in the regulatory approval process for our proprietary products, timely achievement of regulatory approval by the FDA for Libervant for U.S. market access, and there can be no assurance that we will receive such approval prior to the expiration in January 2027 of the orphan drug market exclusivity of the FDA approved nasal spray of a competitor, our existing level of debt which is secured by substantially all of our assets, restriction under the Indenture, and general financial market conditions, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to be successful in raising capital or that any such needed financing will be available, available on favorable or acceptable terms or at the times, or in the amounts needed, if at all.
If adequate funds are not available for our short-term or longer-term liquidity needs and cash requirements as and when needed, we would be required to engage in expense management activities such as reducing staff, delaying, significantly
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scaling back, or even discontinuing some or all of our current or planned research and development programs and clinical and other product development activities, and otherwise significantly reducing our other spending and adjusting our operating plan, and we would need to seek to take other steps intended to improve our liquidity. We also may be required to evaluate additional licensing and monetization opportunities, if any become available, of our proprietary product candidate programs that we currently plan to self-commercialize or explore other potential liquidity opportunities or other alternatives or options or strategic alternatives, such asset sales, although we cannot assure that any of these actions would be available or available on reasonable terms.
See also Part I, Item II, Risk Factors concerning the significant risks and uncertainties concerning our business, operations, financial results and capital resources associated with the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We have entered into various contractual agreements under which we have long term obligations. For more information regarding our commitments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 22, Contingencies.
For more information regarding our future lease payments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 10, Right-of-Use Assets and Lease Obligations for our minimum lease payments schedule. The expected timing of our leases may be different in future years, depending on our decision to extend lease terms and/or enter into leases in preceding years.
For more information on our payments related to the 13.5% Notes, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 14, Long-Term Debt.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
We have based our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in the U.S. The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience when available and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this filing, we believe that the following accounting policies are those that are most critical to the significant judgements and estimates used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition
Proprietary product sales, net - this net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Sympazan prior to our outlicensing of the product, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, Medicare, Medicaid and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once all related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to collectable amounts are eliminated, estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted on no less than a quarterly basis.
License and Royalty Revenue – license revenues are determined based on an assessment of whether the license is distinct from any other performance obligations that may be included in the underlying licensing arrangement. If the customer is able to benefit from the license without provision of any other performance obligations by Aquestive and the license is thereby viewed as a distinct or functional license, Aquestive then determines whether the customer has acquired a right to use the license or a right to access the license. For functional licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by Aquestive, the customer is viewed as acquiring the right to use the license as, and when, transferred and revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints. For symbolic licenses providing substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by Aquestive, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. Such other obligations provided by Aquestive generally include manufactured products, additional development services or other deliverables that are contracted to be provided during the license term. Payments
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received in excess of amounts ratably or otherwise earned are deferred and recognized over the term of the license or as contingencies or other performance obligations are met.
Revenue recognition arising from milestone payments is dependent upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the milestone payments. Milestone payments based on a non-sales metric such as a development-based milestone (e.g., an NDA filing or obtaining regulatory approval) represent variable consideration and are included in the transaction price subject to any constraints. If the milestone payments relate to future development, the timing of recognition depends upon historical experience and the significance a third party has on the outcome. For milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of a sales threshold, the revenue from the milestone payments is recognized at the later of when the actual sales are incurred or the performance obligation to which the sales relate to has been satisfied.
Royalty Obligations and Interest Expense
In connection with the issuance of the 13.5% Notes, we entered into a Royalty Rights Agreement with each of the Note Holders granting the Note Holders a tiered royalty between 1.0% and 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Anaphylm (epinephrine) Sublingual Film for a period of eight years from the first sale of Anaphylm on a global basis. The note holders are also entitled to a tiered royalty between 1.0% to 2.0% of annual worldwide net sales of Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film until the earlier of (1) the first sale of Anaphylm and (2) eight years from the first sale of Libervant. The Royalty Rights Agreements are classified as debt, and the value of the $45,000 13.5% Notes has been allocated between debt and the royalty obligations based on their relative fair market values. The excess of future estimated royalty payments of $56,926 over the $13,856 of allocated fair value is recognized as a discount related to the Royalty Right Agreements and is amortized over the life of the Royalty Rights Agreements. Such amortization is reflected as interest expense related to royalty obligations in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. The 13.5% Notes are discussed in Note 14, Long-Term Debt, to our consolidated financial statements.
Liability and interest expense related to sale of future revenue
We treated the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI as debt financing in accordance with ASC 470 Debt, amortized under the effective interest rate method over the estimated life of the related expected royalty stream. The liability related to the sale of future revenue has been initially recorded at its proceeds, net of deferred cost. The liability related to the sale of future revenue and the related interest expense are based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. We periodically assess the expected royalty payments using a combination of internal projections and forecasts from external resources. To the extent our future estimates of royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the timing of such payments is materially different than its previous estimates, we will prospectively adjust the related interest expense. Amortization of debt is reflected as interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. For further discussion of the sale of the future revenue, see Note 16, Sale of Future Revenue.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001628280-23-010180.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part 1 Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. All dollar amounts are stated in thousands.
Overview
Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. ("we", "Aquestive", or the "Company") is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to solve patients' problems with current standards of care and provide transformative products to improve their lives. We are developing pharmaceutical products to deliver complex molecules through alternative administrations to invasive and inconvenient standard of care therapies. We have five licensed commercialized products which are marketed by our licensees in the U.S. and around the world. We are the exclusive manufacturer of these licensed products. Aquestive also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm®, and has proven drug development and commercialization capabilities. We are advancing a product pipeline for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. We have also developed a product pipeline focused on treating diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS. For a summary of our products and product candidates, please refer to Item I. Business of this Form 10-K.
Business Update Regarding COVID-19
The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our business, operations, clinical trials, regulatory approval process, capital, financial and monetization markets, financial results and financial condition, and those of our suppliers, distributors, customers and other third parties necessary to our business including those involved in the regulatory approval process, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty or clarity, including the duration and continuing severity of the outbreak, resurgence of the outbreak, continued or additional government actions to contain COVID-19, efficacy of vaccines, and new information that will emerge concerning the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19.
To date, we have been able to continue to manufacture and supply our products and currently do not anticipate any significant interruption in supply, although we continue to monitor this situation closely and there is no assurance that disruptions or delay will not occur as a result of COVID-19. We are also monitoring demand for our products, which could be negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the financial condition of our customers and licensees.
For additional information on various uncertainties and risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, see Item Part I. Item IA. Risk Factors included in this report.
Financial Operations Overview
Revenues
Our revenues to date have been earned from our manufactured products made to order for licensees, as well as revenue from our self-developed, recently-outlicensed proprietary product, Sympazan. Revenues are also earned from our product development services provided under contracts with customers, and from the licensing of our intellectual property. These activities generate revenues in four primary categories: manufacture and supply revenue, co-development and research fees, license and royalty revenue, and proprietary product sales, net.
Manufacture and Supply Revenue
We manufacture based on receipt of purchase orders from our licensees, and our licensees have an obligation to accept these orders once quality assurance validates the quality of the manufactured product with agreed upon technical specifications. With the exception of our license of Exservan, our licensees are responsible for all other aspects of commercialization of these products and we have no role, either direct or indirect, in our customers' commercialization activities, including those related to marketing, pricing, sales, payor access and regulatory operations. With regard to our license of Exservan to MTHA and Haisco, we continue to hold the NDA for that product and, as such, are responsible for certain regulatory obligations relating to the sale of the product so long as we are the holder of the NDA for the product.
We expect future manufacture and supply revenue from licensed products to be based on volume demand for existing licensed products, and for manufacturing and supply rights under license and supply agreements for existing or new agreements for successful product development collaborations.
Co-development and Research Fees
We work with our licensees to co-develop pharmaceutical products. In this regard, we earn fees through performance of specific tasks, activities, or completion of stages of development defined within a contractual arrangement with the relevant licensee. The nature and
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extent of these performance obligations, broadly referred to as milestones or deliverables, are usually dependent on the scope and structure of the project as contracted, as well as the complexity of the product and the specific regulatory approval path necessary for that product.
