Small Molecules to Correct a Rare Kidney Disease: Emily Conley on The Long Run

Emily Conley is today’s guest on The Long Run.

She is the CEO of Berkeley, Calif.-based Renasant Bio.

Emily Conley, CEO, Renasant Bio

The big idea at Renasant is to develop oral small molecule drugs to treat patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, known as ADPKD. Patients with this disease develop cysts on their kidneys that sometimes cause the kidney to balloon in size and grow into 30-pound dysfunctional, painful and swollen organs.

Scientists think there’s a way to stop it. Renasant is developing small molecule correctors and potentiators that target the polycystin protein abnormalities that drive the disease. If the drugs work as conceived, they would enable people to avoid the grim fate of kidney dialysis or transplant. An estimated 300,000 patients in the US and Europe have the disease, which technically makes it rare, but not that rare.

Emily came to this startup a couple of years ago when it was in stealth mode, and just started talking about it a few months ago. She’s a neuroscientist by training and had a formative early biotech career experience at 23andMe, the consumer genetics pioneer. The opportunity to make a convenient small molecule drug, or a complementary combination of small molecules, that act on the underlying disease biology were a big part of what compelled her to join this startup.

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Now, please enjoy this conversation with Emily Conley on The Long Run.