REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS), a developer of engineered enzymes for pharmaceutical, biofuel and chemical production, today announced the appointment of Greg Hughes, Ph.D., as Vice President, Strategic Alliance & Product Development, effective October 28, 2013. Dr. Hughes spent the last 11 years in Process Chemistry at Merck with a primary focus in developing and implementing biocatalysis technology.
“We are very pleased to have Greg join the Codexis team as we continue to position our biocatalyst business for market leadership and growth,” said John Nicols, President and CEO of Codexis. “Greg was a driving force behind our landmark partnership with Merck for the development and deployment of a biocatalytic production process for Merck’s type 2 diabetes drug Januvia® (sitagliptin). He knows firsthand the value creation that Codexis’ biocatalysis technology can bring to our pharmaceutical customers. Greg can help us break down potential internal resistance to adoption of new technologies at large companies. In his role at Codexis, Greg will be working to build deeper alliances with major pharmaceutical companies, while also helping to develop new products to broaden the commercial applicability of our biocatalyst platform.”
“Codexis has quickly become the market leader in biocatalysis for the pharmaceutical industry, and I am very pleased to be joining the Company at this time with so many near-term growth opportunities,” said Dr. Hughes. “Our customized enzymes can benefit customers in both the pharmaceutical industry and other complex chemistry markets, and I look forward to building off of my previous experience working with Codexis to help grow both our customer and product pipelines in the months ahead.”
Prior to joining Codexis, Dr. Hughes worked at Merck beginning in 2002 in a variety of roles, most recently as Executive Director, Enabling Technologies in the Process Chemistry department. His responsibilities at Merck were focused on process chemistry and in particular on the application of biocatalysis technology within Merck’s research and development and manufacturing groups.
Dr. Hughes holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Toronto and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of New Brunswick. He completed his postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Codexis, Inc.
Codexis, Inc. engineers enzymes for pharmaceutical, biofuel and chemical production. Codexis’ proven technology enables scale-up and implementation of biocatalytic solutions to meet customer needs for rapid, cost-effective and sustainable process development – from research to manufacturing. For more information, see www.codexis.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the expansion of Codexis’ pharmaceutical business, Codexis’ abilities to capitalize on business opportunities in the pharmaceutical and other markets and the benefits that Codexis’ enzymes can provide its customers. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond Codexis’ control and that could materially affect actual results. Factors that could materially affect actual results include Codexis’ dependence on a limited number of customers and a limited number of products in its pharmaceutical business, Codexis’ abilities to develop and commercialize new products for the pharmaceutical market, Codexis’ dependence on its collaborators and the successful management of these relationships in developing and commercializing new products, Codexis’ ability to deploy its technology into market spaces adjacent to its pharmaceutical business and Codexis’ customers receiving regulatory and market approval of their pharmaceutical products. Additional factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in Codexis’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2013, including under the caption “Risk Factors.” Codexis expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
