Aquestive Therapeutics moves R&D to HELIX in New Brunswick

The HELIX in downtown New Brunswick is maintaining momentum in October, announcing Aquestive Therapeutics Inc. has moved its research & development operations to the transformative project’s first tower.

New Brunswick Development Corp. announced the expanded roster Oct. 15. The pharmaceutical company occupies an approximately 5,000-square-foot lab suite on the 10th floor at H1.

The flagship research building at the Health + Life Science Exchange has seen a flurry of activity since the New Jersey Innovation Hub launched at the landmark project this past summer. H1 at 20 French St. will stand as part of a trio of towers. H2 will serve as the new headquarters for Nokia Bell Labs, underscoring the innovation already drawn to town. Meanwhile, H3 will bring 43 stories, featuring housing and more.

Innovative delivery

Warren-based Aquestive Therapeutics is the company behind PharmFilm. The proprietary technology enables the delivery of medicine using oral film formations. Picture a Listerine breath strip. Taken orally, the postage-stamp sized film allows for fast absorption of active drug ingredients. Without the need for water or liquids.

Supporting the lifecycle through discovery to commercialization, the company is also exclusive manufacturer for four commercialized products marketed by its licensees across six continents.

Its other innovations include the AdrenaVerse platform. According to Aquestive, that program features a library of more than 20 epinephrine prodrugs facilitating various potential allergy and dermatological indications. Additionally, it is also advancing Anaphylm sublingual film for the treatment of Type 1 allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, and AQST-108 (epinephrine) topical gel for various dermatological conditions.

Also Oct. 15, Aquestive Therapeutics announced the U.S. Food & Drug Administration accepted the resubmission of the company’s New Drug Application for Anaphylm. The FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug Fee Act goal date of March 15, 2027.

If approved, Aquestive says Anaphyl would be the would be the first and only oral rescue medication for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

Step up

Aquestive represents exactly the kind of innovation the HELIX continues to prove it can bring to New Brunswick. And the “kind of New Jersey-based innovator The HELIX was designed to support,” said DEVCO President Christopher Paladino.

“Our decision to establish our R&D operations at The Helix reflects both where Aquestive is today and where we are going,” said Daniel Barber, the company’s president and CEO. “The combination of ready-to-use lab space, access to talent, and a growing life sciences community gives our team an environment where we can collaborate, conduct our R&D activities, and continue developing innovative medicines for patients.”

“Our decision to establish our R&D operations at The Helix reflects both where Aquestive is today and where we are going.
Daniel Barber, president and CEO, Aquestive

JLL markets the enterprise suites at H-1 and brokered the transaction.

“Aquestive needed lab space that was ready on day one, and The HELIX delivered it,” said Jason Benson, senior managing director at JLL. “This turnkey, move-in-ready lab lets their scientists get to work right away, and alleviates the time, capital, and construction risk associated with planning and constructing a lab. The building provides vibrant and dynamic areas for all types of collaboration and events.

“Add the train station at the front door and a neighboring ecosystem of a medical school and dozens of startups, and it’s a rare combination of efficiency and connectivity unlike anywhere in the Northeast.”

Building connections

Just last week, the Johnson & Johnson Exchange at the New Jersey Innovation Hub, on the ninth floor at HELIX, was packed to celebrate the now-active space, powered by Portal Innovations. A central stairway connects the space with the “step-up labs” above on the 10th floor. The layout helps to build bridges between developing and more established innovators and provides space for companies to “graduate” to.

The visual tie was reenforced by the crowd in attendance, along with their associations. Speakers including Paladino, Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato, Rutgers University President William Tate IV and New Jersey Chief Operating Officer Kellie Doucette, among many others, signal the magnitude of the moment, as HELIX arrives in the Middlesex County seat.

“We have extraordinary universities, we have world class healthcare systems, we have the greatest concentration of pharmaceutical and life science companies everywhere,” Paladino noted in his remarks. “We have researchers, physicians, entrepreneurs, investors, and most importantly, an extraordinary important talent.

“What we needed was a place to bring them together.”

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