JUNE 4, 2024 — BANKRUPTCY
The company has declared bankruptcy.
The filing will impact 123 employees in three phases ending in August 2023. Both Athenex locations will be closed.
In a company release...
"Dr. Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer of Athenex, on behalf of the management team and the Athenex Board of Directors, said, “Throughout our history, we have sought to become a leader in bringing innovative cancer treatments to the market and improving patient health outcomes. Our team was successful in bringing tirbanibulin, through regulatory approvals, to the U.S. market and a number of EU countries, as well as Taiwan. Unfortunately, our oral paclitaxel product candidate received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and this significant regulatory setback, coupled with challenging biotech markets and the difficult economic environment, put tremendous pressure on our ability to continue to fund our businesses."
“Over the past two years, we made considerable progress in refocusing our business around our promising NKT cell therapy platform, monetizing non-core assets to improve our balance sheet and extending our cash runway, paying down $108 million of debt, and undertaking a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to create value for our stakeholders. While we explored every viable avenue to avoid this outcome, an orderly sales process represents the best path forward at this time."
“Our goal remains to identify purchasers who will continue development of the important drug candidates for which we have established a good foundation, and to bring them to market on behalf of medical practitioners and, most importantly, for patients. We are incredibly thankful to our team for their dedication to Athenex and will look to support our colleagues through this transition period.”
JANUARY 20, 2023 — Original Post
Buffalo, New York-based Athenex Pharma Solutions, a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer, has announced a strategic realignment that will see the company focus on its cell therapy programs, close its Clarence, New York, facility, and the implementation of a cost-containment program.
The reduction in force will impact 92 employees at the Clarence facility and an unknown number of employees elsewhere. The Clarence site closure is scheduled for March 17, 2023.
According to Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer of Athenex, “We are pleased to announce our new vision for the future of Athenex, by deploying our resources and harnessing our expertise toward the advancement of our promising cell therapy programs. We are taking action to swiftly redirect our resources and have begun executing on cost savings measures to right-size the company and support our transformation to a lean, focused cell therapy company.”
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?