Bruce Pharriss, chairman and chief executive officer of CeltrixPharmaceuticals Inc., has resigned his managementresponsibilities due to continued health problems, the companyannounced Tuesday.

Dale Stringfellow, who has been president of the Santa Clara,Calif., company since 1990, will now serve as chief executiveofficer as well. Roger Salquist, chief executive officer of CalgeneInc., will serve as chairman of the board of directors. Salquisthas been a director of Celtrix since 1990. Pharriss remains as adirector and a Celtrix employee.

"As we announced in early July, Bruce has been undergoingcancer therapy, and we were hopeful that he would soonreturn to Celtrix full time," commented Stringfellow.

"However, fighting the cancer has turned out to be a toughbattle," he said. "With his resignation from managementresponsibilities, Bruce can now devote all of his energy to hisown welfare, knowing that the company is in good hands andthat we will carry on his vision."

Stringfellow said that the company will continue to operatenormally under a management team that includes AndreasSommer, senior vice president, with overall responsibility forresearch, development, clinical, regulatory and manufacturingactivities; Sandra McNamara, vice president and chief financialofficer; Debera Brown, vice president of development; andLarry Ellingsworth, vice president of operations.

Celtrix (NASDAQ:CTRX), which was spun off from Collagen Corp.in 1990, is developing therapies for degenerative diseasesassociated with aging or autoimmune conditions. Thecompany's product BetaKine (transforming growth factor-beta-2) is in clinical trials for treating age-related maculardegeneration and for treating macular holes -- separateconditions of the eye that are both age-related.

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