FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- ARYx Therapeutics, a private drug discovery and development company, today announced that it has named Daniel M. Canafax, Pharm.D. as its new chief development officer. Dr. Canafax, a 30-year veteran in the field of clinical research and development, will be responsible for the continued advancement of ARYx’s drug pipeline, which includes three products in clinical trials.
“We are pleased to welcome Dan to our executive team,” said Dr. Peter Milner, president of ARYx Therapeutics. “His wide range of skills and diverse experience as a sponsor, CRO, investigator, professor, and bedside clinician will add significantly to his value and perspective in this important role at ARYx.”
Dr. Canafax succeeds Dr. Les Bartholow, who is retiring.
“Les Bartholow has been an excellent steward of our product portfolio during his tenure at ARYx,” added Dr. Milner. “We appreciate his past contributions to the company and wish him tremendous happiness in his retirement.”
Dr. Canafax joins ARYx from XenoPort, Inc., where he served since 2002 as vice president of clinical development. From 2001 to 2002, Dr. Canafax was director and medical monitor at MedImmune, Inc. Previous to that, he served as director of clinical affairs at Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Canafax was vice president of clinical research for Ischemia Research and Education Foundation from 1999 to 2000, and from 1997 to 2000, he was executive director and vice president of clinical research at SangStat Medical Corporation. From 1978 to 1997, Dr. Canafax was a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, including Professor of Pharmacy, Surgery and Otolaryngology and director of a Clinical Trials Office and Drug Analysis Laboratory. Dr. Canafax received his B.Pharm. degree from Washington State University and his Pharm.D. degree from the University of Kentucky.
About ARYx Therapeutics Inc.
ARYx Therapeutics is a privately-held pharmaceutical research and development company focused on addressing safety concerns in well-established and commercially successful existing therapies through application of its proprietary ARYx RetroMetabolic (ARM(tm)) drug design. ARYx improves today’s drugs, making proven therapies safer. ARYx currently has three products in clinical trials. For more information, please see the company’s web site at http://www.aryx.com.
ARYx Therapeutics
CONTACT: David Nagler, Vice President, Corporate Affairs of ARYxTherapeutics, +1-510-585-2200, ext. 211
Web site: http://www.aryx.com/
