Athenex appoints veteran J. Nick Riehle as Chief Financial Officer

BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Athenex announced today that Mr. J. Nick Riehle has agreed to serve as Chief Financial Officer of the company effective upon approval of the Company's Board of Directors.  He will report to Athenex's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Johnson Lau.

Mr. Riehle is highly experienced in the biopharmaceutical sector, having served as Chief Financial Officer of Chelsea Therapeutics from its inception in 2004 until 2014 when it was sold to Lundbeck.  He was a key member of the leadership team alongside Chelsea's former Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Simon Pedder, who is also currently an officer of Athenex.  Mr. Riehle previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of HAHT Commerce from 1996 to 2003, and held numerous senior finance and marketing roles at Nortel Networks from 1979 to 1996. 

Dr. Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman, stated, "Nick is a veteran in the biopharmaceutical sector and brings the invaluable experience of having been CFO of a publicly traded pharmaceutical company.  During the eight years I served as a Board member of Chelsea Therapeutics, including as Chairman of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, I witnessed first-hand Nick's high standards and strong work ethic. We are delighted to have someone with Nick's extensive credentials joining our senior management team, and we warmly welcome him."

Mr. Riehle stated, "I am delighted to be a member of the Athenex team and look forward to making significant contributions to its continued growth."

Mr. Riehle obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, a Master of Business Administration from York University in Toronto, Ontario, and the Certified Management Accountant designation from the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario.

About Athenex

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 an Global Supply Chain Platform. Our Oncology Innovation Platform generates clinical candidates through an extensive understanding of kinases, including novel binding sites, human absorption biology and through the application of our proprietary research and selection processes in the lab. Our current clinical pipeline is derived from two different platform technologies we call Orascovery and Src Kinase Inhibition. The Orascovery platform is based on the novel oral P-glycoprotein pump inhibitor molecule HM30181A, through which we are able to facilitate oral absorption of traditional cytotoxics, which we believe 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. We believe the combination of these mechanisms of action provide 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. 

SOURCE Athenex