Aquestive Posts Wider Loss on Debt Payoff, Holds Guidance
Aquestive Therapeutics reported a $22.9 million net loss for the second quarter, driven largely by an $11.7 million charge tied to paying off its 13.5% notes, even as revenue climbed 38% and adjusted losses narrowed.
Aquestive Therapeutics (AQST) reported second-quarter revenue of $13.8 million, up 38% from $10.0 million a year earlier, as the specialty pharmaceutical and drug-delivery manufacturer leaned on higher contract manufacturing volumes and a new royalty stream.
The headline number obscures a one-time hit tied to the company's capital structure. Aquestive recognized an $11.7 million loss on extinguishment of debt after paying off its 13.5% notes on May 12, 2026, a charge that followed the first-quarter draw of a new $150 million debt facility from Oaktree. Net loss widened to $22.9 million, or $0.18 a share, from $13.5 million, or $0.14 a share, in the prior-year quarter. Stripped of the debt charge, adjusted net loss was $11.2 million, still worse than a year earlier.
Beneath the GAAP loss, operating trends improved. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to $5.2 million from $9.3 million, and manufactured doses rose about 30% to roughly 48 million from 37 million, reflecting higher volume in the company's CDMO manufacturing business.
Manufacture and supply revenue, the largest segment, rose to $11.9 million from $9.6 million on higher Suboxone volumes, partially offset by lower Ondif revenues. License and royalty revenue increased to $1.3 million from $0.8 million, aided by new royalty payments from Zevra. Cosette Pharmaceuticals acquired Sympazan rights from Assertio on April 8, 2026, and will continue purchasing Sympazan while paying royalties and milestones to Aquestive under the assumed license, a change in the company's licensing structure that was not reflected in the prior two quarterly releases.
Operating expenses moved in different directions. Research and development expense edged down to $4.0 million from $4.1 million on lower Anaphylm development costs, partially offset by higher preclinical spending. Selling, general and administrative expense rose to $14.1 million from $12.7 million, driven by about $2.1 million in higher legal fees and $1.4 million in severance costs, including accelerated stock compensation, partially offset by lower commercial spending and reduced Libervant regulatory and licensing fees.
On the pipeline, Aquestive said its lead candidate Anaphylm completed both a human-factors validation study and a pharmacokinetic study, with both meeting primary endpoints, building on a Type A meeting with the FDA disclosed in the fourth quarter and study-design alignment reached in the first quarter. The company reaffirmed guidance for a resubmission in the third quarter of 2026. The AQST-108 program is expanding beyond androgenic alopecia into additional dermatologic inflammatory indications, including atopic dermatitis, following completion of the alopecia Phase 1 study earlier this year. The company did not repeat the roughly 75-representative sales-force expansion plan it outlined in the first quarter, describing commercial readiness only in qualitative terms.
Aquestive reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance of $46 million to $50 million in revenue and a non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA loss of $30 million to $35 million, unchanged from its prior outlook.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $98.5 million as of June 30, 2026, after the Oaktree facility draw and the notes payoff completed during the quarter.