CUPERTINO, Calif., April 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — DURECT Corporation
(Nasdaq: DRRX) announced today the expected departure of Thomas A. Schreck,
Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer on April 30, 2005, to pursue other
interests in private ventures in the life sciences sector. Mr. Schreck will
also be resigning as a director of the Company. Jian Li, DURECT’s current
Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller, will serve as the
Company’s principal financial and accounting officer.
“My core interest has always been to work with scientists and
entrepreneurs to bring forward innovations in medicine, and my decision was
based on a desire to return to that pursuit,” said Mr. Schreck. “Although I
will miss DURECT, I am proud that I have contributed to bringing DURECT from a
start-up venture in 1998 to its current status as a public emerging specialty
pharmaceutical company with a strong financial position and robust and
diversified pipeline. I also leave DURECT’s financial operations in the very
capable hands of Jian Li, our Vice President of Finance and Corporate
Controller, who has worked closely under me for five years. Jian has served
DURECT with the utmost dedication and integrity. She has been one of the key
members of the DURECT team in creating and maintaining financial and
accounting systems at the Company and was instrumental in leading the
implementation and completion of Sarbanes-Oxley 404 requirements and
compliance.”
“Tom was instrumental in helping us found DURECT and evolve the Company to
its present state of strength,” said James E. Brown, DVM, President and Chief
Executive Officer for DURECT. “We are furthermore grateful that Tom has put
in place a firm infrastructure for our financial operations and assembled a
great team that has successfully demonstrated its ability to meet the demands
imposed on us as a public company. We appreciate that Tom has agreed to work
with us through April to ensure the smooth transition of his duties and
thereafter consult with us on possible out-licensing and business development
opportunities. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Tom for
his dedicated service and contributions to DURECT, and we all wish him well
with his new business endeavors.”
Ms. Li joined DURECT in March of 2000 as Accounting Manager and was
promoted to Corporate Controller in April of 2001 and later to her current
position as Vice President Finance and Corporate Controller in December 2003.
Prior to joining DURECT, she held various positions at leading biotechnology
and telecommunications companies serving in roles such as financial analyst,
accountant and marketing analyst. Ms. Li earned her M.B.A. from the
University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is also a Certified Public Accountant and
a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
ABOUT DURECT
DURECT Corporation is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused
on the development of pharmaceutical systems based on its proprietary drug
delivery platform technologies that treat chronic debilitating diseases and
enable biotechnology products. These platform technologies include the
SABER(TM) Delivery System (a patented and versatile depot injectable useful
for protein and small molecule delivery), the ORADUR(TM) sustained release
oral gel-cap technology (an oral sustained release technology with several
potential abuse deterrent properties), the DURIN(TM) Biodegradable Implant
(drug-loaded implant system), the TRANSDUR(TM) transdermal technology and the
MICRODUR(TM) Biodegradable Microparticulates (microspheres injectable system).
DURECT also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to develop and
commercialize proprietary and enhanced pharmaceutical products based on its
technologies. DURECT has five disclosed on-going development programs of which
four are in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners. Additional information
about DURECT is available at www.www.durect.com.
NOTE: SABER(TM), ORADUR(TM), DURIN(TM), TRANSDUR(TM) and MICRODUR(TM) are
trademarks of DURECT Corporation. Other referenced trademarks belong to their
respective owners.
The statements in this press release regarding DURECT’s products in
development are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties
that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-
looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, DURECT’s ability to complete the design, development, and
manufacturing process development of its products, manufacture and
commercialize its products, obtain product and manufacturing approvals from
regulatory agencies, manage its growth and expenses, manage relationships with
third parties, finance its activities and operations, as well as marketplace
acceptance of these products. Further information regarding these and other
risks is included under the heading “Factors that may affect future results”
in DURECT’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004
filed with the SEC on March 14, 2005 and available on our website at
www.www.durect.com.
SOURCE DURECT Corporation 04/11/2005
CONTACT: Schond L. Greenway, Executive Director, IR and Strategic
Planning, DURECT Corporation, +1-408-777-1417; Stephanie C. Diaz, investors,
+1-415-885-2298, sdiaz@vidaLLC.com, or Tim Brons, media, +1-646-319-8981,
tbrons@vidaLLC.com, both of Vida Communication for DURECT Corporation
Web site: www.www.durect.com