License and Royalty Revenue
We realize revenue from licenses of our intellectual property. For licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by us, our licensee has acquired the right to use the licensed intellectual property for self-development of their product candidate, for manufacturing, commercialization or other specified purposes, upon the effective transfer of those rights, and related revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints, if any. For licenses that may provide substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by us, such as development services or the manufacture of specific products, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. We also earn royalties based on our licensees' sales of products that use our intellectual property that are marketed and sold in the countries where we have patented technology rights. Royalty revenue related to the sale of future revenue is described further in this section under Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates.
Proprietary Product Sales, Net
We commercialized our first proprietary CNS product, Sympazan, in December 2018. Revenues from sales of proprietary product are recorded net of prompt payment discounts, wholesaler service fees, returns allowances, rebates and co-pay support redemptions, each of which are described in more detail below. These reserves are based on estimates of the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales. These amounts are treated as variable consideration, estimated and recognized as a reduction of the transaction price at the time of the sale. We include these estimated amounts in connection with the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized for such transaction will not occur, or when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. The calculation of some of these items requires management to make estimates based on sales data, historical return data, contracts and other related information that may become known in the future. The adequacy of these provisions is reviewed on a quarterly basis. In October 2022, we entered into a License Agreement ("Assertio Agreement") with Otter Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a subsidiary of Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASRT) (“Assertio”), a specialty pharmaceutical company offering differentiated products to patients, pursuant to which the Company granted an exclusive, worldwide license of its intellectual property for Sympazan to Assertio during the term of that agreement. We are the exclusive sole manufacturer and supplier of Sympazan for Assertio and began recognizing Manufacture and Supply Revenue subsequent to the Assertio Agreement.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are primarily the result of the following activities: generation of manufacture and supply revenues; development of our pipeline of proprietary product candidates; and selling, general and administrative expenses, including pre-launch and post-launch commercialization efforts, intellectual property procurement, protection, prosecution and litigation expenses, corporate management functions, medical and clinical affairs administration; public company costs, share-based compensation expenses and interest on our corporate borrowings. We primarily record our costs and expenses in the following categories:
Manufacture and Supply Costs and Expenses
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses are primarily incurred from the manufacture of our commercialized licensed pharmaceutical products, including raw materials, direct labor and overhead costs principally in our Portage, Indiana facilities. Our material costs include the costs of raw materials used in the production of our proprietary dissolving film and primary packaging materials. Direct labor costs consist of payroll costs (including taxes and benefits) of employees engaged in production activities. Overhead costs principally consist of indirect payroll, facilities rent, utilities and depreciation for leasehold improvements and production machinery and equipment. These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the costs of materials, purchased at market pricing, and the amount of direct labor required to produce a product, along with the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on production volume.
Our manufacture and supply costs and expenses are impacted by our customers’ supply requirements. Costs of production reflect the costs of raw materials that are purchased at market prices and production efficiency (measured by the cost of a salable unit). These costs can increase or decrease based on the amount of direct labor and materials required to produce a product and the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on the levels of production.
We expect to continue to seek to rationalize and manage costs to prepare for a potential decline in Suboxone volumes as the generics in that market continue to take market share, offset by anticipated manufacturing revenue of our proprietary and licensed product including Sympazan, subsequent to the Assertio Agreement in October 2022. In addition to our proprietary products coming online, we may add licensee products which may need additional resources to manufacture. If such growth should occur for higher volume product opportunities such as Suboxone, we would incur increased costs associated with hiring additional personnel to support the increased manufacturing and supply costs arising from higher manufactured volumes from proprietary and licensed products.
Research and Development Expenses
Since our inception, we have focused significant resources on our research and development activities. Research and development expenses primarily consist of:
•employee-related expenses, including compensation, benefits, share-based compensation and travel expense;
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•external research and development expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as contract research organizations, investigational sites and consultants;
•the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical study materials; and
•costs associated with preclinical and clinical activities and regulatory operations.
We expect our research and development expenses to continue to be significant over the next several years as we continue to develop existing product candidates such as AQST-109, AQST-108 and others, and we identify and develop or acquire additional product candidates and technologies. We may hire or engage additional skilled colleagues or third parties to perform these activities, conduct clinical trials and ultimately seek regulatory approvals for any product candidate that successfully completes those clinical trials.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, General and Administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, share-based compensation, other related costs for executive, finance, and operational personnel. Other costs include facility and related costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses such as: professional fees for patent-related and other legal expenses, consulting, tax and accounting services; insurance; market research; advisory board and key opinion leaders; depreciation; and general corporate expenses, inclusive of IT systems related costs.
A significant portion of selling, general and administrative expenses in 2022 and 2021 relates to the sale and marketing of our proprietary product, Sympazan prior to the Assertio Agreement in October 2022. Subsequently, we have significantly reduced expenses related to the marketing and sales of Sympazan. Until Libervant receives FDA approval for U.S. market access, which cannot be assured, we do not plan to increase the size and resources dedicated to our commercial organization.
Our general and administrative costs include costs related to accounting, audit, legal regulatory, and tax-related services required to maintain compliance with exchange listing and SEC regulations, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs. We continue to incur significant costs in seeking to protect our intellectual property rights, including significant litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties’ at-risk launch of generic products.
We will continue to manage business costs to prepare for a potential future decline in Suboxone revenue, the manufacturing costs related to Sympazan and other external factors affecting our business, as we continue to focus on our core business:
•Continuing the development of AQST-109 and AQST-108 along the 505(b)(2) pathway; and
•Seeking to obtain the approval and subsequent launch of Libervant, subject to approval by the FDA for U.S. market access, which cannot be assured.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest costs on our 12.5% Notes at a fixed rate of 12.5%, payable quarterly, as well as amortization of loan costs and the debt discount. The 12.5% Notes are discussed in Note 12, 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and Loans Payable, to our consolidated financial statements. See Liquidity and Capital Resources below for further detail on our 12.5% Notes.
Interest Expense related to Sale of Future Revenue and Royalty Revenue
On November 3, 2020, we entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Monetization Agreement") with MAM Pangolin Royalty, LLC, an affiliate of Marathon Asset Management ("Marathon"). Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold to Marathon all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion's apomorphine product, KYNMOBI, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, which received approval from the FDA on May 21, 2020. In exchange for the sale of these rights, we received an upfront payment from Marathon of $40,000 and an additional payment of $10,000 through the achievement of the first milestone. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2022 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. Based on the current forecast by Sunovion of estimated KYNMOBI sales as of December 31, 2022, the Company likely may not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization Agreement.
As royalties are remitted to Marathon from Sunovion, the collection of the royalty receivable and balance of the liability related to the sale of future revenue will be effectively repaid over the life of the agreement. In order to determine the amortization of the liability related to the sale of future revenue, the Company is required to estimate the total amount of future royalty and milestone payments to Marathon over the life of the Monetization Agreement and contingent milestone payments from Marathon to the Company. The sum of future royalty payments less the $50,000 in proceeds received and future contingent payments will be recorded as interest expense over the life of the Monetization Agreement.
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During the second quarter of 2020, under the Sunovion License Agreement, we recognized $8,000 of royalty revenue and corresponding royalty receivable, related to the $1,000 annual minimum guaranteed royalty that is due in each of the next eight years. In connection with the Monetization Agreement, we performed an assessment under ASC 860, Transfer and Servicing to determine whether the existing receivable was transferred to Marathon and concluded that the receivable was not transferred. See Note 14, Sale of Future Revenue, to our consolidated financial statements for further detail.
Interest Income and other income (expense), net
Interest income and other income (expense), net consists of earnings derived from an interest-bearing account and other miscellaneous income and expense items. The interest-bearing account has no minimum amount to be maintained in the account nor any fixed length of period for which interest is earned.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
The following discussion of our results of operations explains the material drivers of these results of operations.
Revenues
The following table sets forth our revenue data for the periods indicated.
| Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply revenue | $ | 36,378 | $ | 35,312 | $ | 1,066 | 3 | % | |||||||
| License and royalty revenue | 2,351 | 5,380 | (3,029) | (56 | %) | ||||||||||
| Co-development and research fees | 1,293 | 1,635 | (342) | (21 | %) | ||||||||||
| Proprietary product sales, net | 7,658 | 8,505 | (847) | (10) | % | ||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 47,680 | $ | 50,832 | $ | (3,152) | (6 | %) |
Revenues decreased 6% or $3,152 in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was due to lower license and royalty revenue, co-development and research fees and net proprietary product sales, partially offset by an increase in manufacture and supply revenue.
