6.18.2008 - Reata Expands Executive Team to Support Advancing Clinical Programs

IRVING, TX -- June 18, 2008-- Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a substantial expansion of its executive team to take advantage of opportunities from its advancing clinical and preclinical pipelines.  Seasoned executives have been added to the team in the areas of clinical development, regulatory affairs, and business development.  Executives recently joining Reata include:

Casi DeYoung, Vice President of Business Development.  Ms. DeYoung has over 13 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry spanning business development, project and portfolio management, commercial operations, and management consulting.  She previously held leadership positions at EMD Pharmaceuticals and its parent, Merck KGaA and was also a principal with ODC Therapeutics, a Texas-based biotech.

Craig Hurwitz, MD, Director of Clinical Development.  Dr. Hurwitz holds board certifications in Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  He is well-versed in clinical medicine and directed a Pediatric Oncology program for several years followed by developing and directing a Pain and Palliative Care Program.   He brings extensive experience in the development, implementation, analysis and reporting of clinical research trials.  Dr. Hurwitz graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, completed Pediatric training atDukeUniversityMedicalCenter, and subspecialty training at theJohnsHopkinsHospitaland the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

David Mitchell, Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. Mr. Mitchell has over 30 years of experience in chemistry, regulatory affairs, and quality assurance, most recently with Actelion Pharmaceuticals.  He was previously Director of Regulatory Affairs at Biogen Idec, playing a key role in the commercialization of the first radioimmunotherapy approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.  He has held laboratory and regulatory management positions at The Upjohn Company Bayer, and several early stage biotechnology companies where he was responsible for developing the infrastructure for regulatory affairs and quality assurance.     

Barbara Richardson, Director of Clinical Operations.  Ms.Richardson has over 20 years of clinical research experience in the site, CRO and sponsor environments.  She has held clinical, training and regulatory positions during the previous 10 years at MedTrials, Inc. where she most recently held the positions of Vice President, Compliance and Regulatory Affairs and Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory.  She is a Registered Nurse in the State ofTexas, and has served as Adjunct Faculty local medical institutions.

About Reata

Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on translating innovative science into breakthrough medicines.  The company's two lead programs are in advanced clinical trials for deadly, late-stage cancers and proof of concept studies in inflammatory diseases.  In parallel with its clinical development, Reata is advancing a breakthrough drug discovery platform using protein misfolding, identified as a key factor in cancer and neurodegenerative disease, to feed its pipeline of small molecule therapeutic candidates. Reata takes a new and different approach to biotechnology, managing its pipeline as a portfolio of opportunities that can be advanced on a single management and physical infrastructure, streamlining the route to human trials and approval.   For more information, visit www.reatapharma.com.

Media Contact:

Kathryn Morris

845-635-9828

kathryn@kmorrispr.com