Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina
February 22, 2007
Following a year of significant
growth, Athenix Corporation
is moving its operations from Durham to Research Triangle Park
today.
The move is the latest indicator of success at Athenix, a
leading biotechnology company that develops novel products and
technologies for agricultural and sustainable industrial
applications. The company anticipates continued growth in years
to come.
"Past growth, coupled with a very rich R&D pipeline, has Athenix
very excited about its future," said Mike Koziel, president and
chief executive officer for Athenix. "This company is in a very
good place, and poised for impressive growth."
Markus Andres, chief operating officer for Athenix, said the
company grew by approximately 20 percent in 2006 and added 12
new positions, bringing its current employee count to 50. Andres
expects Athenix to add at least 10 more positions in 2007.
The Athenix office space and laboratories have been in Durham
since the company's founding in 2001, with greenhouse space
nearby at Duke University. At 30,000 square feet, the new
facility offers nearly three times the capacity of the current
location, and includes office space, laboratories and a
greenhouse.
"While our new facilities will include greenhouse space," Koziel
explained, "we'll continue operations at Duke and build on the
relationship between Athenix and the university. However, it's
important to have greenhouse capabilities on site. The added
space is necessary to accommodate the projected growth of
Athenix."
On the heels of exceptional results from its 2006 field trials,
Athenix announced in November that it is advancing its lead
products into registration and commercial development. The field
trials evaluated proprietary genes for resistance to key corn
insect pests as well as tolerance to the world's leading
herbicide, glyphosate.
In its 2006 herbicide tolerance trials, the company's
proprietary class of glyphosate-tolerant genes produced
outstanding levels of tolerance to this important herbicide. In
the insect resistance trials, plants demonstrated commercial
levels of resistance to key pests, including European corn
borer, corn rootworm, and corn earworm.
Athenix has entered an intense commercial product development
phase that includes additional field trials and the development
of regulatory packages. This will allow Athenix to sell
transgenic corn products that offer resistance to insects and
tolerance to glyphosate.
The new Athenix headquarters is located at 108 T. W. Alexander
Drive, PO Box 110347, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709. The
main phone number is (919) 328-4100, and the fax number is (919)
328-4101.
Athenix is a leading biotechnology company that develops
novel products and technologies for agricultural and sustainable
industrial applications. Athenix is focused on developing
enhanced plants, microbes, enzymes, and processes with emphasis
on two major market opportunities: 1) the discovery of genes and
proteins for novel input traits such as insect resistance,
nematode resistance, and herbicide tolerance, and their use to
develop transgenic plants for the crop production industry; and
2) the discovery of genes and proteins for use in the
sustainable chemical industry. |
|
