Durect Corporation (Nasdaq:DRRX), a US-based biopharmaceutical company, announced on Tuesday that it has named Gail Maderis as its new chair of the board, succeeding David Hoffmann.

Maderis is serving on the Audit and Compensation committees. She has held the position of president and CEO of Antiva Biosciences and led BayBio. She has served as president and CEO of Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc and held senior executive positions at Genzyme Corporation, including founder and president of Genzyme Molecular Oncology and also practiced management and strategy consulting with Bain & Co.

Currently, Maderis serves on the corporate board of Valitor, Inc., and on the non-profit boards of BIO (Emerging Company and Health Sections), CLSI, The Termeer Foundation and the University of California Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees.

James E Brown, DVM, DURECT president and CEO, said, 'We thank Dave for his many years of service on the DURECT Board and wish him well. Gail is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive and we have benefitted from her innovative and strategic thinking as a board member since January 2021. We look forward to her vision and leadership during this exciting time for DURECT with the approaching topline data from our AHFIRM trial later this year.'