VANCOUVER: Borealis Biosciences, a next-generation RNA medicines company, today emerged from stealth with $150 million in combined Series A financing from founding investor Versant Ventures and Novartis AG, as well as committed strategic research collaboration funding from Novartis.

Despite recent advances for patients with IgA nephropathy, many other forms of highly prevalent kidney disease remain unaddressed. The understanding of patient subpopulations and distinct underlying pathologies has improved significantly in recent years, but some of the most validated, causal targets have not been amenable to traditional small molecule or biologic modalities.

Borealis was founded on the premise that a convergence of scientific and translational breakthroughs can enable RNA therapeutics to address major unmet needs for patients with kidney diseases. These include an improved understanding of patient stratification, genetically defined targets, requirements for delivery of therapeutic payloads to specific kidney cell types, and RNA chemistry advancements.

Borealis builds on the success of Chinook Therapeutics, a kidney disease company that was founded by Versant in 2019 and acquired by Novartis last year for up to $3.5 billion. The team is led by a strong group and academic advisors who were central to research at Chinook, together with additional leadership in the field of RNA therapeutics.

“We’ve recognized over the last six years that some of the most validated targets for kidney disease have been out of reach with traditional modalities. Borealis has the potential to address these targets and reach patients most in need,” said Jerel Davis, Ph.D., managing director at Versant and chairperson of Borealis’ board of directors. “We are excited to launch this startup in close collaboration with Novartis, as this represents another example of Versant’s creative company-building together with an industry leader.”

Versant and Novartis worked together to launch Borealis as an independent company around many key members of Chinook’s Vancouver-based research team. Novartis participated in Borealis’ Series A financing and is committing up to $100 million in upfront plus near-term research funding as part of a strategic research collaboration that complements Novartis priorities in renal medicine and xRNA technology platform innovation.

As part of this agreement, Novartis will have the option to acquire two future development-ready programs from Borealis, with Borealis eligible for up to $750 million in total consideration including clinical and regulatory milestones.

“Novartis is committed to bringing forward new therapeutic options for patients with kidney diseases,” said Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., President of Biomedical Research at Novartis. “We believe Borealis will foster an ideal environment for an exceptional founding team to continue to pioneer renal science and drug discovery, and we are delighted to work with Versant on a partnership that exemplifies creative, collaborative deal-making to enable the launch of this innovative biotech.”