Third Rock invests $55m in Cambridge startup working on kidney disease treatments

Taking a page from biotechs that are working on personalized cancer treatments, Third Rock Ventures is investing $55 million in a new company that hopes to develop medicines for chronic kidney disease by focusing on patients’ genetic signatures.

The startup, Goldfinch Bio, has about 10 scientists and researchers working in offices and labs at the Athenaeum building at 215 First St. in Cambridge’s Kendall Square. It expects to add 15 employees next year as it tries to identify defects in molecular pathways that make patients predisposed to kidney disease.

“There really hasn’t been any new discoveries in the area of kidney therapeutics in the last 20 to 30 years,” said Third Rock partner Abbie Celniker, who will serve as interim chief executive of Goldfinch while continuing her work for the Boston venture capital firm. “There’s never really been a focus on the biological tools that can be used to develop therapies.”

Kidney disease is estimated to affect as many as 25 million Americans and between 200 million and 300 million people worldwide, about half of whom also have diabetes. Over time, many have to receive kidney dialysis or undergo kidney transplants. Celniker said Goldfinch’s aim is to develop drugs that can eliminate the need for those costly procedures.

“Our goal is to prevent the progression of this disease,” she said.

The company’s immediate focus is to build a registry that will collect the genetic data of kidney disease patients and use it to discover mutations and molecular drivers of the disease that can be treated with precision medicines.

Scientists will configure stem cells into organ-like tools called organoids to evaluate experimental drugs outside the body to prove their effectiveness before enrolling patients in clinical trials, said chief scientific officer Peter Mundel.

“We’ll use stem cells that come from the patients and test them with these organs in a dish,” Mundel said. “This is a step up from mice and other models that have been done before.”

Celniker said the company takes its name from a bird that is a symbol of healing and revival in Renaissance art. “We like to say we’re leading a renaissance in discovering new treatments for patients with kidney disease,” she said.