Reata Pharma Fills in the Blanks for Its IPO

Reata Pharmaceuticals registered an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). No pricing details were given in the filing, but the company expects to offer 4 million shares with an overallotment option for an additional 600,000 shares. In previous filings the offering was valued in the area of $80 million. The company intends to list on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol RETA.

The underwriters for the offering are Citigroup, Cowen and Piper Jaffray.

This clinical stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on identifying, developing and commercializing product candidates that modulate the activity of key regulatory proteins involved in the biology of mitochondrial function, oxidative stress and inflammation to address the unmet medical needs of patients with a variety of serious or life-threatening diseases.

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The lead product candidates, bardoxolone methyl and RTA 408, are members of a class of small molecules called antioxidant inflammation modulators. Bardoxolone methyl is in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension due to interstitial lung disease, each of which are subsets of pulmonary hypertension. Initial data for PAH patients in the Phase 2 trial were presented publicly at the CHEST meeting in October 2015.

Additionally, Reata has completed an interaction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on this initial data, and the FDA has concurred with the plan to initiate a Phase 3 trial in patients with PAH associated with connective tissue disease. The company plans to initiate this Phase 3 trial in the second half of 2016.

Omaveloxolone is in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of multiple diseases, including Friedreich’s ataxia, mitochondrial myopathies and metastatic melanoma. Beyond the lead product candidates, Reata has several promising preclinical programs. The company believes that its product candidates and preclinical programs have the potential to improve clinical outcomes in numerous underserved patient populations.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to advance the development of its pipeline, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.