Athenex Voluntarily Filed For Chapter 11 Proceedings, Shares Plunge

On Sunday, Athenex Inc ATNX and certain of its subsidiaries voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 proceedings.

Athenex agreed with its lenders to move forward with an expedited sale process of its assets, the company said in a statement.

The company has listed estimated assets and liabilities of around $100 million-$500 million, Reuters reported citing a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The company said the assets would be sold across its primary businesses of Athenex Pharmaceutical Division (APD), Orascovery, and Cell Therapy, adding that it expects the expedited process to be completed by July 1, 2023.

Athenex has sufficient resources to support Athenex Pharma Solutions operations and fulfill APD customer orders during the sale process, the company said.

In February, the company had a 1-for-20 reverse stock split. In December, Athenex exited its 503B sterile compounding business. 

"The decision to exit the 503B sterile compounding business continues the strategy laid out earlier this year to divest non-core assets and re-focus the company and resources to cell therapy," said Johnson Lau, CEO.

"Unfortunately, our oral paclitaxel product candidate received a complete response letter from the FDA, 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," Lau said.

Price Action: ATNX shares are down 62.6% at $0.43 on the last check Monday.