Abbott pays $110m for investigational kidney injury drug

Abbott has acquired Action Pharma's AP214, an investigational compound currently in phase II study for the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with major cardiac surgery.

The US firm will pay Denmark-based Action $110m in an upfront payment, and assume all responsibility for funding all future development and commercialisation activities for the treatment, but the deal doesn't include any later milestone payments or royalties.

The drug demonstrated positive outcomes in phase IIb trials evaluating its efficacy, safety and tolerability, and Abbott says it plans to conduct further phase II studies later this year.

AP214 is being developed to function as a hormone analogue targeting both systemic inflammation and the death of cells caused by a lack of blood flow that occur during surgery.

This can lead to kidney injury, which has been associated with increased short- and long-term mortality and co-morbidity, as well as extended stays in hospital and permanent decline in renal function.

"Clinical experience with AP214 in cardiac surgery patients suggests that it has the potential to be the first compound specifically approved to prevent acute kidney injury, a long-standing unmet need in the medical community," said Dr John Leonard, senior VP of pharmaceutical research and development at Abbott.

He continued: "This acquisition complements and broadens Abbott's late-stage renal care pipeline and builds on our existing experience in treating kidney disease."

This pipeline includes bardoxolone and atrasentan, both of which are in development for chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Bardoxolone is being developed in partnership with Reata Pharmaceuticals, while atrasentan was discovered in-house.