On Aug. 22, 2019, Chinook Therapeutics announced a $65 million Series A financing to discover and develop precision medicines for kidney diseases. Founding investor Versant Ventures led the round with participation by fellow founding investor Apple Tree Partners and new investor Samsara BioCapital. The Series A proceeds will fund the advancement of several kidney disease programs into clinical trials by 2021.

Chinook is applying its proprietary discovery platform, which leverages single cell RNA sequencing, human-derived organoids and new translational models, to discover and develop therapeutics with novel mechanisms of action against key kidney disease pathways. The company’s lead candidates are focused on rare, severe disorders with defined and rapid clinical development pathways. These programs may also have utility in more common kidney diseases, expanding the potential patient populations.

Chinook was incubated through Versant’s Inception Sciences discovery engine in Vancouver and seeded by Versant and Apple Tree Partners. This world-class discovery and research team, with a history of successful drug development, integrating chemistry, biology, and pharmacology expertise, has joined Chinook to work on expanding a pipeline of precision medicines for kidney diseases.