Manufacture and supply revenue increased approximately 3% or $1,066 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. This increase was due to increased manufacturing volume of Zuplenz subsequent to receiving foreign regulatory approval in February 2022, increased manufacturing volume of Sympazan subsequent to the outlicensing agreement with Assertio in October 2022, offset by a decline in Suboxone manufacturing volume in 2022.
License and royalty revenue decreased 56% or $3,029 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. This decrease was primarily due to the remaining deferred revenue of $2,098 from the terminated license and supply agreement with Fortovia Therapeutics Inc., as well as milestone revenue earned from Zevra of $2,000 that were recognized in 2021 and did not reoccur in 2022. This was partially offset by an increase in royalty revenue based on our licensees' sales of products.
Co-development and research fees decreased 21% or $342 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was driven by the timing of the achievement of research and development performance obligations and are expected to fluctuate from one reporting period to the next.
Proprietary product sales, net decreased 10% or $847 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was due to the discontinuation of Sympazan sales revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022. In October 2022, the Company entered into a license agreement with Assertio and granted an exclusive, world-wide license of our intellectual property for Sympazan to Assertio during the term of that license agreement. The Company is the exclusive sole manufacturer and supplier of Sympazan for Assertio and began recognizing Sympazan sales in manufacture and supply revenue and license and royalty revenue, instead of proprietary product sales revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Expenses:
The following table sets forth our expense data for the periods indicated:
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| Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply | $ | 19,386 | $ | 14,989 | $ | 4,397 | 29 | % | |||||||
| Research and development | 17,481 | 17,047 | 434 | 3 | % | ||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 52,879 | 53,475 | (596) | (1 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | 6,552 | 10,049 | (3,497) | (35 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue | 5,891 | 12,412 | (6,521) | (53 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest income and other income, net | (99) | (423) | 324 | 77 | % | ||||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — | 13,822 | (13,822) | 100 | % |
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses increased 29% or $4,397 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The increase in manufacture and supply costs was due to higher costs related to raw material and production.
Research and development expenses increased 3% or $434 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Research and development expenses are driven by the timing of clinical trial as well as other product development activities associated with the Company's pipeline.
Below are research and development expenses by type of cost for each period presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 3,521 | $ | 3,189 | |||
| Labor - R&D staff | 4,284 | 4,915 | |||||
| Development and manufacturing | 2,831 | 1,538 | |||||
| Preclinical | 1,045 | 599 | |||||
| All Other R&D | 5,800 | 6,806 | |||||
| Total | $ | 17,481 | $ | 17,047 |
Selling, general and administrative expenses remained flat for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021.
Interest expense decreased 35% or $3,497 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was driven by a loss on the extinguishment of debt that was recognized in connection with the Fourth Supplemental Indenture to the 12.5 % Senior Secured Notes during the fourth quarter of 2021, which resulted in a lower net carrying value of debt in 2022.
Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue was $5,891 for the year ended December 31, 2022. This amount is due to the accounting associated with the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI royalties sold to Marathon on November 3, 2020 and does not represent or imply a monetary obligation or cash output at any time during the life of the transaction. Based on the current forecast by Sunovion of estimated KYNMOBI sales as of December 31, 2022, the Company likely may not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization Agreement. As a result the Company discontinued recording interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022, which led to a decrease in 2022. See Note 14, Sale of Future Revenue to our Consolidated Financial Statements for details.
Interest income and other income, net decreased 77% or $324 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was due to the fair value adjustment of the put option related to the 12.5% Notes. See Note 12, 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and Loans Payable to our Consolidated Financial Statements for details.
During 2021, we recognized loss on extinguishment of debt of $13,822 for fees and expenses related to the Fourth Supplemental Indenture that was executed in October 2021. The loss on extinguishment of debt was a one-time charge that did not occur in 2022.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We had $27,273 in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022. While the Company’s ability to execute its business objectives and achieve profitability over the longer term cannot be assured, the Company's on-going business, existing cash and equivalents,
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expense management activities, including, but not limited to the ceasing of R&D activities, as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through its ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, provide near term liquidity for the Company to fund its operating needs for at least the next twelve months as it continues to execute its business strategy.
The Company's on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, potentially provide near term sources of funds. While the Fifth Supplemental Indenture extended until March 31, 2023 the potential ability to access up to $30,000 of additional capital under the re-openers under the Indenture, we do not expect to be able to avail ourselves of such re-openers.
On November 3, 2020, we entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Monetization Agreement") with MAM Pangolin Royalty, LLC, an affiliate of Marathon Asset Management ("Marathon"). Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion's apomorphine product, KYNMOBI®, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, which received approval from the FDA on May 21, 2020. In exchange for the sale of these rights, we received from Marathon an upfront payment of $40,000 and an additional payment of $10,000 through the achievement of the first milestone. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2022 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. Based on the current forecast by Sunovion of estimated KYNMOBI sales as of December 31, 2022, the Company likely may not receive any of the additional contingent payments under the Monetization Agreement.
With the upfront proceeds of the Marathon monetization, we repaid $22,500 of the 12.5% Notes, and issued $4,000 of new 12.5% Notes in lieu of paying a prepayment premium on the early repayment of the 12.5% Notes, reducing the aggregate principal balance of 12.5% Notes outstanding to $51,500. In addition, as of the closing of this transaction, we issued to the holders of the 12.5% Notes warrants to purchase 143,000 shares of our Common Stock.
On October 7, 2021, the Company entered into the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, pursuant to which the amortization schedule for the 12.5% Notes was amended to provide for the date of the first amortization payment to be extended to March 30, 2023. The Fourth Supplemental Indenture did not change the maturity date of the Notes or the interest payment obligation due under the Notes. In connection with the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, the Company entered into a Consent Fee Letter with the holders of the 12.5% Notes, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the holders of the 12.5% Notes an additional cash payment of $2,700 in the aggregate, payable in four quarterly payments beginning May 15, 2022.
On May 13, 2022, pursuant to the Fifth Supplemental Indenture, the holders of the 12.5% Notes further extended to March 31, 2023 from June 30, 2022, the Company's ability to access, at the Company's option, $30,000 of 12.5% Notes re-openers under the Indenture. The Fifth Supplemental Indenture also provided that the Company will only be able to access the re-openers upon FDA approval of Libervant for U.S. market access, and that the holders of 12.5% Notes have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the re-openers. If and to the extent that we access these re-openers, we will grant warrants to the holders of the 12.5% Notes to purchase up to 714,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock, with the strike price calculated based on the 30-day volume weighted average closing price of our Common Stock at the warrant grant date.
In 2019, we established an “At-The-Market” (ATM) facility and currently have a prospectus supplement registering the offer and sale of up to $35,000 of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the ATM facility. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold 6,550,486 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $29,778 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $1,291. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company sold 2,860,538 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $3,907 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $289. This ATM facility has approximately $33,416 available at December 31, 2022.
On April 12, 2022, we entered into the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, which provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell to Lincoln Park up to $40,000 worth of shares of our Common Stock from time to time over the 36-month term of the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement. The Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement contains an ownership limitation such that we will not issue, and Lincoln Park will not purchase, shares of Common Stock if it would result in Lincoln Park's beneficial ownership of our outstanding Common Stock exceeding 9.99%. Lincoln Park has covenanted under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement not to cause or engage in any manner whatsoever any direct or indirect short selling or hedging of our Common Stock. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company sold 1,600,000 shares in addition to issuing 236,491 commitment shares, which provided proceeds of approximately $1,987 in connection with the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement.
As of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we will be subject to the SEC general instructions of Form S-3 known as the "baby shelf rules." Under these instructions, the amount of funds we can raise through primary public offerings of securities in any 12-month period using our registration statement on Form S-3 is limited to one-third of the aggregate market value of the shares of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates. Therefore, we will be limited in the amount of proceeds we are able to raise by selling shares of our Common Stock using our Form S-3, including under the ATM facility and the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, until such time as our public float exceeds $75 million.
