Reata Pharmaceuticals Receives Fast Track Designation From the FDA for Omaveloxolone for the Treatment of Friedreich’s Ataxia

Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RETA), (“Reata,” the “Company,” “our,” “us,” or “we”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted Fast Track Designation for omaveloxolone for the treatment of Friedreich’s ataxia.

“We are pleased to receive Fast Track Designation as it highlights the potential of omaveloxolone to address a significant unmet medical need for the treatment of patients with Friedreich’s ataxia, a severe and devastating disease,” said Warren Huff, Reata’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We remain committed to submitting our New Drug Application during the first quarter of 2022 and continue working with the FDA to secure regulatory approval as quickly as possible.”

The Fast Track program is designed to accelerate the development and review of products such as omaveloxolone, which are intended to treat serious diseases and for which there is an unmet medical need. Fast Track Designation enables more frequent communication with the FDA and eligibility for FDA programs such as priority review and rolling review, if relevant criteria are met.

About Friedreich's Ataxia

Friedreich’s ataxia is a rare, genetic, life-shortening, debilitating, and degenerative neuromuscular disorder, which is normally diagnosed during adolescence. Friedreich’s ataxia is caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron of the frataxin gene, which encodes the mitochondrial protein frataxin. Pathogenic repeat expansions can lead to impaired transcription and reduced frataxin expression, which can result in mitochondrial iron overload and poor cellular iron regulation, increased sensitivity to oxidative stress, and impaired mitochondrial ATP production. Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia experience symptoms in childhood, including progressive loss of coordination, muscle weakness, and fatigue that commonly results in motor incapacitation with patients requiring a wheelchair in their teens or early 20s. Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia may also experience visual impairment, hearing loss, diabetes, and cardiomyopathy. Based on literature and proprietary research, we believe Friedreich’s ataxia affects approximately 5,000 children and adults in the United States and 22,000 individuals globally. There are currently no approved therapies for the treatment of patients with Friedreich’s ataxia.