AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Hires James Welch as Chief Financial Officer

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that James H. Welch has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. "We are very fortunate to continue to attract seasoned leaders in the pharmaceutical industry," stated Richard King, AcelRx President and CEO. "Jim brings over two decades' experience in financial and operational management at life science and high technology firms. His addition to the AcelRx team positions us well for future growth."

Prior to joining AcelRx, Mr. Welch was Chief Financial Officer at Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company focusing on developing pain products. Before Cerimon, Mr. Welch was Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary at Rigel Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Mr. Welch was Chief Financial Officer of Biocircuits Corporation, a public medical diagnostic company, and held various financial management positions at technology firms in Silicon Valley such as NeXT Computer and Avantek.

About AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals is a privately held pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative products for the treatment of painful conditions where currently available treatments are not optimal. The company applies its proprietary NanoTab technology for oral transmucosal delivery to enhance the safety, therapeutic benefit and commercial attractiveness of currently approved compounds. For additional information about AcelRx Pharmaceuticals visit http://www.acelrx.com.

SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.