Akebia Therapeutics Inc
NASDAQ:AKBA
Akebia Therapeutics Inc
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and currently employs 426 full-time employees. The company went IPO on 2014-03-20. The firm is focused on producing medicines for people living with kidney disease. Its lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an oral therapy in development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI), designed to mimic the physiologic effect of altitude on oxygen availability. In addition, it has a commercial product, Auryxia (ferric citrate), which is marketed for two indications in the United States: the control of serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with dialysis-dependent (DD)-CKD or the hyperphosphatemia indication, and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA), in adult patients with non-dialysis dependent (NDD)-CKD or the IDA indication. Its ferric citrate is also approved and marketed in Japan as an oral treatment for the improvement of hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and currently employs 426 full-time employees. The company went IPO on 2014-03-20. The firm is focused on producing medicines for people living with kidney disease. Its lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an oral therapy in development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI), designed to mimic the physiologic effect of altitude on oxygen availability. In addition, it has a commercial product, Auryxia (ferric citrate), which is marketed for two indications in the United States: the control of serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with dialysis-dependent (DD)-CKD or the hyperphosphatemia indication, and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA), in adult patients with non-dialysis dependent (NDD)-CKD or the IDA indication. Its ferric citrate is also approved and marketed in Japan as an oral treatment for the improvement of hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD.
Strong Revenue Growth: Akebia reported $236.2 million in total revenue for 2025, up nearly 50% from 2024, driven by the U.S. launch of Vafseo and increased Auryxia sales.
Vafseo Launch Progress: Vafseo generated $45.8 million in net product revenue in 2025 despite a flat demand in the second half, with momentum improving into 2026.
Adherence Improvement: First refill adherence rates for Vafseo rose from 75% to 91% among observed dosing patients, with early 2026 data showing 87% adherence in a larger group.
Expanding Access: Over 1,000 prescribers across 24 dialysis organizations have written Vafseo prescriptions, and 290,000 patients now have access, including new protocols at major providers like DaVita and IRC.
Pipeline Advancements: Akebia highlighted progress in its rare kidney disease pipeline, with key trials for praliciguat and AKB-097 planned, and a Phase I study for AKB-9090 starting in early 2026.
Auryxia Revenue Risk: Management expects Auryxia revenues to decline in 2026 due to expanded generic competition.
Financial Strength: Net loss decreased to $5.3 million in 2025 (from $69.4 million in 2024), and cash on hand rose to $184.8 million, said to be sufficient for at least two years of operations.
