CUPERTINO, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ —
DURECT Corporation (Nasdaq: DRRX) announced today that Dennis M. Fisher, M.D.
has been promoted to the position of Vice President for Medical Affairs.
Dr. Fisher joined DURECT in June 2000 as Medical Director. Dr. Fisher,
previously Professor of Anesthesia and Pediatrics at the University of
California San Francisco, has over 20 years of experience in the fields of
anesthesiology, pediatrics, neuromuscular pharmacology, opioids pharmacology,
and pharmacokinetic modeling. During his academic career, Dr. Fisher served
on a number of FDA advisory panels and also served as a reviewer of several
New Drug Applications, including remifentanil and propofol, products marketed
by GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, respectively. Dr. Fisher was also a
consultant for numerous pharmaceutical companies including Abbott
Laboratories, Baxter International and Glaxo Wellcome. Dr. Fisher has
published more than 80 original research articles and numerous chapters. He
also served as an editor of the journal Anesthesiology and he continues to
review manuscripts for numerous medical journals.
Dr. Fisher’s background includes a B.S. and Masters in City Planning from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a M.D. from Yale University.
His medical training includes an internship and residency in pediatrics at the
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a residency in anesthesia at the Hospital
of the University of Pennsylvania, and fellowships in pediatric anesthesia and
critical care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and neuromuscular
pharmacology at the University of California San Francisco. In 1981,
Dr. Fisher joined the faculty of the Department of Anesthesia at the
University of California San Francisco where he later ascended to the post of
Professor of Anesthesia and Pediatrics. Dr. Fisher was also a member of the
Editorial Board of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Fisher and his team played key roles in assisting in the early
development of the clinical investigation plan for DUROS sufentanil and the
completion of patient enrollment for the Phase II clinical trial of DUROS
sufentanil. Over 50 patients at 10 clinical centers were enrolled in the
trial more than one quarter ahead of schedule.
“DURECT Corporation is committed to diligently move its pharmaceutical
systems products through the clinical development stages. To that effect,
DURECT has assembled a formidable product development team with Dr. Fisher as
head of our Medical Affairs department,” said Felix Theeuwes, Chairman and
Chief Scientific Officer of DURECT. “We are very fortunate to have Dr. Fisher
at DURECT with his unique expertise in pharmacokinetics, clinical trial
design, execution, and analysis as we progress towards moving our lead
product, DUROS sufentanil for the treatment of chronic pain, into Phase III
clinical studies.”
DURECT Corporation is pioneering the development and commercialization of
pharmaceutical systems to deliver the right drug to the right site in the
right amount at the right time. DURECT’s pharmaceutical systems combine
technology innovations from the medical device and drug delivery industries
with proprietary pharmaceutical and biotechnology drug formulations. These
capabilities can enable new drug therapies or optimize existing therapies
based on a broad range of compounds, including small molecule pharmaceuticals
as well as biotechnology molecules such as proteins, peptides and genes.
In addition to DUROS sufentanil, DURECT’s second product in development,
DUROS hydromorphone, is a DUROS-based pharmaceutical system for the delivery
of hydromorphone to the spine for the treatment of end-stage cancer pain.
DURECT is also selling FDA cleared catheters for the delivery of fluids to the
inner ear. DURECT also manufactures, sells and distributes the ALZET(R)
osmotic pump product for use in laboratory research.
Founded in 1998, DURECT is headquartered in Cupertino, CA. The company’s
World Wide Web site can be accessed at http://www.www.durect.com. To join
DURECT’s email alert service, please register by selecting “Email Alerts” on
the main Investor Relations web page at http://www.www.durect.com.
DUROS is a registered trademark of ALZA Corporation.
The statements in this press release regarding DURECT’s products in
development, product development plans, clinical trials, and expected product
benefits are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that
could 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 develop, manufacture and commercialize
its products, complete successful clinical trials, obtain product approvals
from regulatory agencies, build a manufacturing facility, manage its growth
and costs, as well as marketplace acceptance of DURECT’s products. Further
information regarding these and other risks is included in the company’s S-1
registration statement, filed with the SEC on September 22, 2000 and its
424(b) prospectus filed with the SEC on September 28, 2000 and its Quarterly
Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000 filed with the SEC
on November 14, 2000.
SOURCE DURECT Corporation
CONTACT: Schond L. Greenway, Director, Investor Relations of DURECT
Corporation, 408-777-1417, or schond.greenway@durect.com/