Athenex

Athenex Inc. is a late clinical stage biotech company that leverages two proprietary drug development platforms for developing oncology-focused medications. The Orascovery platform converts parenteral cytotoxic cancer drugs to oral medication by increasing drug absorption in intestine via blocking a major P-glycoprotein (P-gp) located on the small intestine. The Src kinase inhibition platform creates Src kinase and tubulin polymerization duel inhibitors. Lead product from the Orascovery platform is Oraxol (an oral paclitaxel), which currently is in Phase III study in metastatic breast cancer with several interim and final data readouts scheduled staring from 2H17 and continue till 2H19. The lead product from the Src kinase inhibition platform is KX-01, which is about to start a Phase III study in actinic keratosis (AK).  KX-01 recently demonstrated robust Phase II results, suggesting the drug could be better overall compared with a marketed product.  ATNX also has built a commercial infrastructure with a comprehensive supply value chain, which includes marketing, sales and manufacturing. From a strategic prospective, ATNX’s oncology-focused commercial operation could facilitate the company to build relationships with channels and customers that distribute or use cancer drugs; and ATNX could leverage such infrastructure for launching their proprietary high margin drugs once they are approved.