Akebia Therapeutics Inc Dossier
Qualitative Analysis
Business overview
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for patients living with kidney disease. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 2007. Akebia's commercial portfolio is anchored by two primary products: Auryxia (ferric citrate) and Vafseo (vadadustat). Auryxia is approved in the United States for the control of serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (DD-CKD) and for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD). Vafseo, an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitor, received U.S. FDA approval in March 2024 for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adults who have been on dialysis for at least three months, following its prior approvals in Japan (2020) and the European Union (2023).
Research as of 19 Jun 2026
Strategic Initiatives
Growth programs, investments, and their expected impact
Driving the commercial adoption of Vafseo (vadadustat) to establish it as the standard of care for treating anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adult patients on dialysis. This includes expanding prescriber depth, implementing observed dosing protocols, and securing broad prescribing access across major dialysis organizations.
Expected impact: Aims to capture a significant share of the $1 billion U.S. dialysis market, targeting Vafseo to become a $500 million-plus product at peak.
Advancing mid-stage rare kidney disease pipeline assets, specifically praliciguat (an oral, once-daily sGC stimulator) and AKB-097 (a tissue-targeted complement inhibitor).
Expected impact: Establishes a robust clinical pipeline beyond the core dialysis market, targeting high unmet needs in FSGS, IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, and C3 glomerulopathy.
Developing AKB-9090, an internally developed intravenously administered HIF-PH inhibitor, for the prevention and treatment of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI).
Expected impact: Expands the company's therapeutic reach into acute care nephrology settings.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships
Recent deals and strategic collaborations
Recent Acquisitions
Acquisition of AKB-097 (formerly ADX-097), a clinical-stage tissue-targeted complement inhibitor, to serve as the centerpiece of Akebia's newly established rare kidney disease pipeline.
Financial impact: Akebia paid $7 million upfront and guaranteed another $5 million ($3 million due six months post-close and $2 million by the end of 2026). The deal also includes up to $92.5 million in development and regulatory milestones, and $487.5 million in commercial milestones.
Strategic Partnerships
Facilitates broad prescribing access for Vafseo across DaVita's extensive network of dialysis clinics and supports the execution of the VOCAL Phase 3b clinical trial.
Terms: Specific financial terms of the commercial agreement were not fully disclosed, but the partnership expands Vafseo's reach to approximately 260,000 patients.
Collaborating on the large-scale Phase IV VOICE clinical trial evaluating Vafseo's three-times-weekly dosing protocol against standard-of-care ESAs.
Terms: Terms of the clinical collaboration are focused on trial execution and data generation.