Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDNY) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have joined forces to develop a cutting-edge antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy to treat a rare, severe chronic kidney disease.
Through this collaboration, Chinook will bring its precision medicine approach and nephrology expertise to the table, while Ionis will apply its extensive knowledge of RNA-targeted therapies. Together, they will strive to create a solution to a pressing unmet medical need.
Chinook is thrilled to collaborate with Ionis to enhance its position as the leading kidney disease company. With the development of an ASO therapy, Chinook can target genetic and molecular drivers of rare severe chronic kidney diseases, bringing them one step closer to their goal of making dialysis and transplant unnecessary for people living with kidney disease.
Andrew King, D.V.M, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Chinook, remarks, “This preclinical discovery program is a major step forward in our mission to make dialysis and transplant unnecessary for people living with kidney disease.”
Chinook and Ionis have just announced an exciting agreement, with Ionis set to receive an upfront payment and potential development, regulatory milestone payments and royalties. Ionis will take on the responsibility of IND-enabling toxicology studies, while Chinook will drive the clinical development and commercialization of the product. This marks an exciting step forward in the future of the two companies.
About Antisense Technology
Antisense therapies are a cutting-edge approach to treating a variety of diseases. By targeting a mRNA sequence, they are able to dramatically reduce the amount of disease-causing protein or increase the production of a necessary protein, restoring it to normal levels. This targeted approach offers potential to revolutionize how we treat diseases at the most basic level.
About Chinook Therapeutics, Inc.
Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. is a pioneering biopharmaceutical company revolutionizing the treatment of kidney diseases. With a clinical-stage pipeline of precision medicines, Chinook is taking targeted approaches to treat rare and severe chronic kidney disorders.
Atrasentan, an endothelin receptor antagonist, is in phase 3 clinical trials for IgA nephropathy and proteinuric glomerular diseases. BION-1301, an anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody, is being evaluated in a phase 1/2 trial for IgA nephropathy, and CHK-336, an oral small molecule LDHA inhibitor, is undergoing phase 1 development to treat hyperoxalurias.
To further build out its pipeline, Chinook is leveraging insights from kidney single cell RNA sequencing and large CKD patient cohorts to discover and develop therapeutic candidates that can address key pathways in kidney diseases.