SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shareholder rights law firm Robbins LLP announces that a class action has been filed on behalf of former Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (KERX) shareholders who acquired Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) common stock in the December 2018 transaction by which Keryx became a wholly owned subsidiary of Akebia. Akebia is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes therapeutics for patients based on hypoxia-inducible factor ("HIF") technology. At the time of the merger, Akebia's lead product candidate, vadadustat, was an oral therapy in Phase 3 development and expected to become a new standard of care in the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease ("CKD").
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Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) Failed to Provide Relevant Information to Keryx Shareholders in Advance of the Merger
According to the complaint, the Registration Statement issued in connection with the December 2018 merger of Keryx with Akebia contained untrue statements of material fact. Specifically, the Registration Statement hyped the safety, approvability, and commercial viability of Akebia's vadadustat in patients suffering from CKD, and as a result, overstated the value of the merger. In reality, Akebia possessed data at the time of the merger that showed vadadustat lacked the safety profile necessary to displace Amgen's darbepoetin alfa, the existing injectable standard.
On September 3, 2020, Akebia issued a press release announcing "top-line results" from its PRO2TECT Global Phase 3 Program of vadadustat, disclosing, for the first time that "vadadustat was linked to increased heart risks compared with Amgen's standard ertyropoietin therapy Aranesp in nondialysis-dependent patients with anemia due to chronic kidney disease." As a result, vadadustat "did not meet the primary safety endpoint, defined as non-inferiority of vadadustat compared to darbepoetin alfa in how long to the first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)." On this news, Akebia's shares fell $7.35, or over 73%, to close at $2.65 per share on September 3, 2020, and have yet to recover.
If you owned shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and received shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) in the December 2018 merger, contact us to discuss your options. All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses.
Lauren Levi
(800) 350-6003
llevi@robbinsllp.com
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