Exciting tidings in the health-care industry Tuesday morning, amid word that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) and Vifor Pharma Group entered Monday into an exclusive license agreement to sell vadadustat to Fresenius Medical Care dialysis clinics in the United States upon approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It was also announced Monday Vifor Pharma will also make a $50-million equity investment in Akebia at $14.00 per share. Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stabilizer currently in Phase 3 development for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
The pact spells out that Vifor will exclusively distribute vadadustat to Fresenius Medical Care North America for use solely within its dialysis facilities in the U.S. to meet their need for a HIF-based treatment for anemia associated with CKD.
Last week, Akebia came out with first-quarter results, which featured a net loss of $44.5 million, or $1.15 per share, as compared to a net loss for the first quarter of 2016 of $25.8 million or $0.70 per share.
Collaboration revenue was $20.9 million for the first quarter of 2017, which related to the Company’s recent agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical.
Research and development expenses were $60.0 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared to $20.2 million for the first quarter of 2016. The increase is primarily attributable to external costs related to the global PRO2TECT and INNO2VATE Phase 3 programs.
Shares in the drug maker closed Monday trading at $12.90, in the upper half of a 52-week range peaking at $13.94, recovering rom a gulch of $7.00.
