Athenex Announces Agreement with ImmunityBio Regarding Dunkirk Manufacturing Facility
13 January 2022 - 12:30AM
Athenex, Inc., (NASDAQ: ATNX), a global biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of
novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and related conditions,
announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement for
ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX) to assume its leasehold interest
in a manufacturing facility in Dunkirk, New York, and certain
related assets for approximately $38 million, subject to adjustment
at closing. Proceeds from the sale will be used to service the
Company’s debt obligations and for other general corporate
purposes. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
Upon the closing, ImmunityBio will assume all capital
expenditure and hiring obligations of Athenex pursuant to its
agreements with New York State. Athenex will continue to operate
its existing Athenex Pharmaceutical Division (APD) and Athenex
Pharmaceutical Solutions (APS) divisions. Athenex has not assigned
any of its rights to its corporate headquarters in Buffalo, New
York and will retain all of its rights and obligations with respect
to its corporate headquarters. ImmunityBio has entered into a
preliminary agreement with Athenex to allow APS the ability to
manufacture its 503B products at the Dunkirk facility and the
parties plan to enter into a definitive preferred contract
manufacturing agreement.
Jeffrey Yordon, Chief Operating Officer, President Athenex
Pharmaceutical Division, said, “We are pleased to announce this
agreement regarding the Dunkirk facility, which we believe will
allow us to execute on our strategy and create value for the
specialty pharmacy division of Athenex. We look forward to
continuing our strong relationship with the Dunkirk team as a
contract manufacturing partner. We believe this transaction is
aligned with Athenex’s commitment to unlock value for its
shareholders and will put Athenex in a better financial position to
deliver on its goals in the upcoming year.”
Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., Executive Chairman of the Board of
ImmunityBio commented, “We are pleased to expand our global
manufacturing capacity of biologics and vaccines with the addition
of this state-of-the-art facility to our ecosystem of manufacturing
facilities. The Dunkirk facility will establish a global pandemic
preparedness manufacturing plant for novel vaccines and
immunotherapy products. We are looking forward to working with the
Dunkirk community and State of New York to make western New York a
global biotech manufacturing center.”
About Athenex, Inc.
Founded in 2003, Athenex, Inc. is a
global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to
becoming a leader in the discovery, development, and
commercialization of next generation drugs for the treatment of
cancer. Athenex is organized around three platforms,
including an Oncology Innovation Platform, a Commercial Platform,
and a Global Supply Chain Platform. The Company’s current clinical
pipeline is derived mainly from the following core technologies:
(1) Orascovery, based on P-glycoprotein inhibitor, (2) Src kinase
inhibition, and (3) Cell therapy. Athenex’s employees worldwide are
dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients by creating
more active and tolerable treatments. For more information, please
visit www.athenex.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the
statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press
release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are typically identified by terms such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “foresee,”
“goal,” “guidance,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,”
“predict,” “preliminary,” “probable,” “project,” “promising,”
“seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions. Actual
results might differ materially from those explicit or implicit in
the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially include: whether we close on
the sale of our interest in the Dunkirk manufacturing facility and
enter into a preferred contract manufacturing agreement with
ImmunityBio, the development stage of our primary clinical
candidates, including NKT Cell Therapy and related risks involved
in drug development, clinical trials, regulation, uncertainties
around regulatory reviews and approvals; our ability to scale our
manufacturing and commercial supply operations for current and
future approved products, and ability to commercialize our
products, once approved; ability to successfully demonstrate the
safety and efficacy of its drug candidates and gain approval of its
drug candidates on a timely basis, if at all; the preclinical and
clinical results for Athenex’s drug candidates, which may not
support further development of such drug candidates; risks related
to our ability to successfully integrate the business of Kuur into
our existing businesses, including uncertainties associated with
maintaining relationships with customers, vendors and employees, as
well as differences in operations, cultures, and management
philosophies that may delay successful integration and our ability
to support the added cost burden of Kuur’s business; risks related
to counterparty performance, including our reliance on third
parties for success in certain areas of Athenex’s business; our
history of operating losses and our need and ability to raise
additional capital to continue as a going concern; uncertainties
around our ability to enter into new financing agreements as we are
unable to meet funding conditions under our existing financing
agreements and access to capital thereunder; risks and
uncertainties inherent in litigation, including purported
stockholder class actions; risks and uncertainties related to the
COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing impact on our operations, supply
chain, cash flow and financial condition; competition; intellectual
property risks; uncertainties around our ability to successfully
integrate acquired and merged businesses in a timely and
cost-effective manner and to achieve synergies; risks relating to
doing business internationally and in China; the risk of
development, operational delays, production slowdowns or stoppages
or other interruptions at our manufacturing facilities as well as
our ability to find alternative sources of supply to meet our
obligations and requirements; and the other risk factors set forth
from time to time in our SEC filings, copies of which are available
for free in the Investor Relations section of our website at
http://ir.athenex.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=254495&p=irol-sec or upon
request from our Investor Relations Department. All information
provided in this release is as of the date hereof and we assume no
obligation and do not intend to update these forward-looking
statements, except as required by law.
Athenex Contacts
Investors
Daniel Lang, MDAthenex, Inc.Email: danlang@athenex.com
Caileigh DoughertyAthenex, Inc.Email: cdougherty@athenex.com
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