CLARENCE, N.Y. — Former Governor Andrew Cuomo came to Western New York in February 2016 to tout a $225M investment by the state for a new 300,000sq/ft manufacturing facility for Athenex.
That facility didn't open until 2021, and by January 2022 Athenex sold its lease to a different company and moved out.
Things continued to get worse for the Buffalo-based company.
Athenex, Inc., biopharmaceutical company, announced Monday that they filed Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
They say they have an agreement with its lenders to move forward with an expedited sales of their assets.
Governor Hochul's office, when asked by 2 On Your Side about the bankruptcy filing, said "our office is committed to supporting impacted workers and families and encourages workers to contact the New York State Department of Labor for information on employment resources."
Athenex says they also reached an agreement with its secured lenders for "consensual use of cash collateral" so that the company can continue to pay its vendors for goods and services.
2 On Your Side reached out to former Governor Cuomo for a statement on the nearly quarter-billion-dollar investment into the company.
A spokesperson for Governor Cuomo said "while there are always some risks in individual projects, this was part of an unpresented investment in Western New York that reinvigorated the region and led to the first population increase in Erie County in our lifetimes."
Athenex voluntarily filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a release, in order to expedite a sale.
A spokesperson for Athenex tells WGRZ that the company will fulfill orders for the next 90 days.
"As Athenex pursues a sales process, Athenex Pharma Solutions, which includes the Company’s manufacturing facility in Clarence, New York, is expected to continue its operations for at least the next 90 days, to provide commercial supply of tirbanibulin ointment."
Athenex isn't the only Buffalo Billion project to fizzle out, fail to meet its goal, or shut down all together.
"It's all it's all bad news," said NYS Senator Sean Ryan. "But it's a real repudiation of Cuomo-era economic development policies, so many things just didn't work."
Other Buffalo Billion projects that didn't come to fruition include a variety of industry sectors:
- IBM, despite receiving $55M for a so-called high-tech makeover of office space in downtown Buffalo, failed to meet the 500 jobs goal it had established.
- Empire Visual Effects failed to employ 150 people in Buffalo and launch the visual effect industry in Buffalo, as that was one of the established goals.
- The $150M Wonderfalls project never broke ground and failed to attract a new developer after Uniland abandoned the project in 2019.
- Despite $70M being invested for job training and facilities for the high-tech and advanced manufacturing sector, the total number of tech jobs only increased by 1,200 since the Buffalo Billion was announced.
"We had hope for Athenex," said New York State Senator George Borrello. "Our state government has never really been good at picking winners and losers and that that is certainly something needs to be looked at."
Dr. Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer of Athenex, on behalf of the management team and the Athenex Board of Directors, issued this statement:
“Throughout our history, we have sought to become a leader in bringing innovative cancer treatments to the market and improving patient health outcomes. Our team was successful in bringing tirbanibulin, through regulatory approvals, to the U.S. market and a number of EU countries, as well as Taiwan. Unfortunately, our oral paclitaxel product candidate received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 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.
“Over the past two years, we made considerable progress in refocusing our business around our promising NKT cell therapy platform, monetizing non-core assets to improve our balance sheet and extending our cash runway, paying down $108 million of debt, and undertaking a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to create value for our stakeholders. While we explored every viable avenue to avoid this outcome, an orderly sales process represents the best path forward at this time.
“Our goal remains to identify purchasers who will continue development of the important drug candidates for which we have established a good foundation, and to bring them to market on behalf of medical practitioners and, most importantly, for patients. We are incredibly thankful to our team for their dedication to Athenex and will look to support our colleagues through this transition period.”
Athenex's manufacturing facility in Clarence will continue operations for at least the next 90 days, according to the company, so that they can continue to provide commercial supply of tirbanibulin ointment and fill customer orders with the inventory on hand.
For more information on Athenex’s Chapter 11 filing https://dm.epiq11.com/athenex.