EP105: Warren Huff, CEO and Chairman of Reata Pharmaceuticals, shares perspectives on provocative biology and the development of treatments for rare diseases

In this episode, Patrick welcomes J. Warren Huff, CEO and Chairman of Reata Pharmaceuticals. Reata is known for innovating small-molecule therapies for severe and life-threatening diseases. Listen in as Warren walks us through their approach of partnering with Universities to find scientific discoveries that could become the next generation of therapies, and Reata’s recent success developing a groundbreaking new treatment for Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), thanks to close collaboration with patient organizations and novel use of natural history data to accelerate their clinical development. 0:00 The beginnings of Reata 2:40 Partnering with universities for breakthroughs in research 5:30 Implications of cancer prevention research on chronic diseases 11:40 Potential concerns in medical ethics and Big Pharma when developing groundbreaking treatments 13:20 Research on NRF2 and its role in treating Friedreich’s Ataxia, a genetic mitochondrial disease that leads to motor neuron decline 18:00 What is a natural history study, and how was it used in Reata’s FA clinical development? 22:50 The potential for clinical grade wearable devices 23:35 Determining clinical endpoints in clinical trials 26:00 The FDA’s approval process for rare disease treatments 32:40 Potential for expanding newborn screening programs 36:00 The generalizability of NRF2-based research to other inflammatory diseases and diseases related to mitochondrial malfunction 39:40 What is Type 3 Diabetes? 40:30 Warren’s career start as a lawyer and his journey to biotech 43:00 Searching for provocative biology 46:20 Major targets for the HSP program 48:30 Closing remarks and lessons in resiliency