Trimeris overhauls senior management

Durham AIDS drug company Trimeris has dismissed its chief financial officer and named a member of its board of directors as a replacement.

The termination of Andrew Graham's tenure as CFO was disclosed late Friday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. No reason was given for the move.

The company also reported, without explanation, that it eliminated the position of general counsel and therefore terminated the employment of Michael Alrutz. Alrutz joined the company as legal counsel in 2002 and was named general counsel in January 2008.

CEO Martin Mattingly couldn't be reached for comment on the moves this morning. Nor could Graham be reached for comment.

Trimeris has been actively seeking a buyer for the business since 2006; it has dismantled its drug-development efforts and pared down to just a handful of employees. The company's sole product, the AIDS drug Fuzeon -- which is manufactured and marketed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche -- never lived up to expectations due to its high cost and other factors.

Trimeris' new chief financial officer is James R. Thomas, 59. Thomas has been on the company's board since August 2009 and is a former CFO of a division of Pfizer.

Thomas is receiving a $25,000 signing bonus and his annual salary was set at $300,000. He also will be eligible for a bonus that could be as high as 40 percent of his salary.

Graham had been Trimeris' CFO since 2008. He joined the company as director of finance in 2004.

The company also disclosed that the annual salary of Mattingly, who has been CEO since 2007, was increased by $4,000 to $400,000. In addition, Mattingly will be eligible to receive a bonus that could be as high as 75 percent of his base salary.