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On June 6, 2022, we entered into securities purchase agreements ("Securities Purchase Agreements") with certain purchasers. The Securities Purchase Agreements provide for the sale and issuance by us of an aggregate of: (i) 4,850,000 shares of Common Stock, (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 4,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (iii) Common Stock warrants to purchase up to 8,850,000 shares of Common Stock. We received net proceeds of approximately $7,796, after deducting placement agent fees and expenses and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pre-funded warrants were fully exercised and no Common Stock warrants issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Cash Flows
The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| (In thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash used for operating activities | $ | (9,789) | $ | (32,979) | |||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (2,524) | (913) | |||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 11,562 | 30,109 | |||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents | $ | (751) | $ | (3,783) |
Net Cash Used for Operating Activities
Net cash used for operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 decreased by $23,190 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was related to payments received from license and supply agreements that we entered into in 2022, and a lower net loss of $16,129, offset by the change in operating assets and liabilities. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to the one-time loss on extinguishment of debt in 2021 that did not reoccur in 2022, lower interest expense related to the sale of future revenue, less amortization of debt issuance costs, and less share-based compensation expense.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $1,611 compared to the same period in 2021. The use of cash was related to capital expenditures and additions to intangible assets.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 decreased by $18,547 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease was primarily due to less Common Stock purchase proceeds under the ATM facility and premium paid to retire debt in 2022, partially offset by proceeds from issuance of Common Stock and warrants under private equity offerings in 2022. See Note 1, Company Overview and Equity Transactions to our Consolidated Financial Statements for detail.
Funding Requirements
The Company's on-going business, existing cash and equivalents, expense management activities as well as access to the equity capital markets, including through our ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, potentially provide near term funding opportunities for the Company, subject to the limitations imposed by the baby shelf rules, see "Liquidity and Capital Resources". There is up to $30,000 available under the existing debt facility upon the full approval of Libervant by the FDA for U.S. market access prior to March 31, 2023. Due to the FDA decision in August 2022, discussed above under "Overview - Proprietary CNS Product Portfolio - Libervant," however, we must overcome the seven year orphan drug exclusivity granted by the FDA for the approved nasal spray product of a competitor in the U.S. in order for Libervant to be granted U.S. market access. We can provide no assurance that any of these sources of funding, either individually or in combination, will be available on reasonable terms, if at all, or sufficient to fund our business objectives. In addition, we may be required to utilize available financial resources sooner than expected. We have based our expectation on assumptions that could change or prove to be inaccurate, due to unrelated factors including factors arising in the capital markets, asset monetization markets, regulatory approval process, including the full approval of Libervant by the FDA for U.S. market access, and regulatory oversight and other factors. Key factors and assumptions inherent in our planned continued operations and anticipated growth include, without limitation, those related to the following:
•the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, operations of our key suppliers and third-party clinical and other service providers, our colleagues and contractors and debt equity and other capital markets;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for our manufactured products, including effects of generics and other competitive pressures as currently envisioned;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for provided co-development and feasibility services, as well as regulatory support services for recently licensed products, such as Exservan;
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•access to debt or equity markets if, and at the time, needed for any necessary future funding;
•continuing review and appropriate adjustment of our cost structure consistent with our anticipated revenues and funding;
•continued growth and market penetration of Sympazan, including anticipated patient and physician acceptance and our licensee's ability to obtain adequate price and payment support from government agencies and other private medical insurers;
•effective commercialization within anticipated cost levels and expected ramp-up timeframes of our product candidate Libervant, if approved for U.S. market access by the FDA;
•infrastructure and administrative costs at expected levels to support operations as an FDA and highly regulated public company;
•a manageable level of costs for ongoing efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, including litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties' "at-risk" launch of generic products, and other litigation matters in which we are involved;
•continued compliance with all covenants under our 12.5% Notes, including our ability to comply with our debt service obligations as required thereunder;
•absence of significant unforeseen cash requirements; and
•our ability to access funding through the Company's ATM facility and under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement.
We expect to continue to manage business costs to appropriately reflect the anticipated general decline in Suboxone revenue, the proceeds from the KYNMOBI Monetization Agreement, and other external resources or factors affecting our business including, if available, any future potential issuances of additional 12.5% Notes under the Indenture, net proceeds or future equity financing, other future access to the capital markets or other potential available sources of liquidity, as well as the uncertainties associated with the coronavirus pandemic. In doing so, we plan to continue to focus on the core drivers of value for our stockholders, including, more importantly, continued investments in our ongoing product development activities in support AQST-109 and AQST-108. Until profitability is achieved, if at all, additional capital and/or other financing or funding will be required, which could be material, to further advance the development and commercialization of Libervant, AQST-109 and AQST-108, if approved by the FDA for U.S. market access, and to meet our other cash requirements, including debt service, specifically our 12.5% Notes. We plan to conservatively manage our pre-launch spending as to both timing and level relating to Libervant in light of the tentative approval of Libervant by the FDA. In this regard and in light of our out-license of Sympazan, we expect to significantly reduce our cost on commercialization in 2023 compared to 2022. Even as such, we expect to incur losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future and, therefore, we expect to be dependent upon external financing and funding to achieve our operating plan.
The sufficiency of our short-term and longer-term liquidity is directly impacted by our level of operating revenues and our ability to achieve our operating plan for revenues, regulatory approval in the time period planned for our product candidates and our ability to monetize other royalty streams or other licensed rights within planned timeframes, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in any monetization transaction. Our operating revenues have fluctuated in the past and can be expected to fluctuate in the future. We expect to incur significant operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future, and we have a significant level of debt on which we have substantial ongoing debt repayment and debt service obligations and have principal repayments related to our 12.5% Notes due through the debt maturity date, which is further discussed in Note 12, 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and Loans Payable to our Consolidated Financial Statements. A substantial portion of our current and past revenues has been dependent upon our licensing, manufacturing and sales with one customer, Indivior, which is expected to continue, and it could take significantly longer than planned to achieve anticipated levels of cash flows to help fund our operations and cash needs.
To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuance of equity securities, our stockholders would experience further dilution and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences (if and to the extent permitted under the Indenture) that would adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. Our ability to secure additional equity financing could be significantly impacted by numerous factors including our operating performance and prospects, positive or negative developments in the regulatory approval process for our proprietary products, timely achievement of regulatory approval by the FDA for Libervant for U.S. market access, and there can be no assurance that we will receive such approval prior to the expiration in January 2027 of the orphan drug market exclusivity of the FDA approved nasal spray of a competitor, our existing level of debt which is secured by substantially all of our assets, restriction under the Indenture, and general financial market conditions, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to be successful in raising capital or that any such needed financing will be available, available on favorable or acceptable terms or at the times, or in the amounts needed, if at all. Additionally, while the potential economic impact brought on by and the duration of the coronavirus pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, the significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global financial markets, and on our own stock trading price, may reduce our ability to access additional capital, which would negatively impact our short-term and longer-term liquidity.
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If adequate funds are not available for our short-term or longer-term liquidity needs and cash requirements as and when needed, we would be required to engage in expense management activities such as reducing staff, delaying, significantly scaling back, or even discontinuing some or all of our current or planned research and development programs and clinical and other product development activities, and otherwise significantly reducing our other spending and adjusting our operating plan, and we would need to seek to take other steps intended to improve our liquidity. We also may be required to evaluate additional licensing opportunities, if any become available, of our proprietary product candidate programs that we currently plan to self-commercialize or explore other potential liquidity opportunities or other alternatives or options or strategic alternatives, such asset sales, although we cannot assure that any of these actions would be available or available on reasonable terms.
See also Part I, Item II, Risk Factors concerning the significant risks and uncertainties concerning our business, operations, financial results and capital resources associated with the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We have entered into various contractual agreements under which we have long term obligations. For more information regarding our commitments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 20, Contingencies.
For more information regarding our future lease payments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 9, Right of Use Assets and Lease Liabilities for our minimum lease payments schedule. The expected timing of our leases may be different in future years, depending on our decision to extend lease terms and/or enter into leases in preceding years.
For more information on our repayments of our 12.5% Notes, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 12, 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and Loans Payable.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
We have based our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in the U.S. The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience when available and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this filing, we believe that the following accounting policies are those that are most critical to the significant judgements and estimates used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition
Proprietary product sales, net - this net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Sympazan prior to our outlicensing of the product, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, Medicare, Medicaid and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once all related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to collectable amounts are eliminated, estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted on no less than a quarterly basis.
