A once-daily oral anemia drug from Akebia Therapeutics met its primary endpoint in a phase 2a trial of chronic kidney disease patients.The successful 42-day trial of the drug, now called AKB-6548, sets the stage for a longer 2b trial that would follow patients for six months, said Bill Daly, Akebia’s senior vice president of business [...]

Akebia Therapeutics has spun off a new company, the similarly named Aerpio Therapeutics, to develop drugs for diabetic macular edema and inflammatory bowel disease.Akebia will continue developing its oral anemia drug candidate, according to a statement from the Cincinnati-area company.The new company is looking to raise a series A round of financing this year.“The formation [...]

The pharmaceutical company Affymax just got $10 million for moving forward with an anemia treatment that would require one injection a month as opposed to as many as several shots a week.Imagine the opportunity if someone can take a similar anemia treatment and let patients swallow it?Startups and well-established drugmakers are competing to develop [...]

Akebia Therapeutics has closed a $22 million series B round of investment that will take the company through a pair of phase 2b trials of its oral anemia drug.The funding is an important milestone for the Cincinnati-based pharmaceutical company as it pushes forward with development of AKB-6548, which is designed to promote levels of erythropoietin [...]

Sixty-two medical companies in Ohio have received grants or tax credits through a provision of this year’s health reform law that’s designed to fund the development of new therapies.

Akebia Therapeutics Inc. has successfully completed a Phase 2a trial of its orally administered anti-anemia drug for kidney disease patients.

Akebia Therapeutics Inc. has begun a Phase 2a clinical trial of its orally administered anemia drug.The company recently completed a Phase 1b trial of the drug, called AKB-6548, that showed an increase in erythropoietin, immature red blood cells and hemoglobin with “no significant adverse events,” according to a statement from the Cincinnati-area drug developer. Erythropoietin [...]

Being first isn’t the only goal in the drug-development business.Sometimes, an unmet patient need is so great, companies that are second or third to market stand a good chance of success. That’s what Akebia Therapeutics Inc. near Cincinnati is hoping for as it prepares to do Phase 2 clinical trials of its drug to treat [...]

Updated 6:47 p.m.Small molecule discovery and development company Akebia Therapeutics Inc. reported positive results from a second Phase 1 clinical trial of its anemia drug, as well as the second closing of a $16 million financing round announced almost a year ago, boosting the round to $17 million.Startup Akebia is racing to the finish line [...]

Queen City Angels invested in seven life sciences companies and one health information technology company last year, according to its 2009 annual operating report (pdf).The group of accredited investors finished the year with 12 investments, which included three IT companies and one company specializing in advanced materials.In addition, the angel group created a $4 million [...]