8-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 8-K

Current Report

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

May 1, 2006

Date of Report

(Date of earliest event reported)

DURECT CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	000-31615	94-3297098
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

2 Results Way

Cupertino, CA 95014

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

(408) 777-1417

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On May 2, 2006, DURECT Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“DURECT”), issued a press release announcing the appointment of Peter Langecker as Chief Medical Officer of the Company. A copy of DURECT’s press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c) Exhibits

99.1 Press Release of DURECT Corporation dated May 2, 2006

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	DURECT Corporation
Date: May 2, 2006	By:	/s/ James E. Brown
		James E. Brown
		President and Chief Executive Officer

DURECT CORPORATION

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press Release of DURECT Corporation dated May 2, 2006

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

DURECT Corporation Appoints Peter Langecker Chief Medical Officer

Cupertino, CA

May 2, 2006

DURECT Corporation (NASDAQ: DRRX), an emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company, announced today that Peter J. Langecker, M.D., Ph.D. has joined the Company as Chief Medical Officer.

“DURECT is committed to diligently moving its products through the clinical development stages. Further to that objective, we are very fortunate to have Dr. Langecker join us with his expertise in clinical trial design, execution, and analysis as our pipeline progresses into later stages of development and as we focus on development of products for which we will retain commercialization rights,” said James E. Brown, DVM, President and CEO of DURECT.

Dr. Langecker joins us from Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. where he served as Chief Medical Officer and Vice President Clinical Affairs. He received his doctorate in medical sciences from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. He trained in hematology and oncology and has extensive experience in developing drugs and biological products in both Europe and the United States. Dr. Langecker was formerly based in Switzerland where he developed a variety of products for Novartis. He came to the U.S. as a Director in Clinical Research for Schering- Plough and as Vice President, Clinical Research for Coulter Pharmaceuticals. More recently he served as Vice President of Clinical Affairs for SUGEN, Inc. until its merger with Pharmacia & Upjohn. Dr. Langecker has also served as a Director for Xcyte Therapies based in Seattle, WA.

About DURECT Corporation

DURECT Corporation is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of pharmaceutical systems based on its proprietary drug delivery platform technologies that treat chronic debilitating diseases and enable biotechnology products. Additional information about DURECT is available at www.durect.com.

DURECT Forward-Looking Statement

The statements in this press release regarding DURECT’s products in development and future clinical trial plans are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, DURECT’s ability to successfully design, enroll, conduct and complete clinical trials, complete the design, development, and manufacturing process development of the product candidate, obtain product and manufacturing approvals from regulatory agencies and manufacture and commercialize the product candidate, as well as marketplace acceptance of the product candidate. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in DURECT’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2006 under the heading “Risk Factors.”

CONTACT:    Schond L. Greenway,    Vice President,    Investor Relations and Strategic Planning of DURECT Corporation,    +1-408-777-1417