Zogenix Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

SAN DIEGO, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Zogenix, Inc. ("Zogenix"), a privately held pharmaceutical company, announced the appointment of Ann D. Rhoads to serve as the company's chief financial officer (CFO). In addition to overseeing the day-to-day financial operations, Ms. Rhoads will be responsible for the financial strategy of the company as it begins to accumulate sales of its first product, SUMAVEL™ DosePro™ (sumatriptan injection) needle-free delivery system, which launched at the beginning of this year.

Ms. Rhoads was previously the chief financial officer and senior vice president for Premier, Inc., a $600 million dollar healthcare service company where she had responsibility for all areas of financial management, strategic planning, business development, information technology, ethics and compliance. Ms. Rhoads joined Premier in August 1998 as vice president for strategic initiatives responsible for overseeing strategic investments, including a $30 million venture capital fund, as well as assisting Premier operating divisions with long range strategic planning. She was promoted to chief financial officer in 2000. Prior to joining Premier, Ms. Rhoads held various positions at Sprout Group, a venture capital affiliate of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (now part of Credit Suisse First Boston), Bain & Company and Merrill Lynch Capital Partners (now known as Stonington Partners). Ms. Rhoads received a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and a B.S. from the University of Arkansas.

"Dynamic times call for exceptional leadership talent and a strong team. We are extremely pleased to have attracted Ann to join the Zogenix executive team in this key position. The depth and breadth of her expertise in healthcare, finance and business strategy will be a significant asset to Zogenix as we continue to expand our development pipeline, execute our commercial strategies and plan our future growth," said Roger Hawley, chief executive officer of Zogenix.

"This is a great opportunity to bring my experience in strategic planning as well as financial management to a young company with innovative products," said Ann. "I am eager to work with the entire team at Zogenix as we expand the string of successes that have taken place since the approval of SUMAVEL DosePro last summer."

About Zogenix

Zogenix, Inc., with offices in Emeryville and San Diego, Calif., is a privately held pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to treat neuroscience disorders and pain. The company's initial focus is the commercialization of SUMAVEL DosePro, which launched in January 2010. The company's pipeline also includes ZX002, a novel oral controlled-release formulation of hydrocodone without acetaminophen for the treatment of chronic pain, preparing to enter Phase 3 clinical trials. Zogenix also plans to license the patented DosePro needle-free drug delivery system to other companies. For additional information, please visit www.zogenix.com.

SOURCE Zogenix, Inc.