Protein Folding

Reata is actively engaged in the discovery of small molecule disease-modifying drugs that function by stabilizing the normal three-dimensional structure of target proteins or generally enhancing the folding environment of the cell.

Reata Founding Scientist Dr. Philip J. Thomas of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas was a pioneer in establishing the link between protein folding and genetic disease. In recent years, protein folding has become an important emerging area of science.  It is now understood that defects in protein folding underlie a large number of genetic diseases including cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and cystic fibrosis.

Deep insights into the process of how proteins fold and what goes wrong with misfolded proteins led Dr. Thomas and his group to develop a proprietary technology for identifying small molecule drugs that can stabilize proteins in the proper three-dimensional structure. Reata exclusively licensed this technology platform and has deployed it to identify new drug candidates.