Document:

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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.10

                                                     September 4, 2001

F. Ronald Stanton
313 Versailles Court
Cary, NC 27611

Dear Mr. Stanton:

         This letter sets forth the terms and conditions under which LipoMed,
Inc. (the "Company") will employ you as an employee of the Company effective
September 4, 2001 and ending September 4, 2002 (the "Initial Term"). Subsequent
to the Initial Term, this letter agreement shall be renewed on a year-to-year
basis on the same terms and conditions set forth in this letter (each a "Renewal
Term") unless terminated as provided herein or unless amended or modified by
mutual agreement. The Initial Term and any Renewal Term(s) are referred to
herein collectively as the "Term". You will serve as President and Chief
Executive Officer for the Company.

         The compensation for your services during the Term shall be as follows:
(i) a base salary of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000) for the first
year to be paid consistent with the payroll schedule established by the Company;
(ii) an annual bonus based upon the achievement of certain individual and
Company goals as determined by the Board of Directors of the Company; (iii) such
options as the Board of Directors may in its discretion approve; (iv) four weeks
of vacation per fiscal year; and (v) other employee benefits as those become
available and as those benefits are provided to other employees of the Company.
In addition, the Company will pay all reasonable expenses incurred by you which
are related to the conduct of the business of the Company, provided that you
comply with the policies for reimbursement or advance expenses as established by
the Board of Directors of the Company.

         This agreement may be voluntarily terminated by either party by giving
written notice of intention not to renew for any Renewal Term to the other party
("Voluntary Termination"), such notice to be delivered at least sixty (60) days
prior to the last day of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term. In the event that
the Company terminates this agreement other than by Voluntary Termination or for
"cause" (as hereinafter defined) or due to your death or permanent disability or
the liquidation, dissolution or discontinuance of business of the Company, the
Company shall pay you your most current base salary for a period of one (1) year
following such termination (the "Severance Period") and you shall be entitled to
all benefits which were provided to you at the time of such termination during
the Severance Period to the extent allowed under the terms of the applicable
benefit plans (or if not allowed, the cash equivalent thereof). Notwithstanding
the foregoing, no further Severance Benefits will be paid after you commence
comparable employment after such termination. For the purposes of this
paragraph, "Cause" shall be determined by the Board of Directors and shall mean:

         (i)      any material breach of this agreement by you or failure by you
                  to diligently and properly perform your duties for the
                  Company, such failure to be determined in the reasonable
                  judgment of the Board of Directors of the Company and which
                  failure is not corrected within thirty (30) days after notice
                  of such failure;

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         (ii)     any material failure to comply with the policies and/or
                  directives of the Board of Directors which failure is not
                  corrected within thirty (30) days after notice of such
                  failure;

         (iii)    Any action by you that is dishonest, illegal or not in good
                  faith which is materially detrimental to the interest and
                  well-being of the Company; or

         (iv)     Any failure by you to fully disclose any material conflict of
                  interest you may have with the Company in a transaction
                  between the Company and any third party which is materially
                  detrimental to the interest and well-being of the Company; or

         (v)      Any adverse act or omission by you which would be required to
                  be disclosed pursuant to federal or state securities laws or
                  which would limit the ability of the Company or any entity
                  affiliated with the Company to sell securities under any
                  Federal or state law or which would disqualify the Company or
                  any affiliated entity from any exemption otherwise available
                  to it, all of which are materially detrimental to the interest
                  and well-being of the Company.

         This letter agreement and the services rendered by you hereunder will
be contingent upon and subject to that certain Confidentiality, Inventions and
Non-Competition Agreement by and between the Company and you dated of even date
herewith (the "Non-Competition Agreement").

