Exelixis, Inc. today announced the addition of five key employees: Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., as Vice President, Discovery Research; Michael G. Rusnak, as Vice President, Pharmaceutical Business Development; E. Kristine McClintock, as Controller; Lisa Benthein, as Director, Human Resources and Angela Bitting, as Associate Director, Corporate Communications.

"As we continue to deliver on our strategic business plan, we look forward to the contribution of each individual in the areas of drug discovery, business development, finance, human resources and corporate communications," said George Scangos, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Exelixis, Inc. "We are pleased to welcome each of these talented individuals to our growing team."

Michael Morrissey brings extensive experience in small molecule discovery research, and joins Exelixis as Vice President of Discovery Research. Previously with Berlex Biosciences, Dr. Morrissey held positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Discovery Research, Director of Pharmaceutical Discovery and Unit Head of Medicinal Chemistry, where he played a key role in developing a state-of-the-art drug discovery technology platform which advanced several compounds into the clinical setting. Prior to Berlex, Dr. Morrissey held various positions within Ciba-Geigy Corporation. He is the author of numerous scientific publications in medicinal chemistry, and an inventor on 25 issued US patents. Dr. Morrissey received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University and his B.S. Honors in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin.

Michael Rusnak comes to Exelixis from CombiChem, Inc. where he served as Vice President of Business Development until the company was acquired by DuPont Pharmaceuticals. Prior to CombiChem, Mr. Rusnak was employed by Lexicon Genetics Incorporated as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. In addition to CombiChem and Lexicon, he has served in various business development and marketing positions at Bayer and Baxter Diagnostics. Mr. Rusnak holds a M.S. in Clinical Science and Laboratory Management from San Francisco State and a B.S. in Microbiology from St. Bonaventure University.

Kristine McClintock comes to Exelixis as Controller, bringing broad experience in SEC reporting and strategic planning support. She comes to Exelixis from Ernst & Young LLP, where she provided assurance and business advisory services to a wide variety of clients, including multinational to development stage companies in a variety of industries, including biotechnology, medical device and software. Ms. McClintock holds a B.S. in Accounting from Babson College.

Lisa Benthein joins Exelixis as Director of Human Resources, bringing over ten years experience in benefits administration, compensation, employee and management training, recruitment and employee relations from Calgene, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto Co. She holds a M.B.A. from the University of California, Davis and a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Sacramento.

Angela Bitting joins Exelixis from Russell-Welsh, Inc., a public and investor relations agency specifically focused on life science companies, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of corporate communications strategies for a variety of biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Bitting holds a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Business Administration, both from the University of Washington.

Exelixis, Inc. is a leader in comparative genomics and model system genetics. These technologies provide a rapid, efficient, and cost-effective way to move from DNA sequence data to knowledge about the function of genes and the proteins that they encode. The company's technologies focus on the identification and validation of novel screening targets and proteins and their function for the pharmaceutical, diagnostic, agricultural, and animal health industries. Exelixis' research programs include the areas of CNS, inflammation, metabolic disease, oncology, and agricultural biotechnology.