DURECT Corporation Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results CUPERTINO, CA

DURECT Corporation Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results

CUPERTINO, CA, May 10, 2010/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ DURECT Corporation (Nasdaq: DRRX) announced today financial results for the three months

ended March 31, 2010. Total revenues were $7.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and $6.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $6.6 million,

compared to a net loss of $8.7 million for the same period in 2009.

At March 31, 2010, we had cash and investments of $35.8 million,

compared to cash and investments of $41.6 million at December 31, 2009.

Our late stage pipeline continues to advance in 2010. Of

note, BESST, our pivotal U.S. Phase III clinical study for POSIDUR , is well underway. With respect to our partnered programs, King Pharmaceuticals is preparing the NDA resubmission for REMOXY by year end and has initiated a Phase IIb

clinical study of ELADUR in chronic low back pain, stated James E. Brown, D.V.M., President and CEO of DURECT.

REMOXY, an investigational drug, is a unique long acting

oral formulation of oxycodone intended to treat moderate to severe pain. Based on DURECT s ORADUR technology, which is covered by issued patents and pending patent applications owned by us, REMOXY is designed to resist common methods of

prescription drug misuse and abuse.

POSIDUR is our post-operative pain relief depot that utilizes our patented SABER technology to deliver bupivacaine to provide up to three

days of pain relief after surgery. POSIDUR is licensed to Nycomed for commercialization in Europe and other defined countries, and we have retained commercialization rights in the U.S., Canada, Japan and all other countries. In February 2010, we

amended our agreement with Nycomed to separate funding and control of the U.S. and European clinical programs and to expand the territory licensed to Nycomed. The parties are not altering the final decision making authority and financial

responsibility for the remainder of the development activities, such as the non-clinical and CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control) activities, which will continue to be jointly managed and funded by Nycomed and us. We are in discussions with

potential partners regarding licensing of the U.S./Canadian and Japanese rights to this program.

ELADUR is our proprietary transdermal patch intended to deliver bupivacaine for a period of up to three days

from a single application.

TRANSDUR-Sufentanil is our proprietary transdermal patch intended to

deliver sufentanil to chronic pain sufferers for a period of up to seven days from a single application.

Earnings Conference Call

A live audio webcast of a conference call to discuss first quarter 2010 results will be broadcast live over the internet at 4:30 p.m. Eastern

Time on May 10 and is available by accessing DURECT s homepage at www.durect.com and clicking Investor Relations. If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will be archived on

DURECT s website under Audio Archive in the Investor Relations section.

About DURECT Corporation

DURECT is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative drugs for pain and other chronic diseases, with late-stage development

programs including REMOXY , POSIDUR , ELADUR , and TRANSDUR -Sufentanil. DURECT s proprietary oral, transdermal and injectable depot delivery technologies enable new indications and superior clinical/commercial

attributes such as abuse deterrence, improved convenience, compliance, efficacy and safety for small molecule and biologic drugs. For more information, please visit www.durect.com.

NOTE: POSIDUR , SABER , ORADUR , TRANSDUR , ELADUR , and DURIN are trademarks of DURECT Corporation. Other referenced

trademarks belong to their respective owners. REMOXY, POSIDUR, ELADUR and TRANSDUR-Sufentanil are drug candidates under development and have not been approved for commercialization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other health

DURECT Forward-Looking Statement

The statements in this press release regarding the anticipated resubmission of the REMOXY NDA, our U.S. pivotal Phase III clinical trial (BESST) for

POSIDUR and Phase IIb trial for ELADUR including anticipated patient enrollment numbers and timing thereof, the potential benefits and uses of our drug candidates and potential collaborations with third parties 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, delays and additional costs due to requirements

imposed by regulatory agencies on our drug candidates, unexpected results and adverse events from clinical trials for our drug candidates, DURECT s (and that of its third party collaborators where applicable) difficulty or failure to obtain

approvals from regulatory agencies with respect to its development activities and products, design, enroll, conduct and complete clinical trials, complete the design, development, and manufacturing process development of the referenced product

candidates, consummate collaborative agreements relating to our product candidates and technologies, manufacture and commercialize the referenced product candidates, obtain marketplace acceptance of the referenced product candidates, avoid

infringing patents held by other parties and secure and defend patents of our own, and manage and obtain capital to fund our growth, operations and expenses. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in DURECT s Form 10-K

on March 4, 2010 under the heading Risk Factors.

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS