FREMONT, Calif., March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardelyx, Inc.
(NASDAQ: ARDX), today announced the appointment of Geoffrey A. Block, M.D., Vice President,
Nephrology at Reata and former Director of Clinical Research in the
Denver Nephrology Research Division at Colorado Kidney Care/Denver
Nephrologists, to the company's board of directors, effective
March 14, 2019.
Dr. Block is one of the world's preeminent nephrologists and a
trailblazer in leading clinical development for drugs focused on
enhancing the care and treatment of patients suffering from chronic
kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on
dialysis. Dr. Block has participated extensively in guiding the
development of tenapanor, Ardelyx's lead product candidate in Phase
3 clinical trials for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in ESRD
patients on dialysis.
"We are delighted to welcome Geoff to our board of directors,"
said Mike Raab, president and chief
executive officer of Ardelyx. "Geoff is a long-time advisor, and it
is his work that inspired me to focus on the needs of patients in
the renal community almost 20 years ago. As a pioneer in nephrology
research and patient care, he brings a wealth of experience and
knowledge to the Ardelyx board and serves as a strong endorsement
of tenapanor and its potential to improve treatment options for the
many patients on dialysis with hyperphosphatemia."
"Despite widespread recognition in the nephrology community that
hyperphosphatemia is clearly and distinctly associated with
morbidity and mortality in patients on dialysis, we have seen
little improvement on how phosphorus is managed," said Dr. Block.
"I view tenapanor as an important new development in the field with
the potential to offer patients a highly differentiated alternative
to phosphate binders, which patients find terribly inconvenient,
impacting their compliance and ability to keep phosphate levels
under control."
Dr. Block currently serves as Vice President, Nephrology at
Reata Pharmaceuticals and previously 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 Ardelyx, Inc.
Ardelyx is focused on enhancing
the way people with cardiorenal diseases are treated by developing
first-in-class medicines. Ardelyx's cardiorenal pipeline includes
the Phase 3 development of tenapanor for the treatment of
hyperphosphatemia in people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who
are on dialysis, and RDX013, a potassium secretagogue program for
the potential treatment of high potassium, or hyperkalemia, a
problem among certain patients with kidney and/or heart disease. In
addition, Ardelyx has completed Phase 3 development of tenapanor
for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation
(IBS-C) and submitted a new drug application, or NDA, to the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for the treatment of patients
with IBS-C which has been granted a target action date under the
Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) of September 12, 2019. To efficiently bring its
treatments to market, Ardelyx is pursuing strategic collaborations
for tenapanor for IBS-C and hyperphosphatemia in certain
territories. Ardelyx has established agreements with Kyowa Hakko
Kirin in Japan, Fosun Pharma in
China and Knight Therapeutics in
Canada. For more information,
please visit http://www.ardelyx.com/ and connect with us on Twitter
@Ardelyx.
Forward Looking Statements
To the extent that
statements contained in this press release are not descriptions of
historical facts regarding Ardelyx, they are forward-looking
statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of
management made pursuant to the safe harbor of the Private
Securities Reform Act of 1995, including the potential for
Ardelyx's product candidates in treating the diseases and
conditions for which they are being developed. Such forward-looking
statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could
cause the development of Ardelyx's product candidates or Ardelyx's
future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly
from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the
uncertainties inherent in the clinical development process,
including the regulatory approval process. Ardelyx undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For
a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these
forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Ardelyx's
business in general, please refer to Ardelyx's Annual Report on
Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
March 6, 2019, and its future current
and periodic reports to be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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SOURCE Ardelyx