VAFSEO Vadadustat 150 mg Tablet, Film Coated, 60-count

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Hepatotoxicity: Has been reported in patients taking VAFSEO. Measure ALT, AST and bilirubin prior to the initiation of VAFSEO, monthly after initiation for the first 6 months, then as clinically indicated. Discontinue VAFSEO if ALT or AST is persistently elevated or accompanied by elevated bilirubin.

( 5.2 ) Hypertension: Worsening hypertension, including hypertensive crisis may occur. Monitor blood pressure. Adjust anti-hypertensive therapy as needed.

( 5.3 ) Seizures: Seizures have occurred in patients with CKD taking VAFSEO. Monitor for new-onset seizures, premonitory symptoms, or change in seizure frequency. ( 5.4 ) Gastrointestinal Erosion: Gastric or esophageal erosions and gastrointestinal bleeding have been reported.

( 5.5 ) Malignancy: May have unfavorable effects on cancer growth. Not recommended if active malignancy. ( 5.7 )

5.1Increased Risk of Death, Myocardial Infarction (MI), Stroke, Venous Thromboembolism, and Thrombosis of Vascular Access VAFSEO increases the risk of arterial and venous thrombotic events, that may be fatal, including myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism and vascular access thrombosis [see Boxed Warning , Adverse Reactions ( 6.1 )] . Patients with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease are at increased risk of these events. Avoid use in patients with a history of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular event, or acute coronary syndrome within the 3 months prior to starting VAFSEO.

A rate of hemoglobin rise of greater than 1 g/dL over 2 weeks may contribute to these risks. Targeting a hemoglobin level of greater than 11 g/dL is expected to further increase the risk of death and arterial and venous thrombotic events, as occurs with ESAs, which also increase erythropoietin levels. No trial has identified a hemoglobin target level, dose of VAFSEO, or dosing strategy that does not increase these risks.

Use the lowest dose of VAFSEO sufficient to reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions. Adherence to dosing and hemoglobin monitoring recommendations is important to avoid excessive erythropoiesis [see Dosage and Administration ( 2.4 )] . Advise patients to seek immediate medical attention if they develop signs or symptoms of myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism, or thrombosis of vascular access.

Evaluate and manage promptly if these occur.

5.2Hepatotoxicity VAFSEO may cause hepatotoxicity. In clinical trials, hepatocellular injury attributed to VAFSEO was reported in less than 1% of patients, including one case of severe hepatocellular injury with jaundice. All events were asymptomatic and resolved after discontinuation of VAFSEO.

The time to onset was generally within the first 3 months of treatment. Elevated serum ALT, AST, and bilirubin were seen in 1.8%, 1.8% and 0.3% of CKD patients treated with VAFSEO, respectively. Measure ALT, AST and bilirubin prior to the initiation of VAFSEO and monthly after initiation for the first 6 months and then monitor as clinically indicated [see Dosage and Administration ( 2.1 )] .

Discontinue VAFSEO if there is persistent ALT or AST greater than 3 times ULN or if ALT or AST elevations greater than 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN) are accompanied by a bilirubin increase greater than 2 times ULN. VAFSEO is not recommended in patients with cirrhosis or active, acute liver disease.

5.3Hypertension VAFSEO is contraindicated in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. In the INNO 2 VATE-1 and INNO 2 VATE-2 clinical trials, worsening of hypertension was reported in 14% (9.4 per 100 person-years [PY]) of patients receiving VAFSEO and 17% (11.8 per 100 PY) of patients receiving darbepoetin alfa. Serious worsening of hypertension was reported in 2.7% (1.7 per 100 PY) of patients receiving VAFSEO and 3% (1.8 per 100 PY) of patients receiving darbepoetin alfa.

Cases of hypertensive crisis including hypertensive encephalopathy and seizures have also been reported in patients receiving VAFSEO. Periodical…

6 ADVERSE REACTIONS The following clinically significant adverse reactions are discussed elsewhere in the labeling: Increased risk of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism, and thrombosis of vascular access [see Boxed Warning and Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Hepatotoxicity [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.2 )] Hypertension [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.3 )] Seizures [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.4 )] Gastrointestinal erosion [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.5 )] Serious adverse reactions in patients with anemia due to chronic kidney disease and not on dialysis [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.6 )] The most common adverse reactions (occurring at ≥ 10%) were hypertension and diarrhea.

( 6.1 ). To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. at 1-844-445-3799 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch .

6.1Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. The safety of VAFSEO was evaluated in adults with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (DD-CKD) with anemia in the INNO 2 VATE-1 and INNO 2 VATE-2 trials [see Clinical Studies ( 14.1 )] . Both trials randomized patients to VAFSEO or darbepoetin alfa.

Results in this section are based on the pooled VAFSEO treatment arms and pooled darbepoetin alfa arms from these trials. There were 1947 patients treated with VAFSEO and 1955 patients treated with darbepoetin alfa. In the pooled VAFSEO treatment arm, 71% of the participants were treated continuously for at least 6 months of VAFSEO and 44% of participants received VAFSEO for at least 1 year.

VAFSEO was non-inferior to darbepoetin alfa on the time to first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in adults with anemia due to CKD who were on dialysis [see Clinical Studies ( 14.1 )] . Permanent treatment discontinuation due to an adverse reaction was reported in 4.9% of patients treated with VAFSEO and 1.1% of patients treated with darbepoetin alfa. Gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) resulted in permanent treatment discontinuation in 1.8% of patients treated with VAFSEO.

