DURECT Appoints Dr. Joseph Stauffer as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporat...( CUPERTINO Calif. June 16 /- DURECT Co...),Health

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DURECT Corporation (Nasdaq: DRRX) announced today that Dr. Joseph Stauffer has joined DURECT as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy.

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"Dr. Stauffer's successful leadership of clinical research and medical affairs for pain products while at Alpharma and Abbott, and first-hand experience with the regulatory approval process gained during his tenure at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is an ideal fit for DURECT's pipeline of acute, chronic, neuropathic and post-surgical pain products," stated James E. Brown, President and CEO of DURECT Corporation. "We're looking forward to the impact he will have on the development of POSIDUR(TM), TRANSDUR(TM)-Sufentanil, ELADUR(TM) and other programs."

Dr. Stauffer was at Alpharma Inc. from 2004 to 2009, where his latest position prior to the acquisition of Alpharma by King Pharmaceuticals was as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Clinical Research & Medical Affairs. His responsibilities at Alpharma included oversight of all clinical pharmacology, clinical development, pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, risk management and health outcomes/pharmacoeconomics. Prior to joining Alpharma, Dr. Stauffer was employed at Abbott Laboratories from 2002 to 2004 as Global Medical Director for Pain Therapeutics. In that role, he was responsible for Phase I-III trials for Vicodin, Vicoprofen, Dilaudid, as well as novel compounds targeting neuropathic pain. Prior to Abbott, he worked at the FDA from 2000 to 2002 as a Medical Review Officer in the Analgesic Division of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. While there, he rev
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