LOS ALTOS, Calif., June 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Unicycive Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing therapies for patients with kidney disease announced that Keith Ward, Ph.D. has joined Unicycive in the role of Chief Development Officer.

Dr. Ward is a life sciences executive with over 25 years of experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Ward's past experience includes serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Reata Pharmaceuticals, where he led development of both early and late stage pipeline assets for kidney diseases. Dr. Ward has also held senior leadership positions with Bausch & Lomb and GlaxoSmithKline, and brings significant technical and leadership experience to the company. In addition to his role at Unicycive, Dr. Ward serves in leadership and board positions for several emerging biotech and pharma companies.

"I am pleased to be working with the Unicycive team," said Dr. Ward. "Kidney patients deserve alternatives to existing therapies, and it is exciting to develop and potentially offer new medicines to this patient population. Renazorb presents a near-term product opportunity to improve care for patients with hyperphosphatemia, and UNI-494 offers great potential to patients with acute kidney injury."

Dr. Gupta said, "Dr. Ward brings decades of experience in early stage drug development to Unicycive's pipeline drugs. His development and regulatory approval experience at Reata and Bausch & Lomb will be directly applicable to our goal of serving patients with kidney disorders. I am excited to have Keith join our team."

About Unicycive

Unicycive is a biotechnology company developing novel treatment for kidney diseases. Unicycive's lead drug, Renazorb, is a novel phosphate binding agent being developed for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia, with an NDA filing expected in 2021. UNI-494 is a new chemical entity with issued composition of matter patent protection in late preclinical development for the treatment of acute kidney injury.

Forward-looking statement - Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended to date. These forward-looking statements relate to a variety of matters, including, without limitation, statements that relate to Unicycive's business and its future, including the timing of the submission of the NDA for Renazorb, the timing and results of FDA decisions, including with respect to the Renazorb NDA, the future potential of Unicycive's existing drug pipeline, Unicycive's ability to identify, acquire, develop and commercialize a broad and diverse pipeline of late-stage clinical and commercial products, and other statements that are not purely statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Unicycive and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Risks that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the uncertainties inherent in new product development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data, Unicycive's ability to raise funds, gather and analyze the manufacturing data requested by the FDA in connection with the NDA for Renazorb, the possibility that Unicycive's existing and new applications to the FDA and other regulatory agencies may not receive approval in a timely manner or at all, the possibility that Unicycive's existing and new drug candidates, including Renazorb, may not ultimately prove to be safe or effective, the possibility that Unicycive's existing and new drug candidates, if approved, may not be more effective, safer or more cost efficient than competing drugs and other risks. The company does not plan to update any such forward-looking statements and expressly disclaims any duty to update the information contained in this press release except as required by law.

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SOURCE Unicycive Therapeutics Inc.