PharmaEssentia and Athenex announced the execution of an amendment to the prior license agreements between the two companies that provides for PharmaEssentia to acquire the rights to develop and commercialize Oraxol and Oratecan in Vietnam and for Athenex to reacquire the right to market and commercialize KX-01 Ointment for the indication of actinic keratosis in China. PharmaEssentia will maintain the rights to develop and commercialize KX-01 for actinic keratosis in Taiwan, as well as the indication of psoriasis in Taiwan and China. Oraxol and Oratecan, currently in Phase 3 and Phase 1 studies, respectively, are oral versions of paclitaxel and irinotecan based on the use of HM30181A, a novel p-glycoprotein inhibitor to facilitate absorption, originally developed and licensed to Athenex by Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Both products are part of Athenexs Orascovery platform developed by Hanmi Pharmaceuticals. In a collaborative venture, Hanmi licensed to Athenex the global rights to the Orascovery program apart from Korea and Japan. ZenRx has joined the effort to develop Oraxol and Oratecan in New Zealand and Australia, and PharmaEssentia now holds the rights to Oraxol and Oratecan in Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam. Originally developed by Athenex, KX-01 is a Src kinase and pre-tubulin dual inhibitor and orally available anti-cancer drug. PharmaEssentia has led the development effort of KX-01 Ointment for the indication of psoriasis in Taiwan, Hanmi holds the development rights to KX-01 as an oral anti-cancer drug in the territories of Korea and Japan, and Athenex has led the development effort of KX-01 Ointment for the indication of actinic keratosis.