Biotech industry analyst Denise Gilbert is leaving her post atSmith Barney Harris Upham & Co. to become the chief financialofficer and a vice president at Affymax N.V. of Amsterdam, thecompany announced Thursday.

Gilbert, who will be based in the Palo Alto, Calif., facilities ofAffymax's wholly owned subsidiary, Affymax ResearchInstitute, will not only provide strategic financial leadershipbut will also direct the growth of the company's financialstructure as it expands its activities.

"Our challenge as a company is to finance the growth of ourproducts into clinical applications," said David Singer, the newpresident and chief executive officer of Affymax subsidiaryAffymetrix and the former vice president of finance andtreasurer at Affymax.

Affymax's patented core technology VLSIPS (very large scaleimmobilized polymer synthesis) allows researchers to rapidlyproduce and test tens of thousands of chemical analogs (drugcandidates, receptors, peptides) on a tiny silica chip. It's thisenabling technology -- at least in part -- that attracted Gilbert.

"Affymax is one of a number of companies that has a powerfulapproach to drug development. It's a way to marry thetraditional ways of drug development with a lot of the newertechnology being developed by biotech," Gilbert told BioWorld.

Gilbert will take the reins from Alan Frazier, Affymax's CFOsince 1991. Frazier, who is managing partner of privately heldmerchant banking firm Frazier & Co. LP, will continue as asenior financial adviser for Affymax.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.