License and Royalty Revenue – license revenues are determined based on an assessment of whether the license is distinct from any other performance obligations that may be included in the underlying licensing arrangement. If the customer is able to benefit from the license without provision of any other performance obligations by the Company and the license is thereby viewed as a distinct or functional license, the Company then determines whether the customer has acquired a right to use the license or a right to access the license. For functional licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by the Company, the customer is viewed as acquiring the right to use the license as, and when, transferred and revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints. For symbolic licenses providing substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by the Company, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. Such other obligations provided by the Company generally include manufactured products, additional development services or other deliverables that are contracted to be provided during the license term. Payments received in excess of amounts ratably or otherwise earned are deferred and recognized over the term of the license or as contingencies or other performance obligations are met.
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Revenue recognition arising from milestone payments is dependent upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the milestone payments. Milestone payments based on a non-sales metric such as a development-based milestone (e.g., an NDA filing or obtaining regulatory approval) represent variable consideration and are included in the transaction price subject to any constraints. If the milestone payments relate to future development, the timing of recognition depends upon historical experience and the significance a third party has on the outcome. For milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of a sales threshold, the revenue from the milestone payments is recognized at the later of when the actual sales are incurred or the performance obligation to which the sales relate to has been satisfied.
Liability, royalty revenue, and interest expense related to sale of future revenue
The Company treated the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI® as debt financing in accordance with ASC 470 Debt, amortized under the effective interest rate method over the estimated life of the related expected royalty stream. The liability related to the sale of future revenue has been initially recorded at its proceeds, net of deferred cost. The liability related to the sale of future revenue and the related interest expense are based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. The Company will periodically assess the expected royalty payments using a combination of internal projections and forecasts from external resources. To the extent our future estimates of royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the interest timing of such payments is materially different than its previous estimates, the Company will prospectively adjust the related interest expense. Royalty revenue related to the sale of future revenue is reflected in license fees and royalties, and amortization of debt is reflected as interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. For further discussion of the sale of the future revenue, refer to Note 14, Sale of Future Revenue.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001628280-22-005393.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part 1 Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. All dollar amounts are stated in thousands.
Overview
Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to solve patients’ problems with current standards of care and provide transformative products to improve their lives. We are developing orally administered products to deliver complex molecules, providing novel alternatives to invasive and inconvenient standard of care therapies. Aquestive has five commercialized products on the U.S. market, four licensed products and one stand-alone proprietary product to date, Sympazan® (clobazam) oral film for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. Our licensees market their products in the U.S. and around the world. The Company also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm®, and has proven drug development and commercialization capabilities. Aquestive is advancing a late-stage proprietary product pipeline focused on treating diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS, and an earlier stage pipeline for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. For a summary of our product and product candidates, please refer to Item I. Business of this Form 10-K.
Business Update Regarding COVID-19
The current COVID-19 pandemic has continued to present substantial health and economic risks, uncertainties and challenges to our business, the U.S. and global economies and financial markets. It is not currently possible to predict how long the pandemic will last or the time it will take for the economy to return to prior levels. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our business, operations, clinical trials, regulatory approval process, capital, financial and monetization markets, financial results and financial condition, and those of our suppliers, distributors, customers and other third parties necessary to our business including those involved in the regulatory approval process, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty or clarity, including the duration and continuing severity of the outbreak, resurgence of the outbreak, continued or additional government actions to contain COVID-19, timing or efficacy of any vaccine, and new information that will emerge concerning the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19.
To date, we have been able to continue to manufacture and supply our products and currently do not anticipate any significant interruption in supply, although we continue to monitor this situation closely and there is no assurance that disruptions or delay will not occur as a result of COVID-19. We are also monitoring demand for our products, which could be negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the financial condition of our customers and licensees, one of whom delayed remittance of certain payments due to us for development services provided but ultimately made such payments.
Our office-based colleagues have generally been working from home since March 2020. With additional protections and protocols, we have maintained appropriate and necessary staffing levels at both our laboratory and manufacturing sites. While we previously suspended in-person interactions by our sales and marketing personnel and engaged remotely to support our commercialization efforts, our sales and marketing practices continue to evolve in accordance with changing local rules and regulations. We believe the opportunity for in-person interactions with healthcare providers should increase as the vaccination rate continues to grow. The landscape continues to evolve as localities reestablish and or ease restrictions, as the case may be, with the rise and fall of new case rates and the pace of vaccinations.
For additional information on various uncertainties and risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, see Item Part I. Item IA. Risk Factors included in this report.
Financial Operations Overview
Revenues
Our revenues to date have been earned from our manufactured products made to order for licensees, as well as revenue from our self-developed, self-commercialized proprietary product, Sympazan®. Revenues are also earned from our product development services provided under contracts with customers, and from the licensing of our intellectual property. These activities generate revenues in four primary categories: manufacture and supply revenue, co-development and research fees, license and royalty revenue, and proprietary product sales, net.
Manufacture and Supply Revenue
We manufacture based on receipt of purchase orders from our licensees, and our licensees have an obligation to accept these orders once quality assurance validates the quality of the manufactured product with agreed upon technical specifications. Our licensees are responsible for all other aspects of commercialization of these products and we have no role, either direct or indirect, in our customers' commercialization activities, including those related to marketing, pricing, sales, payor access and regulatory operations.
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We expect future manufacture and supply revenue from licensed products to be based on volume demand for existing licensed products, and for manufacturing and supply rights under license and supply agreements for existing or new agreements for successful product development collaborations.
Co-development and Research Fees
We work with our licensees to co-develop pharmaceutical products. In this regard, we earn fees through performance of specific tasks, activities, or completion of stages of development defined within a contractual arrangement with the relevant licensee. The nature and extent of these performance obligations, broadly referred to as milestones or deliverables, are usually dependent on the scope and structure of the project as contracted, as well as the complexity of the product and the specific regulatory approval path necessary for that product.
License and Royalty Revenue
We realize revenue from licenses of our intellectual property. For licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by us, our licensee has acquired the right to use the licensed intellectual property for self-development of their product candidate, for manufacturing, commercialization or other specified purposes, upon the effective transfer of those rights, and related revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints, if any. For licenses that may provide substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by us, such as development services or the manufacture of specific products, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. We also earn royalties based on our licensees' sales of products that use our intellectual property that are marketed and sold in the countries where we have patented technology rights. Royalty revenue related to the sale of future revenue is described further in this section under Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates "Royalty Revenue and Interest Expense related to Sale of Future Revenue".
Proprietary Product Sales, Net
We commercialized our first proprietary CNS product, Sympazan, in December 2018. We currently sell Sympazan through wholesalers for distribution through retail and specialty pharmacies. Revenues from sales of proprietary product are recorded net of prompt payment discounts, wholesaler service fees, returns allowances, rebates and co-pay support redemptions, each of which are described in more detail below. These reserves are based on estimates of the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales. These amounts are treated as variable consideration, estimated and recognized as a reduction of the transaction price at the time of the sale. We include these estimated amounts in connection with the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized for such transaction will not occur, or when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. The calculation of some of these items requires management to make estimates based on sales data, historical return data, contracts and other related information that may become known in the future. The adequacy of these provisions is reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are primarily the result of the following activities: generation of manufacture and supply revenues; development of our pipeline of proprietary product candidates; and selling, general and administrative expenses, including pre-launch and post-launch commercialization efforts, intellectual property procurement, protection, prosecution and litigation expenses, corporate management functions, medical and clinical affairs administration; public company costs, share-based compensation expenses and interest on our corporate borrowings. We primarily record our costs and expenses in the following categories:
Manufacture and Supply Costs and Expenses
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses are primarily incurred from the manufacture of our commercialized licensed pharmaceutical products and for our self-developed, self-commercialized, approved proprietary product, including raw materials, direct labor and overhead costs principally in our Portage, Indiana facilities. Our material costs include the costs of raw materials used in the production of our proprietary dissolving film and primary packaging materials. Direct labor costs consist of payroll costs (including taxes and benefits) of employees engaged in production activities. Overhead costs principally consist of indirect payroll, facilities rent, utilities and depreciation for leasehold improvements and production machinery and equipment. These costs can increase, or decrease, based on the costs of materials, purchased at market pricing, and the amount of direct labor required to produce a product, along with the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on production volume.
Our manufacture and supply costs and expenses are impacted by our customers’ supply requirements. Costs of production reflect the costs of raw materials that are purchased at market prices and production efficiency (measured by the cost of a salable unit). These costs can increase or decrease based on the amount of direct labor and materials required to produce a product and the allocation of fixed overhead, which is dependent on the levels of production.