         You hereby represent that your performance of services for the Company
will not violate any obligation which you may have to any previous employer,
including, without limitation, any agreements to refrain from competing,
directly or indirectly, with the business of any previous employer or any other
third party. You further represent that your performance of all the terms of
this agreement and as a consultant to the Company, if applicable, does not and
will not breach any agreement to keep in confidence proprietary information,
trade secrets, knowledge or data acquired by you in confidence or in trust prior
to your engagement or employment by the Company or induce the Company to use any
confidential or proprietary information, trade secrets or material belonging to
any previous employer or others, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless
the Company from and against all claims of loss or liability (including
reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or connected with your breach or
alleged breach of any of the representations set forth above.

         The Company will indemnify and hold you harmless to the fullest extent
permitted by law from and against any and all claims of loss or liability
(including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from or in connection with this
agreement or the services provided hereunder, except to the extent that the same
shall be determined to have resulted solely from actions taken or omitted due to
your willful misconduct, negligence or knowing violation of the law.

         This agreement supersedes in its entirety any previous employment or
consulting agreements between you and the Company, including without limitation,
that certain employment letter agreement between you and the Company dated
December 30, 1997, and, with the Non-Competition Agreement, constitutes a full
and complete

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understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and all
prior written and oral agreements concerning the subject matter hereof are
hereby terminated. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of
North Carolina.

         If you are in agreement with the terms and conditions set forth herein,
please execute one copy of this letter and return it to me.

                                                     Sincerely,

                                                     LipoMed, Inc.

                                                       /s/ Richard A. Franco
                                                     -----------------------
                                                     Richard A. Franco,
                                                     Chairman of the Board of
                                                     Directors

Agreed to and accepted this
4/th/ day of September, 2001.

   /s/ F. Ronald Stanton
---------------------------
F. Ronald Stanton<PAGE>

                                                                   Exhibit 10.11

                                February 1, 2001

Lucy Martindale
11107 Governors Drive
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514

Dear Lucy:

         This letter sets forth the terms and conditions under which LipoMed,
Inc. (the "Company") will engage you as an employee of the Company effective as
of March 1, 2001 and ending on March 1, 2002 (the "Initial Term") and shall
automatically be renewed on a year-to-year basis on the same terms and
conditions set forth in this letter (the "Renewal Term") unless terminated as
provided herein or unless amended or modified by mutual agreement. You will
serve as Chief Financial Officer for the Company. Your employment by the Company
is conditioned on your agreement to the terms and conditions contained in this
letter agreement and your execution of the Company's standard Nondisclosure,
Inventions and Non-competition Agreement, a copy of which is attached.

         The initial compensation for your services shall be as follows: (i) a
base salary of one hundred seventy thousand dollars ($170,000) for the first
year to be paid consistent with the payroll schedule established by the Company
and subject to annual review by the Board of Directors of the Company; (ii) a
signing bonus of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000), (iii) an incentive
stock option entitling you to purchase up to one hundred thousand (100,000)
shares of the Common Stock of the Company at a purchase price of $2.50 per share
and on the other terms and conditions set forth in an Incentive Stock Option
Agreement and the Company's Stock Option Plan (subject to approval of the Board
of Directors of the Company); (iv) four weeks of vacation per fiscal year; and
(v) other employee benefits as those benefits become available and as those
benefits are provided to other executive employees of the Company. Your net
compensation will be less all applicable deductions, withholding taxes and other
amounts required by federal and state laws. Further, the Company will reimburse
you for all reasonable expenses incurred by you which are directly related to
the conduct of the business of the Company, provided that you comply with the
policies for reimbursement or advance of business expenses as established by the
Board of Directors of the Company.

