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An in-house health care veteran is soon joining AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. as its top lawyer, months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the company's pain medication Dsuvia.

The Redwood City, California-based AcelRx has named John Saia as its new general counsel, effective April 16, according to a company statement. Saia joins AcelRx after 11 years at McKesson Corp., most recently as the giant drug distributor's corporate secretary and associate GC.

“John brings substantial experience as a health care executive with expertise in corporate development, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and securities law to the leadership team,” AcelRx's CEO Vince Angotti said in the statement. “John's appointment comes at an important time for AcelRx, as we prepare to resubmit our [Dsuvia application] and begin preparation for an expected FDA advisory committee meeting, with an anticipated [Prescription Drug User Fee Act] date later this year. John's extensive experience and leadership will be highly valued.”

Prior to joining McKesson as senior counsel in 2007, Saia was a senior associate in the Palo Alto, California, office of DLA Piper, according to his LinkedIn profile. Just prior to that role, he spent six years as special counsel with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Saia holds degrees from Santa Clara University and The George Washington University Law School.

Last October, the FDA rejected AcelRx's new drug application for Dsuvia, an under-the-tongue tablet used to treat moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings.

According to a company statement released at the time, the FDA requested additional information about the safety of the drug when prescribed at the maximum dose, as well as changes to the directions for use to address use-related errors such as dropping tablets.

Last month, AcelRx reported a loss of $9.9 million in its fourth quarter and a yearly loss of $51.5 million, according to an online article in the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate.com.

Although he could not be reached for comment, Saia said in the statement announcing his appointment that AcelRx leaders already have made significant strides toward getting Dsuvia approved by the FDA.