CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan 06, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — DURECT Corporation
(Nasdaq: DRRX) announced today the appointment of four executives to its
senior management team. Harry Guy has joined DURECT as Vice President of
Engineering and Safety. In addition, DURECT announced today that Dr. Andrew R.
Miksztal has been promoted to Vice President of Pharmaceutical Research and
Development, Thomas P. McCracken has been promoted to Vice President and Chief
Patent Counsel and Schond L. Greenway has been promoted to Vice President,
Investor Relations and Strategic Planning.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020717/DRRXLOGO )
“We are very excited to add such highly qualified and experienced people
to our senior management team,” said Dr. James E. Brown, President and CEO of
DURECT. “DURECT is fortunate to have someone of Harry’s caliber join our team.
Andy, Tom and Schond have served DURECT with the utmost dedication and
integrity. Each have been strong contributors to our corporate mission and we
look forward to their continued efforts in rapidly moving our company into the
next stage of growth.”
In his new role, Mr. Guy will be responsible for the Engineering group in
Cupertino as well as Facilities and Environmental Health & Safety for the
corporation. For the last 11 years, Mr. Guy was employed at ALZA Corporation,
where his last position was Executive Director of Materials Management and
Environmental Health & Safety. In this position, he led functional teams with
diverse requirements, including environmental health and safety, materials and
distribution, and conducting supplier assessments. Prior to ALZA, Mr. Guy
spent 11 years at Syntex as the Director of Corporate Industrial Health &
Safety. Mr. Guy received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering
from Kansas State University. He was also in the Air Force, where he spent
time as a Bioenvironmental Engineer.
Dr. Miksztal has over 18 years of pharmaceutical product development
experience. He joined DURECT in March 2000 as Senior Director of
Pharmaceutical Development, and in October 2000 was promoted to Executive
Director. Prior to joining DURECT, Dr. Miksztal was the Associate Director of
the Pharmaceutical Analysis Department at Oread Laboratories from 1996 to
2000, a Senior Scientist in Pharmaceutical Research at Roche Bioscience from
1995 to 1996, and a Scientist in the Preformulation and Pharmaceutical
Analysis Departments at Syntex Research from 1987 to 1995. Dr. Miksztal earned
his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Rutgers University, and completed an NIH
postdoctoral research fellowship in the Chemistry Department at the University
of California, San Diego. He has numerous scientific publications and is the
inventor of several U.S. and foreign patents.
Mr. McCracken has over 15 years of professional experience in the
biopharmaceutical field, including the provision of legal advice and guidance
in international intellectual property matters with a special emphasis in the
area of patenting pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology and
medical/analytical devices, and the licensing and transacting of technologies
in those areas.
Prior to joining DURECT, Mr. McCracken held positions as Senior Legal
Counsel and Vice President, Intellectual Property, at PowderJect
Pharmaceuticals in Fremont, California and in Oxford, United Kingdom from 1998
to 2004. From 1994 to 1998, he was engaged in private law practices at the
biotech patent boutiques of Reed & Robins and Robins & Associates in Palo Alto
and Menlo Park, California, respectively. In addition, from 1988 to 1990 Mr.
McCracken held various research, development and production positions at
several biotech start-ups in the San Diego area, and at the Research Institute
of Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California. Mr. McCracken received his
undergraduate degree in Microbiology from the University of California, San
Diego, and his Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law. Mr.
McCracken is also registered to practice with the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, and is a member of the State Bar of California.
Mr. Greenway has over 12 years of professional experience in the corporate
finance field. Mr. Greenway is primarily responsible for a variety of duties
including, oversight of certain financial and strategic planning initiatives
for the Company, leading the corporate communications efforts (investor,
equity research, investment banking and media relations), and managing the
information technology department.
Mr. Greenway joined DURECT in 2000 and has held a variety of positions,
most recently as the Executive Director of Investor Relations and Strategic
Planning. Mr. Greenway brings to DURECT his past experiences from Morgan
Stanley and BankAmerica (formerly NationsBank Capital Markets, Inc.), where he
gained corporate finance and M&A experience and completed numerous
transactions in a variety of disparate industries including technology,
telecommunications, healthcare and general industrials. Mr. Greenway earned
his MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the
University of Virginia. He also received a B.S. in Computer Information
Systems from Florida A&M University, as well as an honorable discharge from
the United States Air Force Reserves.
DURECT also announced today that Tai Wah Chan, who has served as one of
DURECT’s Vice Presidents of Pharmaceutical Research and Development is
retiring from the Company. Dr. Chan will continue to act as a consultant for
DURECT.
“As one of the early members of our management team, Tai Wah made
significant contributions in helping establish DURECT’s pharmaceutical
research and development infrastructure with his expertise in drug discovery
research, preformulation, formulation and analytical research,” said Dr. James
E. Brown, President and CEO of DURECT. “Tai Wah has been a valued friend and
colleague and we wish him all the best.”
About DURECT Corporation
DURECT Corporation is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused
on the development of pharmaceutical systems based on its proprietary drug
delivery platform technologies. The company is developing pharmaceutical
systems to deliver the right drug to the right place in the right amount at
the right time to treat chronic and episodic diseases and conditions.
SOURCE:
DURECT Corporation
Schond L. Greenway, Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Planning of
DURECT Corporation, +1-408-777-1417