         This Agreement may be voluntarily terminated by either party by giving
written notice of intention not to renew for any Renewal Term to the other party
("Voluntary Termination"), such notice to be delivered at least ninety days
prior to the last day of the Term or any Renewal Term. In the event that the
Company terminates this Agreement other than by Voluntary Termination or "for
cause" (as that term is hereinafter defined), the Company shall pay you the base
salary for a period of six months following such termination (the "Severance
Period") and you shall be entitled to all benefits which were provided to you at
the time of such termination during the

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Severance Period to the extent allowed under the terms of the applicable benefit
plans. For the purposes of this agreement, for cause means (i) any material
breach of this Agreement by you or failure by you to diligently and properly
perform your duties for the Company, such failure to be determined in the
reasonable judgment of the Board of Directors of the Company and which failure
is not corrected within thirty (30) days after notice of such failure; (ii) any
material failure to comply with the policies and/or directives of the Board of
Directors which failure is not corrected within thirty (30) days after notice of
such failure; (iii) any dishonest or illegal action or any other action whether
or not dishonest or illegal which is materially detrimental to the Company; (iv)
any failure to fully disclose any material conflict of interest you may have
with the Company and any third party which is materially detrimental to the
Company or (v) any adverse act or omission which would be required to be
disclosed pursuant to public securities laws or which would limit the ability of
the Company or any entity affiliated with the Company to sell securities under
any Federal or state law or which would disqualify the Company or any affiliated
entity from any exemption otherwise available to it, all of which are materially
detrimental to the Company. Further, upon termination of this agreement, all
property of the Company in your possession, including all books and records,
shall be returned immediately to the Company.

         The Company will indemnify and hold you harmless for, and from, any and
all claims of loss or liability (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising
from or in connection with this letter agreement or the services provided
hereunder, except to the extent that the same shall be determined to have
resulted solely from actions taken or omitted due to your willful misconduct,
gross negligence or knowing violation of the law.

         Upon termination of your employment with the Company and prior to your
departure from the Company, you agree to submit to an exit interview for the
purposes of reviewing this letter agreement, the enclosed Nondisclosure,
Inventions and Non-Competition Agreement and the trade secrets of the Company,
and surrendering to the Company all proprietary or confidential information and
articles belonging to the Company.

         As you are aware, your employment by the Company is a full-time
employment and you will be required to devote, during regular business hours,
all your working time to the business of the Company and not to engage in any
other business or private services to any other business either as an employee,
officer, director, agent, contractor or consultant, except with the express
written consent of the Company. You will hold in a fiduciary capacity for the
benefit of the Company all information with respect to the Company's finances,
sales, profits, and other proprietary and confidential information acquired by
you during your employment. In furtherance of this condition of your employment,
we would kindly request that you sign the enclosed Nondisclosure, Inventions and
Non-Competition Agreement.

         By your signature below, you represent and warrant to the Company that
you (i) are not subject to any employment, noncompetition or other similar
agreement that would prevent or interfere with the Company's employment of you
on the terms set forth herein and (ii) have not brought and will not bring with
you to the Company, any materials or documents of a former employer which are
not generally available to the public or which did not belong to you prior to
your employment with the Company, unless you have obtained written authorization
from the former employer or other owner for their possession and use and
provided the Company with a copy thereof.

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         This letter agreement, the Nondisclosure, Inventions and
Non-Competition Agreement and all ancillary agreements (collectively, the
"Agreements") shall be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina. The
Agreements constitute the entire agreement between the Company and you, and
supersede any and all previous oral or written representation, communication,
understanding or agreement between us. Any and all changes or amendments to the
Agreements shall be made in writing and signed by the parties.

         If the foregoing accurately sets forth our agreement, we would
appreciate your returning to us the duplicate of this letter agreement and the
Nondisclosure, Inventions and Non-Competition Agreement, duly signed and dated
in the spaces provided, whereupon this letter agreement and the Nondisclosure,
Inventions and Non-Competition Agreement shall become binding upon you and the
Company.

         Finally, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to LipoMed, Inc.,
and wish you every success in your position. The Company is delighted with the
prospect of your joining our team.

                                  Sincerely,

                                  LipoMed, Inc.

                                  /s/ Richard A. Franco
                                  --------------------------
                                  Richard A. Franco, CEO

Agreed to and accepted this
1/st/ day of March, 2001

/s/ Lucy Martindale
---------------------
Lucy Martindale

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