WARREN, N.J., Feb. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQST), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing differentiated products that address patients’ unmet needs and solve therapeutic problems, today announced the appointment of Julie Krop, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Freeline Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FRLN), and Marco Taglietti, M.D., Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of SCYNEXIS (NASDAQ: SCYX), to the Board of Directors of the Company effective February 10, 2021. Aquestive also announced the resignation of Douglas K. Bratton from the Board of Directors after more than 17 years of service. Aquestive’s Board of Directors will now be comprised of eight Directors, seven of whom are independent. Dr. Krop will serve as a member of the Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Dr. Taglietti will serve as a member of the Board’s Audit Committee.

“We are delighted to welcome Julie and Marco as new independent directors to the Aquestive Board of Directors," said Santo Costa, Aquestive’s Chairman of the Board. "Their significant expertise in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and impressive backgrounds complement our Board of Directors’ skills and experiences. We are confident they will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our strategy and enhance value for the Company’s shareholders.”

Dr. Krop stated, “I am thrilled to join the Board of Directors of Aquestive and look forward to working with the Board and the leadership team to advance the Company’s mission of providing novel alternatives to invasively administered standard of care therapies. I am particularly excited about helping management guide Aquestive’s proprietary orally administered epinephrine through clinical development. This novel formulation of epinephrine has the potential to eliminate the burden of intramuscular or subcutaneous injections for patients at risk of anaphylaxis due to severe allergies.”

Dr. Taglietti commented, “Aquestive is at an important stage of its evolution and I am delighted to join the Board of Directors during this exciting time. I look forward to contributing to Aquestive’s continued growth and success as the Company advances its Libervant™ (diazepam) Buccal Film application through approval and executes on its innovative development activities with the potential to change patients’ lives.”

“Julie and Marco join Aquestive at an exciting time as we continue to focus on developing and bringing to market valuable products in the CNS and allergy spaces. Julie and Marco’s extensive collective experience in leading clinical development, regulatory strategies and commercialization of key value assets is a great addition and complement to the skills already present on our board,” remarked Keith Kendall, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquestive. “We’ve experienced significant growth and strengthened our capabilities as a commercial pharmaceutical company under Doug’s leadership as the original Chairman of the Board and then director. I would like to thank him for his contributions and expert guidance that have well positioned Aquestive for continued momentum and success.”

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Company, I would like to thank Doug for his more than 17 years of service to our Board, including as former Chairman, in guiding the Company from its start-up phase to a public commercial pharmaceutical company and leader in the film-based therapeutics industry,” said Mr. Costa.

“It has been a great privilege to serve as a director and former Chairman of Aquestive’s Board of Directors, the members of which I hold in very high regard. I’d like to thank Keith, his team, and the Board for many exciting and satisfying years, and look forward to watching them accomplish even more great things for Aquestive in the months and years to come,” stated Mr. Bratton.

About Douglas K. Bratton
Mr. Bratton has served as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since January 2004 and was the Chairman of the Board from January 2004 until August 2018. Mr. Bratton is the Founder, President and Chief Investment Officer of Crestline Investors, an institutional alternative investment management firm. He has been an investment professional specializing in alternative asset strategies since 1983 and has managed assets on behalf of the Bass family of Fort Worth, Texas since 1988.

About Julie Krop, M.D.
Dr. Krop is a seasoned biotech executive with more than two decades of experience successfully designing and executing clinical development programs from early stage development all the way through FDA approval. She has held senior leadership roles across clinical development, regulatory affairs, clinical operations, pharmacovigilance, medical affairs and program management during her career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. She currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer of Freeline Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FRLN). Prior to assuming her position with Freeline Therapeutics, Dr. Krop was the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Development, at AMAG Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMAG) from 2015 to 2020. From 2012 to 2015, Dr. Krop served as the Vice President, Clinical Development for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX). In addition, Dr. Krop was Vice President, Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs for Stryker Biotech (NYSE: SYK) from 2006 to 2012. Dr. Krop received a B.A. from Brown University and her M.D. from Brown University School of Medicine. She completed her fellowship in the Department of Endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she was also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar.

About Marco Taglietti, M.D.
Dr. Taglietti has more than three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. He currently serves as a Director and President and Chief Executive Officer of SCYNEXIS Inc. (NASDAQ: SCYX). Prior to joining SCYNEXIS, Dr. Taglietti held various executive positions with Forest Laboratories (now AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV)) from 2007 until 2014, including President, Forest Research Institute, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Corporate Vice President, Research & Development. Dr. Taglietti was also the Senior Vice President, Head of Global Research and Development for Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. (now a GlaxoSmithKline company) from 2004 until 2007 and served in a number of executive positions from 1992 to 2004 with Schering-Plough Research Institute, including Vice President, Clinical Research Anti-Infectives, CNS, Dermatology and Endocrinology. From 1987 until 1992, Dr. Taglietti served in a number of executive positions with Marion Merrell Dow Research Institute, including as the European Product Team Leader – Anti-Infectives. Dr. Taglietti previously served on the boards of directors of Delcath (NASDAQ: DCTH) from 2014 to 2020 and NephroGenex (NASDAQ: NRX) from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Taglietti also served as a director of Stiefel International, Ltd., a private company, from 2004 to 2007 and a director of TransCelerate BioPharma, a non-profit pharma coalition dedicated to streamlining and accelerating the research and development of innovative new therapies, from 2013 to 2014. Since 2011, Dr. Taglietti has served on the board of directors of BioNJ, a life sciences trade association in New Jersey. In addition, Dr. Taglietti served on the board of directors of HINJ, Health Institute of New Jersey, a trade association for the leading research-based biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies in New Jersey, from 2011 to 2014, and is currently on the boards of directors of Orchestra of St. Luke, a New York City based orchestra, and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the largest non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. Dr. Taglietti received his Degree in Medicine from the University of Pavia, Italy.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

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