Codexis announced the appointment of Greg Hughes, Ph.D., as Vice President, Strategic Alliance & Product Development, effective from 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 team as we continue to position our biocatalyst business for market leadership and growth," said John Nicols, President and CEO. "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(R) (sitagliptin). He knows first-hand 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, 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.