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Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Contingencies Contingencies
From time to time, the Company has been and may again become involved in legal proceedings arising in the course of its business, including product liability, intellectual property, securities, civil tort, and commercial litigation, and environmental or other regulatory matters.
Kentucky Litigation - Humana
Humana Inc. v. Indivior Inc, Indivior Solutions Inc., Indivior PLC, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd., and Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc.
On August 20, 2021, Humana filed a complaint in state court in Kentucky, alleging conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, fraud under state law, unfair and deceptive trade practices under state law, insurance fraud, and unjust enrichment against the Company relating to Indivior’s launch of Suboxone Sublingual Film in 2010. The Humana action was stayed pending related litigation, and the stay was lifted on October 30, 2023. On February 23, 2024, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the Complaint. Oral argument on the Company's motion to dismiss is currently set for December 9, 2024. No discovery schedule has been set in the action and there is no trial date set in this case. The Company is not able to determine or predict the ultimate outcome of the state court action in Kentucky by Humana or provide a reasonable estimate or range of estimates of the possible outcome or loss, if any, in this matter.
California Litigation
Neurelis, Inc. v. Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc.
On December 5, 2019, Neurelis Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Company in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego alleging the following three causes of action: (1) Unfair Competition under California Business and Professional Code § 17200 (“UCL”); (2) Defamation; and (3) Malicious Prosecution. Neurelis filed a First Amended Complaint on December 9, 2019, alleging the same three causes of action. The Company filed a Motion to Strike Neurelis’s Complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP (“strategic lawsuit against public participation”) statute on January 31, 2020, which Neurelis opposed. On August 6, 2020, the Court issued an order granting in part and denying in part the Company’s anti-SLAPP motion. The parties cross-appealed the ruling to the California Court of Appeal. The appeals court held oral argument on the appeal on October 14, 2021, and issued its ruling on November 17, 2021. Under the ruling, the court struck the entirety of the malicious prosecution claim and struck portions of the UCL and defamation claims. On April 12, 2022, Neurelis filed a Second Amended Complaint in response to the Court of Appeal’s decision. The Second Amended Complaint also added a cause of action for Trade Libel. On May 3, 2022, the Company filed a "demurrer" challenge to the sufficiency of the allegations of the Second Amended Complaint. Oral argument on the Company’s motion for attorney fees related to the anti-SLAPP motion and on the Second Amended Complaint and demurer challenge was held on June 17, 2022. The Court entered an order granting the Company’s motion for attorney fees, awarding $156 and ordering Neurelis to pay the fees within 60 days of June 17, 2022. The Court denied the Company’s demurrer and the parties proceeded with discovery on the claims in the Second Amended Complaint. The plaintiff filed a motion to file a third amended complaint, which the Court granted on November 17, 2023. The Third Amended Complaint alleges additional facts but includes the same claims as the Second Amended Complaint. Trial in this matter is scheduled for March 7, 2025. The Company is not able to determine or predict the ultimate outcome of this proceeding or provide a reasonable estimate or range of estimates of the possible outcome or loss, if any, in this matter.
Neurelis FDA Lawsuit
Neurelis v. Califf, et al., U.S. District court for the District of Columbia
In May 2024, Neurelis Inc. filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and certain government officials. The complaint in this matter alleges that the defendants violated the Administrative Procedure Act by approving Aquestive’s New Drug Application for Libervant™ for epilepsy patients aged between two and five years, and asks the Court to vacate that approval and enjoin the defendants from approving Libervant™ for this pediatric patient population until January 10, 2027, the scheduled date for the expiration of the orphan drug market exclusivity granted to the nasal spray product of Neurelis, Inc. by the FDA. Aquestive intervened in the litigation to defend the approval of Libervant™ for this pediatric patient population and on June 25, 2024, the Court entered a scheduling order governing further proceedings in the case. Pursuant to that order, Neurelis filed a motion for summary judgment on August 19, 2024; Aquestive and the federal defendants each filed their own cross-motions for summary judgment and opposed Neurelis’s motion for summary judgment on September 18, 2024; Neurelis filed its combined reply brief in support of its motion for summary judgment and in opposition to the defendants’ cross-motions on October 9, 2024; and Aquestive and the federal defendants filed their closing briefs on October 30, 2024. No oral argument date has been set in this case. The Company is not able to determine or predict the ultimate outcome of this proceeding or provide a reasonable estimate or range of estimates of the possible outcome or loss, if any, in this matter.
Suboxone Product Liability Litigation
As of October 21, 2024, the Company was named as a defendant in over 560 product liability lawsuits, along with Indivior and several other named defendants, in which the individual plaintiffs in those cases allege that their use of Suboxone® Sublingual Film, a prescription drug product for opioid use disorder, caused them dental injuries. On February 2, 2024, this litigation became a Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL") consolidated in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. One case alleging the same allegations as contained in the MDL has been filed in a state court in the State of New Jersey. The parties to the MDL have agreed to a tolling of unfiled claimants in several states. Indivior has agreed to defend the Company in these litigation matters. No discovery schedule or trial date has been set in the MDL matter. The Company is not able to determine or predict the ultimate outcome of this litigation or provide a reasonable estimate or range of estimates of the possible outcome or loss, if any, in this matter

As of October 15, 2024, the Company was named as a defendant in three proposed class action lawsuits filed in Canada, along with Indivior and several other named defendants, in which the individual plaintiffs in those cases allege that their use of Suboxone® products caused them dental injuries. Two of these cases have been filed in British Columbia, and the plaintiffs in those cases are seeking assignment of a case management judge. The anticipated next step in British Columbia will involve applications by the plaintiffs to determine which of the two cases will proceed towards a certification hearing and which will be stayed. The third case has been filed in Quebec, and is proceeding towards an authorization hearing (date to be set). The authorization and certification hearings are where the Courts will determine if the cases will proceed as class actions. No discovery schedule or trial dates have been set, as all the Canadian cases are pre-certification/pre-authorization. Given the early stages of these proceedings, the Company is not able to determine or predict the ultimate outcome of this litigation or provide a reasonable estimate or range of estimates of the possible outcome or loss, if any, in this matter.