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EDISON, N.J., Sept. 11, 2017 -- Athenex, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATNX), a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced that it has entered into a Grant Disbursement Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the New York State Urban Development Corporation, or Empire State Development, (the “ESD”), in which the State of New York will grant up to $200 million to fund the construction of the state-of-the-art Dunkirk facility.

The Agreement is in addition to a previous $25 million ESD grant to fund construction of the facility, which Athenex is building to manufacture oral and sterile high potency drugs in a controlled environment for global distribution.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement and secured the funding for construction of our Dunkirk facility per our previous agreement with the New York State government. This milestone is a testament to our strong continued partnership with the State of New York, which continues to be critical to our mission of developing innovative and effective oncology focused therapies,” stated  Dr. Johnson Lau, Athenex’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.    

The funds will be deposited in four installments of up to $50 million into an ESD held account. Actual disbursement of such funds to Athenex will occur as the Company submits appropriate documentation verifying that expenditures on the project have been incurred. For more information regarding the Agreement, please view the full filing at www.sec.gov.

About Athenex, Inc.

Founded in 2003, Athenex, Inc. is a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to becoming a leader in the discovery and development 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. Athenex’s Oncology Innovation Platform generates clinical candidates through an extensive understanding of kinases, including novel binding sites, human absorption biology and through the application of Athenex’s proprietary research and selection processes in the lab. The Company’s current clinical pipeline is derived from two different platform technologies Athenex calls Orascovery and Src Kinase Inhibition. The Orascovery platform is based on the novel oral P-glycoprotein pump inhibitor molecule HM30181A, through which Athenex is able to facilitate oral absorption of traditional cytotoxics, which Athenex believes may offer improved patient tolerability and efficacy as compared to IV administration of the same cytotoxics. The Src Kinase Inhibition platform refers to novel small molecule compounds that have multiple mechanisms of action, including the inhibition of the activity of Src Kinase and the inhibition of tubulin polymerization during cell division. Athenex believes the combination of these mechanisms of action provides a broader range of anti-cancer activity as compared to either mechanism of action alone. Athenex’s employees worldwide are dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients by creating more active and tolerable treatments. Athenex has offices in Buffalo and Clarence, New York, Cranford, New Jersey, Houston, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Hong Kong, Taipei Taiwan, and multiple locations in Chongqing, China.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer/Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. 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:  the development stage of our primary clinical candidates and related risks involved in drug development, clinical trials, regulation, manufacturing and commercialization; our need to raise additional capital; competition, including specifically in APD’s generic business; intellectual property risks, including specifically in APD’s generic business; risks relating to doing business in China; 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.  We assume no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

CONTACT:
Nick Riehle
Tel: +1-716-427-2952