Aquestive Therapeutics Inc. (AQST) Announces CEO Transition

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQST) announced today that Keith Kendall, President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Company, is leaving the Company. The Board of Directors has appointed Daniel Barber, the current Chief Operating Officer and long-tenured executive of the Company, to succeed Mr. Kendall as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquestive and member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Company and Mr. Kendall entered into a consulting agreement effective upon his departure. Under the terms of the consulting agreement, Mr. Kendall will assist in the transition of the role of CEO and the execution of the Company’s business strategy and operations until the end of the year.

Mr. Kendall joined the Company soon after its formation as the Chief Financial Officer. In June 2011, he was promoted to Co-President and Chief Operating Officer, and then to Chief Executive Officer in November 2014, at which time he was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Kendall led Aquestive through significant growth under his leadership, including a successful public market debut in 2018, approval of 6 drug products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with more than 10 years of product sales, launch of its first proprietary drug product Sympazan® in 2018, strengthening the management team, issuance of over 200 patents worldwide, and advancement of a late-stage proprietary product pipeline focused on treating diseases of the central nervous system and an earlier stage pipeline for the treatment of severe allergies, including anaphylaxis.

Santo Costa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented, "On behalf of the Board of Directors and Aquestive's colleagues, I would like to thank Keith for the vision and leadership he provided to the Company for the past 16 years and his many contributions to the Board in executing its oversight and governing responsibilities. He guided Aquestive through extraordinary growth and built a corporate culture which will serve as a platform for continued future success of the Company. We are pleased that Mr. Kendall will continue as an advisor to the Company and the senior management team through the end of the year. We wish him great success in his future endeavors."

Mr. Barber commented, “I look forward to joining our Board of Directors and helping to steer our business, and to continuing to work closely with our executive team and all of our colleagues to achieve our strategic goals. Since joining the Company in 2007, I have been involved in many different facets of the business and, in my new role, will remain keenly focused on advancing the two most important value drivers for Aquestive, product candidates Libervant and AQST-109, while carefully managing costs.”

Mr. Costa stated, “The Board is excited to have Dan join the board and expand his responsibilities at Aquestive. Dan has played a major role in the Company’s success and is ideally suited to assume these added responsibilities because of his integral knowledge of all aspects of the business and his strong relationships throughout the industry. I have confidence that, under Dan’s strong leadership and commitment to the continued success of our business, with the contribution of our talented and capable management team, we will continue to execute our strategy as we evolve our business.”

Mr. Kendall’s departure is unrelated to the Company’s strategy, operations, financial condition, reported financial results, internal controls or disclosure controls and procedures.

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