Novartis announced it has partnered with Versant Ventures (Versant) to form Borealis Biosciences (Borealis), an independent, discovery-stage biotechnology company based in Vancouver, Canada, focused on developing next-generation xRNA-based medicines for kidney diseases. xRNA, a core technology platform for Novartis, can target the body’s natural mRNA to modulate the production of proteins that cause disease.

Together with local partners, Novartis aims to initiate a watershed development project near its own and supply chain operations in the Telangana region.