Athenex Appoints Darrel P. Cohen, MD, PhD as Chief Medical Officer of Cell Therapy
June 08 2022 - 8:00AM
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,
today announced the appointment of Darrel P. Cohen, MD, PhD as
Chief Medical Officer of Cell Therapy to lead its clinical
development, clinical operations, and regulatory affairs functions.
He will be replacing Kurt Gunter, MD, who has decided to pursue
other opportunities outside of cell therapy.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Cohen to Athenex during this
transformative period, as we strategically pivot to focus on
advancing first-in-class therapies from our differentiated NKT cell
platform,” said Dr. Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer of
Athenex. “Darrel’s proven leadership plus extensive experience in
the clinical development and multinational regulatory approvals of
several new cancer drugs over the past decade will position us well
for success as we continue to rapidly advance our investigational
cell therapy pipeline in the clinic.”
“We are enthusiastic about the promising benefits NKT cells may
offer cancer patients and to the scientific community, and we look
forward to working with Darrel to bring these much-needed products
closer to regulatory approval,” said Daniel Lang, MD, President of
Athenex Cell Therapy. “Additionally, we would like to thank Kurt
for his dedication and meaningful contributions to the company, and
we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Dr. Cohen is a hematologist/oncologist with over 25 years of
oncology clinical research and drug development experience in both
solid tumors and hematological malignancies. He has held leadership
positions of increasing responsibility at Pharmacia,
Sanofi-Aventis, and Pfizer, including Vice President of Late-Phase
Clinical Development at Pfizer Oncology where he was involved in
multiple successful regulatory submissions of new molecularly
targeted cancer drugs such as SUTENT® (sunitinib), XALKORI®
(crizotinib), and IBRANCE® (palbociclib). More recently, Dr. Cohen
was Head of Clinical Development at EUSA Pharma then Chief Medical
Officer at Biosight Pharmaceuticals, having been a principal
investigator on several clinical trials in the past and co-authored
numerous peer-reviewed publications. Darrel received his MD and PhD
degrees in Medicine and Microbiology from Boston University School
of Medicine, trained as a resident in Internal Medicine at
Georgetown University Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in
Hematology/Oncology at Duke University Medical Center.
“Athenex is pioneering the development of NKT cell
immunotherapy, offering an outpatient treatment with potential for
improved safety, efficacy, and accessibility over existing approved
cell therapy options,” said Dr. Cohen. “The early clinical trial
data from patients with solid tumors or hematological malignancies
are very encouraging, and I am truly excited to join the company to
further advance its cell therapy pipeline and unlock its full
therapeutic potential.”
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 cell therapy products for the
treatment of cancer. In pursuit of this mission,
Athenex leverages years of experience in research and
development, clinical trials, regulatory standards, and
manufacturing. The Company’s current clinical pipeline is derived
mainly from the following core technologies: (1) Cell immunotherapy
based on NKT cells, (2) Orascovery based on a P-glycoprotein
inhibitor, and (3) Src Kinase Inhibition. Athenex’s employees
worldwide are dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients
by creating more active, accessible, 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 “continue,”
“could,” “expect,” “intend,” “look forward,” “may,” “potential,”
“will,” 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: our history of operating losses and the
substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern;
our strategic pivot to focus on our cell therapy platform and our
plan to dispose of non-core assets; our ability to obtain financing
to fund operations, successfully redirect our resources and reduce
our operating expenses; our ability to refinance, extend or repay
our substantial indebtedness owed to our senior secured lender; 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; the preclinical and clinical results for
Athenex’s drug candidates, which may not support further
development of such drug candidates; the Company’s 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 uncertainty of ongoing legal proceedings;
risks related to our ability to successfully integrate the business
of Kuur Therapeutics 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; risks and uncertainties
inherent in litigation, including purported stockholder class
actions; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other
macroeconomic factors, such as the war in Ukraine, and their
ongoing impact on our operations, supply chain, cash flow, and
financial condition; competition; intellectual property risks;
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 facility as
well as our ability to find alternative sources of supply to meet
our obligations and requirements; the risk that our common stock
will be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market if we are unable to
regain compliance with its continued listing standards, 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
Investor Relations
Daniel Lang, MDAthenex, Inc.E-mail: danlang@athenex.com
Caileigh DoughertyAthenex, Inc.E-mail:
cdougherty@athenex.com
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