The U.S. FDA rejected Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Akebia Therapeutics’ New Drug Application (NDA) for vadadustat, a therapeutic for anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Merck

Merck announced that the company will lay off 170 people from Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Acceleron Pharma, which was acquired during November 2021 for about $11.5 billion.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s oral PK activator Pyrukynd (mitapivat) as the first approved disease-modifying therapy for the treatment of hemolytic anemia in adults with pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sanofi’s proposed drug to address red blood cell destruction in patients living with a rare form of anemia called cold agglutinin disease (CAD). 

The next “giant leap” for humans may be a trip to Mars, but having enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells for the journey might present a challenge, new research suggests.

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline is lining up a potential new treatment for patients with anemia due to chronic kidney disease following positive results in a Phase III study that showed the investigational candidate daprodustat improved or maintained hemoglobin levels without an increase in cardiovascular risk.

GlaxoSmithKline said the company’s anemia pill for patients with kidney disease was shown to have about the same side effect risk as the current standard treatment in two important patient groups, a key advantage in a tight race with rival drug developers.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. along with the company’s subsidiaries announced that Reddy-Lenalidomide, a generic equivalent to Revlimid (lenalidomide) capsules, was approved by Health Canada and launched in the Canadian market.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve FibroGen Inc.’s treatment for anemia of chronic kidney disease, citing the need for an additional clinical study.

In a roundup of scientific studies on the novel coronavirus, new findings shed light on why chronic lung diseases that block the airways increase patients’ risks for severe Covid-19 and researchers say the blood disorder anemia should probably be added to the list of risk factors for poorer Covid-19 outcomes.