We expect to continue to seek to rationalize and manage costs to prepare for a potential decline in Suboxone volumes as the generics in that market continue to take market share, modestly offset by the commercialization of our proprietary products, starting with Sympazan launched in December 2018. In addition to our proprietary products coming online, we may add licensee products which may need additional resources to manufacture. If such growth should occur for higher volume product opportunities such as Suboxone, we would incur increased costs associated with hiring additional personnel to support the increased manufacturing and supply costs arising from higher manufactured volumes from proprietary and licensed products.
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Research and Development Expenses
Since our inception, we have focused significant resources on our research and development activities. Research and development expenses primarily consist of:
•employee-related expenses, including compensation, benefits, share-based compensation and travel expense;
•external research and development expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as contract research organizations, investigational sites and consultants;
•the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical study materials; and
•costs associated with preclinical and clinical activities and regulatory operations.
We expect our research and development expenses to continue to be significant over the next several years as we continue to develop existing product candidates such as AQST-109, AQST-108, AQST-305 and others, and we identify and develop or acquire additional product candidates and technologies. We may hire or engage additional skilled colleagues or third parties to perform these activities, conduct clinical trials and ultimately seek regulatory approvals for any product candidate that successfully completes those clinical trials.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, share-based compensation, commercialization and marketing costs and other related costs for executive, finance, selling and operational personnel. Other costs include facility and related costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses such as: professional fees for patent-related and other legal expenses, consulting, tax and accounting services; insurance; selling; market research; advisory board and key opinion leaders; depreciation; and general corporate expenses, inclusive of IT systems related costs.
A significant portion of selling, general and administrative expenses relates to the sale and marketing of our proprietary product, Sympazan. Sympazan is the precursor and complement to the launch of Libervant, assuming that Libervant is approved and granted U.S. market access by the FDA. We believe there is a very high degree of overlap and correlation between prescribers of Sympazan and the likely prescribers of an approved Libervant. While Sympazan continues to grow, we will continue to rationalize its contribution to move towards profitability while continuing to introduce epilepsy prescribers and patients to Aquestive and PharmFilm® technology in advance of the anticipated launch of Libervant, assuming FDA approval for U.S. market access, which cannot be assured. The current commercial organization would begin the launch of Libervant, subject to approval of Libervant for U.S. market access by the FDA, shortly after its approval. Until a Libervant launch is certain, we do not plan to increase the costs of our commercial organization and expect to continue to improve the efficiency of the Sympazan commercial investments.
Our general and administrative costs include costs related to accounting, audit, legal regulatory, and tax-related services required to maintain compliance with exchange listing and SEC regulations, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs. We continue to incur significant costs in seeking to protect our intellectual property rights, including significant litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties’ at-risk launch of generic products.
We will continue to manage business costs to prepare for a potential future decline in Suboxone revenue, the marketing and sales costs related to Sympazan and other external factors affecting our business,, as we continue to focus on our core business:
•Seeking to obtain the approval and subsequent launch of Libervant, subject to approval by the FDA for U.S. market access, which cannot be assured;
•Continuing the development of AQST-109 and AQST-108 along the 505(b)(2) pathway; and
•Growing the revenue contribution from Sympazan as a first step to position Aquestive in the epilepsy community.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest costs on our 12.5% Notes at a fixed rate of 12.5%, payable quarterly, as well as amortization of loan costs and the debt discount. The 12.5% Notes are discussed in Note 12, 12.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2025, to our consolidated financial statements. See Liquidity and Capital Resources below for further detail on our 12.5% Notes.
Royalty Revenue and Interest Expense related to Sale of Future Revenue
On November 3, 2020, we entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Monetization Agreement") with MAM Pangolin Royalty, LLC, an affiliate of Marathon Asset Management ("Marathon"). Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion's apomorphine product, KYNMOBI. KYNMOBI, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 21, 2020. In exchange for the sale of these rights, we received an
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upfront payment of $40,000 and an additional payment of $10,000 through the achievement of the first milestone. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2021 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional aggregate contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. Based on the current forecast of estimated KYNMOBI sales as of December 31, 2021, the Company may not receive any of the additional aggregate contingent payments under the Monetization agreement.
During the second quarter of 2020, under the Sunovion License Agreement, we recognized $8,000 of royalty revenue and corresponding royalty receivable, related to the $1,000 annual minimum guaranteed royalty that is due in each of the next eight years. In connection with the Monetization Agreement, we performed an assessment under ASC 860, Transfer and Servicing to determine whether the existing receivable was transferred to Marathon and concluded that the receivable was not transferred. See Note 14, Sale of Future Revenue, to our consolidated financial statements for further detail.
Interest Income and other income (expense), net
Interest income and other income (expense), net consists of earnings derived from an interest-bearing account and other miscellaneous income and expense items. The interest-bearing account has no minimum amount to be maintained in the account nor any fixed length of period for which interest is earned.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
The following discussion of our results of operations explains the material drivers of these results of operations.
Revenues
The following table sets forth our revenue data for the periods indicated.
| Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply revenue | $ | 35,312 | $ | 24,881 | $ | 10,431 | 42 | % | |||||||
| License and royalty revenue | 5,380 | 14,055 | (8,675) | (62 | %) | ||||||||||
| Co-development and research fees | 1,635 | 1,264 | 371 | 29 | % | ||||||||||
| Proprietary product sales, net | 8,505 | 5,649 | 2,856 | 51 | % | ||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 50,832 | $ | 45,849 | $ | 4,983 | 11 | % |
Revenues increased 11% or $4,983 in 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher Sympazan revenue and manufacture and supply revenue, offset by lower license and royalty revenue.
Manufacture and supply revenue increased approximately 42% or $10,431 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. This increase was due to higher Suboxone manufacturing volume.
License and royalty revenue decreased 62% or $8,675 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. This decrease was due to a milestone earned of $4,000 as well as royalty revenue of $8,000 recognized upon the FDA approval of Sunovion’s KYNMOBI ™ product during the second quarter of 2020 that did not reoccur in 2021. This was partly offset by an increase in milestones earned from KemPharm, Inc. of $1,500 and the recognition of remaining deferred revenue of over $2,000 associated with the license and supply agreement for Zuplenz with Fortovia Therapeutics Inc. which was terminated in the first quarter of 2021.
Co-development and research fees increased 29% or $371 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The increase was driven by the timing of the achievement of research and development performance obligations and are expected to fluctuate from one reporting period to the next.
Proprietary product sales, net increased 51% or $2,856 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The increase was due to a steady rise in acceptance with the medical and patient communities over time which has led to increased prescriptions and improved payor approval rates for Sympazan.
Expenses:
The following table sets forth our expense data for the periods indicated:
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| Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except %) | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacture and supply | $ | 14,989 | $ | 12,964 | $ | 2,025 | 16 | % | |||||||
| Research and development | 17,047 | 19,886 | (2,839) | (14 | %) | ||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 53,475 | 55,892 | (2,417) | (4 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | 10,049 | 11,064 | (1,015) | (9 | %) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue | 12,412 | 1,958 | 10,454 | 534 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest income and other income, net | (423) | (132) | (291) | 220 | % | ||||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | 13,822 | — | 13,822 | 100 | % |
Manufacture and supply costs and expenses increased 16% or $2,025 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The increase in manufacture and supply costs was due to volume growth of Suboxone.
Research and development expenses decreased 14% or $2,839 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Research and development expenses are driven by the delayed timing of clinical trial as well as other product development activities associated with the Company's pipeline.
Below are research and development expenses by type of cost for each period presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Clinical Trials | $ | 3,189 | $ | 6,435 | |||
| Labor - R&D staff | 4,915 | 4,857 | |||||
| Development and manufacturing | 1,538 | 2,034 | |||||
| Preclinical | 599 | 667 | |||||
| All Other R&D | 6,806 | 5,893 | |||||
| Total | $ | 17,047 | $ | 19,886 |
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 4% or $2,417 for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease was due to lower sales and marketing costs and patent costs, partially offset by an increase in litigation expense that arose through the course of business.
Interest expense decreased 9% or $1,015 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease was due to lower debt outstanding in 2021 as a result of partial repayment of the 12.5% Notes in November 2020.
