Athenex Announces the Addition of Simon Pedder, PhD and Raymond Yeung, MSc, MBA to its Global Leadership Team

News provided by

Feb 09, 2016, 10:05 ET

BUFFALO, N.Y. and HONG KONG, Feb. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Athenex, Inc. announced today that Simon Pedder, PhD, has joined Athenex as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development based in the U.S. and Mr. Raymond Yeung, MSc, MBA has joined as Senior Director and Deputy Head of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs, Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

Dr. Pedder has a long career in drug development including recent leadership roles as President and CEO of Cellectar Biosciences, President and CEO of Chelsea Therapeutics, Vice President of Oncology Pharma Business at Hoffman-LaRoche, Life Cycle Leader and Global Project Leader of Pegasys/IFN and Head of Hepatitis Franchise at Hoffman-LaRoche; and Vice President and Head of Drug Development in Shearwater Corporation. Formerly, he was a faculty in the Department of Pharmacology in College of Medicine in the University of Saskatchewan, where he obtained his PhD in Pharmacology. During his longstanding career in pharmaceutical development, Dr. Pedder has previously led the late stage development and commercial launch of multiple proprietary pharmaceutical products. Dr. Simon Pedder stated, "Athenex has a very strong executive management team that I have known for a while. Coupled together with their unique business model and deep oncology portfolio, Athenex is going to be a leader in the U.S. and China, reshaping traditional treatment options for cancer patients. I am looking forward to joining their leadership team to further their business and scientific strategies."

Mr. Raymond Yeung also has a long career of preclinical and clinical development including Senior Project Manager, Operations Manager, and Director of Asia-Pacific in MDS Pharma Services; Managing Director of Albany Molecular Research Inc. Singapore operation; and General Manager of Fortune Pharmacal in Hong Kong. Over a span of three decades of his career, Raymond was involved or leading the effort in a number of preclinical and clinical projects and developed an expertise in GCP, GLP and GMP operations. Mr. Raymond Yeung added, "I have known Athenex and its management team for a couple of years as an investor and have been impressed by their execution and strategy. In particular, the management team has positioned Athenex to capture both the large market opportunities in the U.S. and China with their proprietary product portfolio. Similar to Simon, I am delighted to come out of retirement to work with their leadership team to contribute towards the development of new medicine to help patients and also to bridge the biotechnology/pharmaceutical space between US and China." Raymond will work closely with Dr. Wing-Kai Chan, the Head of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs Asia-Pacific of Athenex.

Mr. Flint Besecker, Athenex Chief Operating Officer and Board Director commented, "The additions of Simon and Raymond to our existing leadership add depth and breadth in both of our primary markets. Simon's experience in launching proprietary oncology drugs, coupled with Raymond's experience in Greater China are a wonderful complement to our existing product development teams. It also reflects our commitments towards the planned commercialization and launch of products in both China and U.S." Dr. Johnson Lau, Athenex Chairman and CEO stated, "I have personally known Simon and Raymond for a while and both are well seasoned executives. We are all very confident that they will quickly contribute to our strategy and its execution/implementation. The Athenex team and Board of Directors warmly welcome them to our global team."

About Athenex, Inc.

Founded in 2003, Athenex is a global specialty oncology pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of next generation therapies for cancer diseases and supportive therapies with a particular emphasis on the China and U.S. markets. The company is dedicated to delivering innovative drugs that can have a life-changing impact on cancer patients. Our business includes: three portfolios of innovative proprietary products under development, medical technology research innovation centers, product development and regulatory teams and existing manufacturing facilities in China and the U.S. Our employees include several hundred dedicated professionals to the mission of improving the lives of cancer patients throughout the world. With our connected innovation, development and manufacturing presence concentrated in China and the US, we can identify, develop, and deliver unique medical technology across continents and multiple regulatory environments. We have offices in: Buffalo and Clarence New York, Cranford New Jersey, Hong Kong, Taipei Taiwan, and multiple locations in Chongqing, China. In addition to our offices, we have regional development partners in Dunedin New Zealand, Hong Kong, Guangzhou China, Seoul South Korea, Taipei Taiwan, Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Buenos Aires Argentina.