Mitsubishi Tanabe, Akebia Collaborate on Anemia Drug
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) and Akebia Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company, have formed a development and commercialization agreement for vadadustat, an oral therapy for treating anemia related to chronic kidney disease, in Japan and certain other countries in Asia.
Under the agreement, MTPC will make payments up to $100 million for development costs of vadadustat, including $40 million after signing. In addition, Akebia is eligible to receive up to approximately $250 million in additional milestone payments, based upon achievement of certain development and sales milestones. MTPC will also make tiered royalty payments, from the low teens up to 20$, on sales of vadadustat in the territory, which includes Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other Asian countries.
