Chinook Therapeutics Inc. announced it has entered into a license agreement with AbbVie for worldwide, exclusive rights to atrasentan, an endothelin receptor antagonist. Chinook will assume all development and commercialization responsibilities for atrasentan globally. Chinook plans to initiate a clinical trial of atrasentan in the second half of 2020 for biomarker-selected patients with a rare primary glomerular kidney disease at high risk for progressive kidney function loss. Atrasentan is a potent and selective blocker of the ETA receptor, which is activated in human primary glomerular diseases and can cause proteinuria, kidney inflammation and scarring that contributes to progressive kidney function loss. Elevated kidney ET-1 expression prospectively predicts rapid progression in primary glomerular disease. Under the terms of the license agreement, Chinook obtains worldwide rights to all fields of use for atrasentan and assumes full responsibility for advancing the program going forward. AbbVie will receive an undisclosed upfront cash payment, potential future milestones and royalties, and an equity stake in Chinook.