Gilead Sciences announced a collaboration with Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech startup Goldfinch Bio on May 8 that will see the two companies using genomic data to develop precision therapies for kidney disease.
Under the partnership, Goldfinch is tasked with sequencing the DNA of diabetic patients with and without kidney disease and using that information to expand its Kidney Genome Atlas, a registry comprising both clinical patient profiles and genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data, to allow analysis of diabetic kidney disease.
From there, Goldfinch will study pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney cells and kidney organoids to identify potential drug targets, then begin the discovery and development process for those treatments.
Gilead will pay Goldfinch $55 million up front for the exclusive option rights to the startup's drug discovery data, plus $54 million for the Kidney Genome Atlas expansion. Goldfinch will also be eligible to earn up to $1.95 billion more, depending on the success of its first five projects with Gilead.
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