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 that A. Ernest (Ernie) Toth, Jr., a seasoned financial executive and currently serving the Company as the interim Chief Financial Officer, has transitioned to the permanent role of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective immediately.
“Ernie is a seasoned and experienced financial executive. He has become a valued member of our team and an important part of our external relationships in the financial community. We look forward to the effective leadership of the financial functions of the Company that Ernie will bring,” said Keith Kendall, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquestive.
Ernie Toth joined Aquestive as Interim CFO in December 2020 through the services of Danforth Advisors, a consulting firm providing finance support and strategic advisory services to life science companies and the healthcare technology industry. Prior to joining Aquestive, Mr. Toth was CFO of EHE Health, a national preventive health, primary care, and telehealth network owned by Summit Partners and DW Healthcare Partners.
From January, 2016 to December, 2016, Mr. Toth was Chief Financial Officer of ArisGlobal, an end-to-end drug development platform, and from January, 2015 to December, 2015, he served as Global Chief Financial Officer of Synowledge, a global life sciences solutions company providing drug safety, regulatory affairs and IT services to diverse pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices companies. Owned by the Abbhi family, at both ArisGlobal and Synowledge, he led Finance, HR, IT, Legal, and Commercial Operations during periods of high growth and the sale of Synowledge to Bioclinica.
Mr. Toth was Chief Financial Officer from 2011 to 2013 of JHP Pharmaceuticals, a PE owned (Morgan Stanley Private Investments) integrated specialty healthcare company that develops, manufactures and sells branded and generic aseptic injectable pharmaceuticals and provides contract manufacturing services for global pharmaceutical companies. As CFO, Mr. Toth provided financial and operational leadership through 9 new product launches, 17 ANDA filings, a BARDA award, clinical trials and the sale to Warburg Pincus in 2012.
From 2014 until its sale to a strategic buyer in 2017, Mr. Toth was a member of the Board of Directors of Eska, a leading Canadian beverage company owned by Morgan Stanley Private Investments. Mr. Toth’s prior experience includes senior financial leadership positions at Valeritas, Pharmaceutical Formulations, and World Power Technologies. He spent 15 years in various financial positions at MacAndrews & Forbes, the investment company owned by Ronald O. Perelman.
Mr. Toth holds an MBA from Pace University, a BS in Accounting from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, and is a CPA in the State of New York.
