In 2015, Akebia entered into a collaboration agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC), providing MTPC with exclusive development and commercialization rights to vadadustat in Japan and certain other Asian countries. MTPC submitted a Japanese New Drug Application (JNDA) for vadadustat to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan in July 2019, representing the first regulatory submission for vadadustat. On June 29, 2020, MTPC obtained approval of vadadustat as a treatment for anemia due to CKD in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent adult patients. Vadadustat is marketed by MTPC in Japan under the trade name VAFSEO^®.

In 2017, Akebia and Vifor Pharma (Vifor) entered into an agreement granting Vifor an exclusive license to sell Vafseo^® (vadadustat) if included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) End Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (ESRD PPS) bundle, to Fresenius Kidney Care Group, an affiliate of Fresenius Medical Care North America, for use solely within its dialysis facilities in the U.S. In 2019, we expanded this agreement so that the license would also be effective during the Transitional Drug Add-on Payment Adjustment (TDAPA) two-year period that is expected to precede the ESRD bundle period, and to provide Vifor with a license to sell vadadustat to certain third-party dialysis organizations in the U.S. as well. Akebia has retained all rights to commercialize vadadustat, in collaboration with Otsuka, for use in the non-dialysis dependent market and in other dialysis organizations, following FDA approval.

In 2017, Akebia entered into a research and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The agreement granted Akebia an exclusive license to research, develop, and commercialize worldwide certain hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylase-targeted compounds.

Akebia is party to a licensing agreement with Panion & BF Biotech granting Akebia exclusive worldwide rights, excluding certain Asian-Pacific countries, for the development and commercialization of ferric citrate, which has been approved and is marketed as AURYXIA® in the United States.