Akebia inks licensing deal with German pharma for kidney disease drug

• Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) has decided to sell the European rights to market and commercialize its kidney disease therapy Vafseo (vadadustat) to a German pharma called MEDICE Arzneimittel Pütter GmbH&Co.KG, the company said Thursday.
• Per the terms, Medice will obtain rights to use Vafseo for symptomatic anemia linked to chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis. The agreement covers the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Australia.
• In return, AKBA will receive $10M of upfront payment, commercial milestone payments worth up to $100M, and tiered royalties of up to 30% of net sales.
• Akebia (AKBA) will have the right to develop Vafseo to treat anemia due to CKD in adults not on dialysis and retain the rights to develop the therapy for all other indications.
• If AKBA excises those rights, Medice can participate in the commercialization of the therapy in the above regions, subject to certain conditions.

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