Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> October 26, 2004

J.brown / F.theeuwes – Durect Corporation (drrx)

Brown, James E.
Dr. James E. Brown co-founded DURECT Corporation in February 1998 and has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director since June 1998. He previously worked at ALZA Corporation as Vice President of Biopharmaceutical and Implant Research and Development from June 1995 to June 1998. Prior to that, Dr. Brown held various positions at Syntex Corporation, a pharmaceutical company, including Director of Business Development from May 1994 to May 1995, Director of Joint Ventures for Discovery Research from April 1992 to May 1995, and held a number of positions including Program Director for Syntex Research and Development from October 1985 to March 1992. Dr. Brown holds a B.A. from San Jose State University and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis where he also conducted post-graduate work in Pharmacology and Toxicology. Profile
FELIX THEEUWES is Chairman, co-Founder, and Chief Scientific Officer at DURECT Corporation, established in July 1998 as a spinout from ALZA Corporation to focus on the development of pharmaceutical systems and products to treat chronic debilitating diseases and enabling biotechnology drugs. Dr. Theeuwes was with ALZA Corporation from 1970 until June 1999, holding positions directing research, technology development and product development for a variety of controlled drug delivery systems. His work led to the product introduction of the ALZET' mini osmotic pump series for animal research, and the OROS' systems series of products. He directed research in transdermal research and development, initiated the electrotransport/iontophoresis program, and initiated the DUROS' osmotic implant program. He holds more than 210 US patents covering these systems and published more than 80 articles and book chapters. In 1980 Dr. Theeuwes was named Inventor of the Year by the Peninsula Patent Law Association. In 1983 he was the recipient of the Award for the Advancement of Industrial Pharmacy. He was the Busse Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin in 1981, and in 1985 the Third Annual Sidney Riegelman Lecturer at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. In 1993 he became the first recipient of ALZA Corporation's Founder's Award. Dr. Theeuwes is a member of the Board of Directors at Genetronics, Inc., and DURECT Corporation and was formerly a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at Antigenics. In 1993 Dr. Theeuwes completed the Stanford Executive Program. He received his undergraduate and graduate education in Physics at the University of Leuven (Louvain), Belgium, with a DSc degree in 1966. From 1966 to 1970 he served as a post-doctoral fellow and visiting Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas. Profile
TWST: Give us a brief history of DURECT and an overview of your platform

technologies.

Dr. Theeuwes: (Chairman & CSO): I started at ALZA in 1970 so I have been

in the field of drug