Interest expense related to the sale of future revenue was $12,412 for the year ended December 31, 2021. This amount is due to the accounting associated with the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI royalties sold to Marathon on November 3, 2020 and does not represent or imply a monetary obligation or cash output at any time during the life of the transaction. See Note 14 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for details.
Interest income and other income, net increased 220% or $291 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. This increase was due to the fair value adjustment of the put option related to the 12.5% Notes. See Note 12 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for details.
Loss on the extinguishment of debt was $13,822 for the year ended December 31, 2021. During 2021, we recognized loss on extinguishment of debt for fees and expenses related to the Fourth Supplemental Indenture that was executed in October 2021. The loss on extinguishment of debt was a one-time charge that did not occur in 2020.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have experienced a history of net losses. Our accumulated deficits totaled $256,796 as of December 31, 2021. The net losses and accumulated deficits were partially offset by gross margins from sales of commercialized licensed and proprietary products, license fees, milestone and royalty payments from commercial licensees and co-development parties. Our funding requirements are met by our cash and
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cash equivalents, as well as our existing equity and debt offerings, including the Senior Secured Notes due 2025 (the "12.5% Notes"). We had $28,024 in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021.
On November 3, 2020, we entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Monetization Agreement") with MAM Pangolin Royalty, LLC, an affiliate of Marathon Asset Management ("Marathon"). Under the terms of the Monetization Agreement, we sold all of our contractual rights to receive royalties and milestone payments due under the Sunovion License Agreement related to Sunovion's apomorphine product, KYNMOBI. KYNMOBI, an apomorphine film therapy for the treatment of off episodes in Parkinson’s disease patients, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 21, 2020. We have received an aggregate amount of $50,000 through December 31, 2021 under the Monetization Agreement.
Under the Monetization Agreement, additional aggregate contingent payments of up to $75,000 may be due to us upon the achievement of worldwide royalty and other commercial targets within a specified timeframe, which could result in total potential proceeds of $125,000. Based on the current forecast of estimated KYNMOBI sales as of December 31, 2021, the Company may not receive any of the additional aggregate contingent payments under the Monetization agreement.
With the upfront proceeds of the monetization, we repaid $22,500 of the 12.5% Notes, and issued $4,000 of new 12.5% Notes in lieu of paying a prepayment premium on the early repayment of the 12.5% Notes, reducing the aggregate principal balance of 12.5% Notes outstanding to $51,500. In addition, the holders of the 12.5% Notes agreed to extend to December 31, 2021 our ability to access, at our option, and additional $30,000 of 12.5% Notes re-openers under the Indenture. The first $10,000 senior notes re-opener represents a commitment of such amount by current holders of 12.5% Notes, at our option, contingent upon FDA approval of our product candidate Libervant. A second $20,000 senior notes re-opener represents a right, at our option, to market to current holders of our 12.5% Notes, and/or other lenders, additional senior notes up to such amount, contingent upon FDA approval of Libervant for U.S. market access. If and to the extent that we access these re-openers, we will grant warrants to purchase up to 714,000 shares of common stock, with the strike price calculated based on the 30-day volume weighted average closing price of our common stock at the warrant grant date. In addition, as of the closing of this transaction, we issued to the holders of the 12.5% Notes warrants to purchase 143,000 shares of our common stock.
On August 6, 2021, pursuant to the Third Supplemental Indenture, the holders of the 12.5% Notes extended to June 30, 2022 from December 31, 2021, our ability to access, at our option, $30,000 of 12.5% Notes re-openers under the Indenture. The first $10,000 of 12.5% Notes represents a commitment of such amount by current holders of 12.5% Notes, at the option of the Company, contingent upon FDA approval of the Company's product candidate Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film for the management of seizure clusters. A second $20,000 12.5% Notes re-opener represents a right, at the Company's option, to market to current holders of the Company's 12.5% Notes, and or other lenders, additional 12.5% Notes up to such amount, contingent upon FDA approval of Libervant for U.S. market access. If and to the extent that the Company accesses these re-openers, it will grant warrants to purchase up to 714,000 shares of common stock, with the strike price calculated based on the 30-day volume weighted average closing price of the Company's common stock at the warrant grant date.
On September 30, 2021, the Company entered into a waiver agreement (the “Waiver”) with the holders of the 12.5% Notes pursuant to which the principal payment due under the 12.5% Notes on September 30, 2021 was deferred in order to provide sufficient time for the execution of the Fourth Supplemental Indenture (the “Fourth Supplemental Indenture”). On October 7, 2021, the Company entered into the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, by and among the Company and the Trustee and collateral agent thereunder, to the Indenture in connection with the 12.5% Notes. Pursuant to the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, the amortization schedule for the 12.5% Notes was amended to provide for the date of the first amortization payment to be extended to March 30, 2023. The Fourth Supplemental Indenture did not change the maturity date of the Notes or the interest payment obligation due under the Notes. In connection with the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, the Company entered into a Consent Fee Letter with the holders of the 12.5% Notes, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the holders of the 12.5% Notes an additional cash payment of $2,700 in the aggregate, payable in four quarterly payments beginning May 15, 2022. See Note 12 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for discussion.
In 2019, we established an “at-the-market” (ATM) facility pursuant to which we may offer up to $25,000 of shares of common stock. We began utilizing the ATM facility in November 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we sold 930,993 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $6,055 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $473.
On March 26, 2021, we filed a prospectus supplement to offer up to an additional $50,000 of shares of common stock under the ATM facility. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold 6,550,486 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $29,778 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $1,291. This ATM facility has approximately $37,408 available at December 31, 2021.
Cash Flows
The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
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| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash used for operating activities | $ | (32,979) | $ | (45,459) | |||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (913) | (517) | |||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 30,109 | 28,457 | |||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents | $ | (3,783) | $ | (17,519) |
Net Cash Used for Operating Activities
Net cash used for operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased by $12,480 compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease was related to higher non-cash operating expenses of $24,553, changes in operating assets and liabilities of $2,683, partially offset by a higher net loss of $14,756. The higher non-cash operating expenses were primarily due to a loss on the extinguishment of debt ($13,822) and an increase in interest expense related to sale of future revenue ($10,315). The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to timing of payments related to prepaid expenses and other assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities, offset by higher trade and other receivables due to increased revenue.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $396 compared to the same period in 2020. The use of cash was related to capital expenditures.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $1,652 compared to the same period in 2020. The increase was primarily related to net proceeds from the sale of shares under the ATM facility in 2021, partially offset by several non-recurring events in 2020. In 2020, we received $50,000 of proceeds under the Monetization Agreement. With the proceeds of the monetization, we repaid $22,500 of the 12.5% Notes, and issued $4,000 of new 12.5% Notes in lieu of paying a prepayment premium on the early repayment of the 12.5% Notes. In connection with the early repayment and issuance of new 12.5% Notes, we paid $2,909 in financing costs and $2,250 of premium related to the early repayment.
Funding Requirements
Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, revenue from our on-going business, continued business development activities, expense management actions, and our ability to access funds under our existing ATM facility and, assuming Libervant approval, our debt offering will enable us to fund our expected cash requirements for the next 12 months. We can provide no assurance that any of these sources of funding, either individually or in combination, will be available on reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, we may be required to utilize available financial resources sooner than expected. We have based our expectation on assumptions that could change or prove to be inaccurate, either due to the impact of COVID-19 or to unrelated factors including factors arising in the capital markets, asset monetization markets, regulatory approval process, including the approval of Libervant by the FDA, and regulatory oversight and other factors. Key factors and assumptions inherent in our planned continued operations and anticipated growth include, without limitation, those related to the following:
•the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, operations of our key suppliers and third-party clinical and other service providers, our colleagues and contractors and debt equity and other capital markets;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for our manufactured products, Suboxone, Sympazan and Exservan, including effects of generics and other competitive pressures as currently envisioned;
•continued ability of our customers to pay, in a timely manner, for presently contracted and future anticipated orders for provided co-development and feasibility services, as well as regulatory support services for recently licensed products, such as Exservan;
•access to debt or equity markets if, and at the time, needed for any necessary future funding;
•FDA approval of our key new drug candidate, Libervant, for U.S. market access;
•our ability to issue up to $30,000 in additional 12.5% Notes, which is contingent upon FDA product approval and U.S. market access for Libervant;
•continuing review and appropriate adjustment of our cost structure consistent with our anticipated revenues and funding;
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•continued growth and market penetration of Sympazan within expected commercialization cost levels for this product, including anticipated patient and physician acceptance and our ability to obtain adequate price and payment support from government agencies and other private medical insurers;
•effective commercialization within anticipated cost levels and expected ramp-up timeframes of our product candidate Libervant, if approved for U.S. market access by the FDA;
•infrastructure and administrative costs at expected levels to support operations as an FDA and highly regulated public company;
•a manageable level of costs for ongoing efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, including litigation costs in connection with seeking to enforce our rights concerning third parties' "at-risk" launch of generic products;
•continued compliance with all covenants under our 12.5% Notes; and
•absence of significant unforeseen cash requirements.
