Vifor Pharma has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with U.S biotech Akebia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA). The deal relates to the U.S Company’s candidate drug Vadadustat that has already passed Phase II trials as a novel treatment of anemia associated with kidney disease.
Akebia-Vifor Licensing Agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, Vifor has agreed to distribute the drug to Fresenius Medical Care North America for use in its U.S dialysis clinics. Fresenius Medical care is the nation largest Kidney dialysis provider having handled over 185,000 patients last year.
The company will also make a $50 million equity investment in Akebia, which translates to $14 a share investment in Akebia stock. The exclusive licensing agreement is also a profit sharing agreement that will see both companies share profits from the sale of Vadadustat. Any revenue generated from the profit sharing pact is to be shared with Otsuka Pharmaceutical which is Akebia’s collaborator in the U.S.
FDA Approval
The two companies are now awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug as well as inclusion in a bundled reimbursement model. The drug is currently undergoing phase 3 development. If and when the drug achieves regulatory approval Akebia will receive $20 million from its new partner.
“This agreement provides the opportunity to build greater commercial momentum for Vadadustat in the U.S. rapidly upon launch. We are pleased that Vifor Pharma has selected Vadadustat as its exclusive HIF product for distribution to Fresenius Medical Care, one of the largest dialysis providers. We believe that this commitment provides significant further validation of Vadadustat potential,” said Akebia chief executive officer John P. Butler
Vadadustat has the potential to act as an alternative treatment to renal anemia as it is designed to overcome the limitations of current therapies. Vifor Chief operating officer, Stefan Schulze, believes the drug also has the potential to be a solution to hypo-responders patients that don’t respond to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.
Investors reacted positively to the exclusive sharing agreement consequently sending Akebia shares high in the market by 16.36%. The stock closed the day at a high of $15.01 a share.
