Akebia expands HIF pipeline with acquisition

US drug developer Akebia Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKBA) has entered into an exclusive agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: LNL), to license hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-targeting product candidates.

The portfolio includes AKB-5169 (formerly JNJ5169), a differentiated preclinical compound in development as an oral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The agreement, facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, also provides Akebia with access to an extensive proprietary library of well-characterized HIF pathway compounds with potential applications across multiple therapeutic areas.

Under the terms of the multi-year research agreement, Akebia will pay Janssen $1.0 million in cash to access their collection of hundreds of HIF-targeted compounds and associated intellectual property. Importantly, Akebia obtains worldwide rights to AKB-5169, a non-absorbed oral HIF stabilizer in preclinical development for the treatment of IBD. Preclinical data have shown that AKB-5169 may be highly differentiated from standard of care systemic therapies in its potential to reduce inflammation and promote mucosal healing at the site of disease.