We expect to continue to manage business costs to appropriately reflect the anticipated general decline in Suboxone revenue, the marketing and sales costs related to Sympazan, the proceeds from the KYNMOBI Monetization Agreement, and other external resources or factors affecting our business including, if available, any future potential issuances of additional 12.5% Notes under the Indenture, net proceeds or future equity financing, other future access to the capital markets or other potential available sources of liquidity, as well as the uncertainties associated with the coronavirus pandemic. In doing so, we plan to continue to focus on the core drivers of value for our stockholders, including, more importantly, continued investments in our ongoing product development and planned commercialization activities in support of Libervant, AQST-109 and AQST-108. Until sufficient profitability is achieved, if at all, additional capital and/or other financing or funding will be required, which could be material, to further advance the development and commercialization of Libervant, AQST-109 and AQST-108, if approved by the FDA for U.S. market access, and to meet our other cash requirements, including debt service. We plan to conservatively manage our pre-launch spending as to both timing and level relating to Libervant, including cost rationalization associated with marketing and selling Sympazan. In this regard, absent spending on launch activities for Libervant, we expect to continue to spend less on commercialization in 2021 compared to 2020. Even as such, we expect to incur losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future and, therefore, we expect to be dependent upon external financing and funding to achieve our operating plan.
The sufficiency of our short-term and longer-term liquidity is directly impacted by our level of operating revenues and our ability to achieve our operating plan for revenues, regulatory approval in the time period planned for our late-stage proprietary products and our ability to monetize other royalty streams or other licensed rights within planned timeframes. Although we may also be entitled to further potential milestones, royalty and other payments under our Indivior Supplemental Agreement, which are suspended and may only be reinstated if Indivior successfully adjudicates or settles the related patent infringement litigation, and under the KYNMOBI Monetization Agreement, there can be no assurance when, or if, any such payments may be realized. Our operating revenues have fluctuated in the past and can be expected to fluctuate in the future. We expect to incur significant operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future, and we have a significant level of debt on which we have substantial ongoing debt repayment and debt service obligations and have principal repayments related to our 12.5% Notes due through the debt maturity date, which is further discussed in Note 12 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. A substantial portion of our current and past revenues has been dependent upon our licensing, manufacturing and sales with one customer, Indivior, which is expected to continue while we commercialize our own proprietary products and it could take significantly longer than planned to achieve anticipated levels of cash flows to help fund our operations and cash needs from sales of our proprietary products.
To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuance of equity securities, our stockholders would experience further dilution and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences (if and to the extent permitted under the Indenture) that would adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. Our ability to secure additional equity financing could be significantly impacted by numerous factors including our operating performance and prospects, positive or negative developments in the regulatory approval process for our proprietary products, timely achievement of regulatory approval of our late-stage proprietary products, our existing level of debt which is secured by substantially all of our assets, restriction under the Indenture, and general market conditions, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to be successful in raising capital or that any such needed financing will be available, available on favorable or acceptable terms or at the times, or in the amounts needed, if at all. Additionally, while the potential economic impact brought on by and the duration of the coronavirus pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, the significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global financial markets, and on our own stock trading price, may reduce our ability to access additional capital, which would negatively impact our short-term and longer-term liquidity.
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If adequate funds are not available for our short-term or longer-term liquidity needs and cash requirements as and when needed, we would be required to engage in expense management activities such as reducing staff, delaying, significantly scaling back, or even discontinuing some or all of our current or planned research and development programs and clinical and other product development activities, or reducing our planned commercialization efforts and otherwise significantly reducing our other spending and adjusting our operating plan, and we would need to seek to take other steps intended to improve our liquidity. We also may be required to evaluate additional licensing opportunities, if any become available, of our proprietary product candidate programs that we currently plan to self-commercialize or explore other potential liquidity opportunities or other alternatives or options or strategic alternatives, although we cannot assure that any of these actions would be available or available on reasonable terms.
See also Part I, Item II, Risk Factors concerning the significant risks and uncertainties concerning the Company's business, operations, financial results and capital resources associated with the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We have entered into various contractual agreements under which we have long term obligations. For more information regarding our commitments, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 20. Contingencies.
For more information regarding our future lease payments, see "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 9. Right of Use Assets and Lease Liabilities" for our minimum lease payments schedule. The expected timing of our leases may be different if future years, depending on our decision to extend lease terms and/or enter into leases in preceding years.
For more information on our repayments of our 12.5% Notes, see Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 12. 12.5% Senior Secured Notes.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
We have based our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in the U.S. The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience when available and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this filing, we believe that the following accounting policies are those that are most critical to the significant judgements and estimates used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition
Proprietary product sales, net - this net revenue is recognized when product is shipped and title passes to the customer, typically at time of delivery. At the time of sale, estimates for various revenue allowances are recorded based on historical trends and judgmental estimates. For sales of Sympazan, returns allowances and prompt pay discounts are estimated based on contract terms and historical return rates, if available, and these estimates are recorded as a reduction of receivables. Similarly determined estimates are recorded relating to wholesaler service fees, co-pay support redemptions, Medicare, Medicaid and other rebates, and these estimates are reflected as a component of accrued liabilities. Once all related variable considerations are resolved and uncertainties as to collectable amounts are eliminated, estimates are adjusted to actual allowance amounts. Provisions for these estimated amounts are reviewed and adjusted on no less than a quarterly basis.
License and Royalty Revenue – license revenues are determined based on an assessment of whether the license is distinct from any other performance obligations that may be included in the underlying licensing arrangement. If the customer is able to benefit from the license without provision of any other performance obligations by the Company and the license is thereby viewed as a distinct or functional license, the Company then determines whether the customer has acquired a right to use the license or a right to access the license. For functional licenses that do not require further development or other ongoing activities by the Company, the customer is viewed as acquiring the right to use the license as, and when, transferred and revenues are generally recorded at a point in time, subject to contingencies or constraints. For symbolic licenses providing substantial value only in conjunction with other performance obligations to be provided by the Company, revenues are generally recorded over the term of the license agreement. Such other obligations provided by the Company generally include manufactured products, additional development services or other deliverables that are contracted to be provided during the license term. Payments received in excess of amounts ratably or otherwise earned are deferred and recognized over the term of the license or as contingencies or other performance obligations are met.
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Revenue recognition arising from milestone payments is dependent upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the milestone payments. Milestone payments based on a non-sales metric such as a development-based milestone (e.g., an NDA filing or obtaining regulatory approval) represent variable consideration and are included in the transaction price subject to any constraints. If the milestone payments relate to future development, the timing of recognition depends upon historical experience and the significance a third party has on the outcome. For milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of a sales threshold, the revenue from the milestone payments is recognized at the later of when the actual sales are incurred or the performance obligation to which the sales relate to has been satisfied.
Liability related to sale of future revenue, royalty revenue, and interest expense
The Company treated the sale of future revenue related to KYNMOBI® as debt financing in accordance with ASC 470 Debt, amortized under the effective interest rate method over the estimated life of the related expected royalty stream. The liability related to the sale of future revenue has been initially recorded at its proceeds, net of deferred cost. The liability related to the sale of future revenue and the related interest expense are based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. The Company will periodically assess the expected royalty payments using a combination of internal projections and forecasts from external resources. To the extent our future estimates of royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the interest timing of such payments is materially different than its previous estimates, the Company will prospectively recognize related interest expense. Royalty revenue related to the sale of future revenue is reflected in license fees and royalties, and amortization of debt is reflected as interest expense related to the sale of future revenue in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. For further discussion of the sale of the future revenue, refer to Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 14, Sale of Future Revenue.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Part II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the accompanying Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
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