Akebia Therapeutics (AKBA) Guggenheim Securities Emerging Outlook: Biotech Summit 2026 summary

Company overview and strategic focus

• Focused on improving lives of kidney disease patients with two commercial products and a growing pipeline.

• AURYXIA provides a revenue stream as it nears end of life; VAFSEO is the main growth driver, targeting anemia in dialysis patients.

• Pipeline expansion includes praliciguat (phase II in FSGS) and AKB-097 (basket study in rare kidney diseases starting H2 2024).

• Early-stage pipeline and clear strategic focus on rare kidney diseases.

VAFSEO launch and market dynamics

• VAFSEO saw strong initial uptake but faced high discontinuation due to unfamiliar dosing and hemoglobin dips.

• Shift to three-times-weekly (TIW) observed dosing reduced discontinuation rates significantly.

• Access expanded to 275,000 patients by end of 2025, with ongoing efforts to broaden and optimize use.

• Ongoing studies (VOCAL, VOICE) using TIW dosing may support label updates; key data readouts expected end of 2024 and early 2025.

Clinical data and future expectations

• VOCAL compares VAFSEO to Mircera, focusing on hemoglobin control and red blood cell quality; data expected by year-end.

• VOICE (2,100+ patients) compares to Epogen, with primary endpoint of death/hospitalization; results expected early 2027.

• Recent data show lower risk of death/hospitalization vs. darbepoetin, supporting long-term growth and standard of care ambitions.

• Market opportunity estimated at $500+ million if standard of care is achieved.