The most common adverse reactions (>10% of VAFSEO-treated patients) were hypertension and diarrhea. Table 1 lists the adverse reactions that occurred in at least 5% or greater of patients with DD-CKD treated with VAFSEO. Table 1 Adverse Reactions (≥5%) in Patients with DD-CKD During INNO 2 VATE-1 and INNO 2 VATE-2 * Grouped Terms Hypertension includes hypertensive crisis, pre-eclampsia and hypertensive encephalopathy.

Headache includes occipital neuralgia. Fatigue includes asthenia, lethargy and malaise. Vomiting includes hematemesis.

Gastrointestinal erosion includes duodenal ulcers and perforation, gastrointestinal ulcers and perforation, esophageal ulcers and perforation, and unspecified site or hematemesis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, helicobacter duodenitis and gastritis, melaena, and gastric hemorrhage. Dizziness includes labyrinthitis, vertigo, vestibular neuronitis and presyncope. Dyspnea includes orthopnea and respiratory distress.

Adverse Reactions VAFSEO N=1947 (%) Darbepoetin Alfa N=1955 (%) Hypertension * 14 17 Diarrhea 13 10 Headache * 9 8 Nausea 8 8 Fatigue * 8 5 Abdominal pain 7 7 Vomiting * 7 7 Gastrointestinal erosion * 6 5 Dizziness * 6 5 Dyspnea * 6 7 Arteriovenous fistula thrombosis 6 5 Dialysis related complication 5 7 Adjudicated fatal and non-fatal thrombotic vascular events were observed in 9.0 per 100 PY of patients in the pooled VAFSEO arm and in 8.7 per 100 PY of patients in the pooled darbepoetin alfa (see Table 2) . Table 2 Adjudicated Thrombotic Vascular Events in Patients with DD-CKD (Fatal and Non-fatal Events) * PY = Person Years * These data are not an adequate basis for comparison of…

7 DRUG INTERACTIONS Iron supplements and iron-containing phosphate binders: Administer VAFSEO at least 1 hour before products containing iron. ( 7.1 ) Non-iron-containing phosphate binders: Administer VAFSEO at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after non-iron-containing phosphate binders. ( 7.1 ) BCRP substrates: Monitor for signs of substrate adverse reactions and consider substrate dose reduction.

( 7.2 ) Statins: Monitor for statin-related adverse reactions ( 7.2 ).

7.1Effect of Other Drugs on VAFSEO Table 3 describes clinically significant drug interactions where concomitant use of another drug affects VAFSEO. Table 3 Drug Interactions with VAFSEO that Affect Vadadustat Exposure Iron supplements and phosphate binders Clinical Effect Co-administration with oral iron supplements, products containing iron, or phosphate binders decreases the exposure of vadadustat [ see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] , which may reduce the effectiveness of VAFSEO. Prevention or Management Stagger administration when VAFSEO is used with oral iron supplements, products containing iron, iron-containing phosphate binders, or non-iron-containing phosphate binders [see Dosage and Administration ( 2.5 )] .

Examples * Iron supplements : ferric citrate, ferrous sulfate, sodium ferrous citrate Iron-containing phosphate binders : ferric citrate, sucroferric oxyhydroxide Non-iron-containing phosphate binders : calcium acetate, sevelamer carbonate Organic anion transporter (OAT) OAT1/OAT3 inhibitors Clinical Effect Co-administration with OAT1/OAT3 (Organic Anion Transporter) inhibitors may increase the area under the concentration curve (AUC) of vadadustat [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] , which may increase the risk of VAFSEO adverse reactions.

Prevention or Management Closely monitor for too large or too rapid an increase in Hb response and for adverse reactions. Examples * OAT1 inhibitors: probenecid, rifampicin OAT3 inhibitors: gemfibrozil, probenecid, teriflunomide * These examples are not a comprehensive list of all possible drugs that may fit this category.

7.2Effect of VAFSEO on Other Drugs Table 4 describes clinically significant drug interactions where VAFSEO affects the co-administered drug. Table 4 Drug Interactions with VAFSEO that affect co-administered drugs BCRP substrates Clinical Effect Vadadustat may increase the exposure of BCRP substrates [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] , which may increase the risk of adverse reactions related to the BCRP substrate. Prevention or Management Monitor for signs of adverse effects of the co-administered BCRP substrate and reduce substrates’ dosage in accordance with their approved product labeling, if needed.

Example * sulfasalazine Statins Clinical Effect Vadadustat increases the maximal concentration (C max ) and AUC of some statins when co-administered [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] . Prevention or Management Monitor for possible statin-related adverse reactions. Concomitant Drug Name Recommendation Simvastatin Starting dose of simvastatin should be 5 mg/day.

Maximum daily dose of simvastatin not to exceed 20 mg. Rosuvastatin Maximum daily dose of rosuvastatin not to exceed 5 mg. OAT3 substrates Clinical Effect Vadadustat may increase the exposure of co-administered OAT3 substrates [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] , which may increase the risk of adverse reactions related to these substrates.

Prevention or Management Monitor for signs of adverse reactions of the co-administered OAT3 substrates and adjust substrates’ dosage in accordance with their approved product labeling, if needed. Examples * cefaclor, ceftizoxime, famotidine, furosemide, oseltamivir carboxylate, penicillin G, sitagliptin * These examples are not a comprehensive list of all possible drugs that may fit this category.