As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2010

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

DURECT CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

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

2 Results Way

Cupertino, CA 95014

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

DURECT Corporation 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

DURECT Corporation 2000 Stock Plan

(Full title of the plan)

James E. Brown

Chief Executive Officer

DURECT Corporation

2 Results Way

Cupertino, CA 95014

(Name and address of agent for service)

(408) 777-1417

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copy to:

Stephen B. Thau

Morrison & Foerster LLP

755 Page Mill Road

Palo Alto, California 94304

(650) 813-5600

(Calculation of Registration Fee on following page)

Indicate by a check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer	¨	Accelerated filer	x
Non-accelerated filer	¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)	Smaller reporting company	¨

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of each class of securities to be registered	Amount to be registered(1)	Proposed maximum offering price per share	Proposed maximum aggregate offering price	Amount of registration fee
DURECT Corporation 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value	225,000 Shares	$2.27(2)	$510,750	$36.42
DURECT Corporation 2000 Stock Plan
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value	2,250,000 Shares	$2.68(3)	$6,030,000	$429.94
Total	2,475,000 Shares		$6,540,750	$466.36

(1) This registration statement shall also cover any additional shares of common stock which become issuable under any of the plans being registered pursuant to this registration statement by reason of any stock dividend, stock split or any other similar transaction effected without the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of the registrant’s outstanding shares of common stock.

(2) Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. The computation is based upon the average of the high and low sale prices of the common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market on May 6, 2010, multiplied by 85%, which is the percentage of the trading purchase price applicable to purchases under the referenced Plan.

(3) Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. The computation with respect to unissued options is based upon the average of the high and low sale prices of the common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market on May 6, 2010.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of Part I of the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) is omitted from this filing in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the introductory note to Part I of the Registration Statement. The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered to the participants in the Plan as required by Rule 428(b)(1).

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The following documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by DURECT Corporation (the “Company” or the “Registrant”) pursuant to the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are incorporated herein by reference.

(1) The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 000-31615) for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2009.

(2) The Company’s Quarterly Report filed on Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2010 (File No. 000-31615).

(3) The Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K dated January 19, 2010, January 28, 2010, February 22, 2010 and April 7, 2010.

(4) All reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the 1934 Act subsequent to December 31, 2009.

(5) The description of the Company’s capital stock which is contained in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3/A, filed with the Commission on March 10, 2009 (Registration Statement 333-155042), including any amendments or supplements thereto.

All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the 1934 Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

Not applicable.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

Our Amended Bylaws provide generally for indemnification of our officers, directors, agents and employees to the extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”). Pursuant to Section 145 of the DGCL, a corporation generally has the power to indemnify its present and former directors, officers, employees and agents against expenses incurred by them in connection with any suit to which they are, or are threatened to be made, a party by reason of their serving in such positions so long as they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of a corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action, they had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. With respect to suits by or in the right of a corporation, however, indemnification is not available if such person is adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his duty to the corporation unless the court determines that indemnification is appropriate. In addition, a corporation has the power to purchase and maintain insurance for such person. The statute also expressly provides that the power to indemnify that it authorizes is not exclusive of any rights granted under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

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As permitted by Section 102 of the DGCL, our stockholders have approved and incorporated provisions into Article XIII of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Article VI of our Amended Bylaws eliminating a director’s personal liability for monetary damages to us and our stockholders arising from a breach of a director’s fiduciary duty, except for liability under Section 174 of the DGCL or liability for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or its stockholders, for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law or for any transaction in which the director derived an improper personal benefit. We have also entered into agreements with our directors and certain of our officers that will require us, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors to the fullest extent not prohibited by law.

Under Section 145 of the DGCL, we have broad powers to indemnify our directors and officers against liabilities they may incur in such capacities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors in which we agree to indemnify and hold harmless the officer or director to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, or any inquiry or investigation not initiated by the officer or director, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of ours, or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, against any and all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and settlement amounts actually and reasonably incurred by such officer or director or on his or her behalf (including mandatory advancement of expenses), if such person acted in good faith and in a manner which such person believed to be or not opposed to our best interests. The indemnification agreements set forth procedures that apply in the event of a claim for indemnification thereunder.

We also maintain insurance to protect ourselves and our directors, officers, employees and agents against expenses, liabilities and losses incurred by such persons in connection with their service in the foregoing capacities.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS

See Exhibit Index.

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made of securities registered hereby, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price) represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (i) and (ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

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The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Cupertino, State of California, on May 10, 2010.

DURECT CORPORATION
By:	/s/    JAMES E. BROWN
	James E. Brown
	President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

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POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned directors and officers of DURECT Corporation do hereby constitute and appoint James E. Brown and Felix Theeuwes, and each of them severally, our true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to do any and all such acts and things in our name and on our behalf in our capacities as directors and officers and to execute any and all instruments for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below, which said attorneys and agents, or either of them, may deem necessary or advisable to enable said corporation to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), and any rules, regulations and requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in connection with this Registration Statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act, including specifically, but without limitation, power and authority to sign for us or in any of our names and in the capacities indicated below any and all amendments (including post effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, or any related Registration Statement that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act; and we do hereby ratify and confirm all that the said attorneys and agents, or either of them, shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
/S/    JAMES E. BROWN	President, Chief Executive Officer and	May 10, 2010
James E. Brown	Director (Principal Executive Officer)
/S/    FELIX THEEUWES	Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer	May 10, 2010
Felix Theeuwes
/S/    MATTHEW J. HOGAN	Chief Financial Officer	May 10, 2010
Matthew J. Hogan	(Principal Accounting Officer)
/S/    SIMON X. BENITO	Director	May 10, 2010
Simon X. Benito
/S/    TERRENCE F. BLASCHKE	Director	May 10, 2010
Terrence F. Blaschke
/S/    MICHAEL D. CASEY	Director	May 10, 2010
Michael D. Casey
/S/    DAVID R. HOFFMANN	Director	May 10, 2010
David R. Hoffmann
/S/    ARMAND P. NEUKERMANS	Director	May 10, 2010
Armand P. Neukermans
/S/    JON S. SAXE	Director	May 10, 2010
Jon S. Saxe

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit Number
5.1	Opinion of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
23.1	Consent of Morrison & Foerster LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.2	Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
24.1	Powers of Attorney (see signature page).

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