Justin Renz has joined Ardelyx (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARDX]]) as chief financial officer. Renz most recently held the same role at Vancouver, BC-based Correvio Pharma, which was acquired last month by the UK company Advanz Pharma for about $76 million. His prior experience includes management roles at Karyopharm Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KPTI]]) and Zalicus (formerly CombinatoRx).
Fremont, CA-based Ardelyx, which is developing treatments for patients with kidney and cardiovascular diseases, this year plans to request FDA review of tenapanor, its lead drug candidate, as a treatment for chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis to better control their serum phosphorus levels. Last year the FDA approved tenapanor (Ibsrela) for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.