The appointment will be effective Feb. 1, and Morris will remain a consultant until September.
"Arlene led Affymax during a period of great progress, from identification of its lead compound, peginesatide (Hematide) through late stage development," said Hollings Renton, Affymax's chairman of the board. "It is with deep gratitude that we recognize her contributions to the organization."
Arlene Morris commented, "I am extremely proud of our many accomplishments at Affymax. I believe the organization is well positioned for the future and it is with great confidence that I turn the helm over to John Orwin, a proven leader in the industry. We recruited John to Affymax with recognition of his strengths in leading commercial organizations which position him ideally to lead the company going forward."
John Orwin added, "I would like to thank Arlene for her leadership of Affymax thus far and for bringing the organization through a critical period of development. We are now in final preparations of our NDA and are on track to submit this application to the Food and Drug Administration in the second quarter of 2011. We believe we are well positioned to commercialize peginesatide upon potential approval for the treatment of anemia in dialysis patients, and look forward to our transition to a commercial organization."
