IRVING, Texas, Jan. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RETA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Geoffrey A. Block, M.D., as Vice President, Nephrology.
Dr. Block, a world-renowned nephrologist, joins Reata with over 20 years of experience conducting clinical research and treating patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr. Block served as the Director of Clinical Research in the Denver Nephrology Research Division at Colorado Kidney Care/Denver Nephrologists. Dr. Block has participated in multiple clinical studies of bardoxolone methyl (bardoxolone), Reata’s lead clinical candidate, and recently presented results from both the Phase 2 CARDINAL and Phase 2 PHOENIX trials of bardoxolone in rare forms of CKD at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2018.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Block, one of our lead investigators and external advisors, to Reata,” said Colin Meyer, M.D., Reata’s Chief Medical Officer. “In addition to his participation in most major recent nephrology trials of investigational agents, Dr. Block has served as principal investigator for several Reata trials and been a key advisor to our CKD development programs. This experience provides Dr. Block with a unique perspective that will allow him to serve as a critical interface between our internal development, medical affairs, and commercial teams and the nephrology community.”
“I have participated in over 100 trials of approved and investigational therapies for patients with CKD over 20 years of research, and believe nothing has shown the potential to change the CKD treatment landscape like bardoxolone,” said Dr. Block. “Across a variety of kidney diseases, bardoxolone treatment has been associated with improved kidney function, as opposed to just slowing the rate of progression, and it is an incredible feeling to tell a patient that their kidney function has improved rather than declined.”
Previously, Dr. Block served as an associate clinical professor in Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, as an attending physician at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and as the medical director of the DaVita-Lowry Hemodialysis Unit. Dr. Block received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his fellowship in nephrology at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
About Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Reata is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops novel therapeutics for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases by targeting molecular pathways involved in the regulation of cellular metabolism and inflammation. Reata’s two most advanced clinical candidates, bardoxolone and omaveloxolone, target the important transcription factor Nrf2 that promotes the resolution of inflammation by restoring mitochondrial function, reducing oxidative stress, and inhibiting pro-inflammatory signaling.
