Claiming Akebia agreement breach, Otsuka seeks to end anemia drug pact

handshake, break, deal

Otsuka Pharmaceutical is ending its alliance with Akebia Therapeutics, a move that comes less than two months after the FDA rejected their partnered anemia drug, vadadustat, and asked for another clinical trial. Otsuka alleges unspecified breaches of the agreement by Akebia, and ending the alliance early could spare it from spending hundreds of millions of dollars more on the drug.