Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. 10-K

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. Please also refer to the section under the heading “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Business Overview We are a biopharmaceutical company with the purpose of bettering the life of each person impacted by kidney disease. Since our initial public offering in 2014, we have built a business focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics that we believe serves as a foundation for future growth. We have established ourselves as a leader in the kidney community, and we remain committed to helping patients and others where we believe our current and future products have the ability to deliver value. We believe that delivering value broadly to the kidney community, as well as others who may benefit from our medicines, will result in delivering value for shareholders. Our portfolio includes a late-stage product candidate and a commercial product: • Vadadustat is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, or HIF-PH, inhibitor designed to mimic the physiologic effect of altitude on oxygen availability. At higher altitudes, the body responds to lower oxygen availability with stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor, or HIF, which stimulates erythropoietin, or EPO, production and leads to red blood cell, or RBC, production and improved oxygen delivery to tissues. The significance of the HIF pathway was recognized by the 2019 Nobel Prize and the 106 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, which honored the three physician-scientists who discovered the HIF pathway and elucidated this primary oxygen sensing mechanism that is essential for survival. We believe that, based on the HIF-PH inhibitor mechanism of action and the results of our Phase 3 clinical trials, vadadustat has the potential to become the new oral standard of care for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease, or CKD. We completed the global Phase 3 clinical development program for vadadustat in September 2020 to support regulatory filings in the United States, Europe, and other countries, which included two separate programs, INNO 2 VATE and PRO 2 TECT. INNO 2 VATE evaluated vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adult patients on dialysis, or DD-CKD, and PRO 2 TECT evaluated vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adult patients not on dialysis, or NDD-CKD. In May of 2020, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 3 INNO 2 VATE program that showed vadadustat was non-inferior to darbepoetin alfa, an injectable erythropoiesis-stimulating agent, or ESA, with respect to hematological efficacy (change in hemoglobin concentration) and cardiovascular safety (assessed in a time to the first occurrence of a major adverse cardiovascular event, or MACE, analysis, which is the composite of all-cause mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or a nonfatal stroke) in treating anemia due to CKD in DD-CKD adult patients. In addition to meeting the primary endpoints of the INNO 2 VATE program, vadadustat met the key secondary hematological efficacy endpoint in each of the two studies in the program and also met the program's key secondary safety endpoints. The results of the INNO 2 VATE program were presented at American Society of Nephrology, or ASN, in October of 2020 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April of 2021. In September of 2020, we announced top-line results from our Phase 3 PRO 2 TECT program that showed vadadustat was non-inferior to darbepoetin alfa with respect to hematological efficacy in treating anemia due to CKD in NDD-CKD adult patients. While the PRO 2 TECT data showed that vadadustat achieved both the primary and key secondary hematological efficacy endpoints, it did not meet the program's primary cardiovascular safety, or MACE, endpoint. These cardiovascular outcomes contrast with those reported within the INNO 2 VATE program, which evaluated vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in DD-CKD adult patients. The results of the PRO 2 TECT program were presented at ASN in October of 2020 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April of 2021. We submitted a New Drug Application, or NDA, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for vadadustat in March of 2021 for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in both DD-CKD and NDD-CKD adult patients. Our NDA submission was accepted for filing by the FDA in May of 2021 and the FDA has indicated that they are not currently planning to hold an Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the NDA for vadadustat. The FDA also assigned the application standard review and a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, target action date of March 29, 2022. Our collaboration partner, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., or Otsuka, submitted a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, for vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in both DD-CKD and NDD-CKD adult patients to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in October 2021. As vadadustat did not meet the PRO 2 TECT program's primary safety endpoint, we are remaining cautious in our outlook for potential approval of vadadustat in NDD-CKD adult patients in the United States and Europe. In June of 2020, we announced the first regulatory approval of vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in DD-CKD and NDD-CKD adult patients in Japan. Our collaboration partner in Japan, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, or MTPC, commenced commercial sales of vadadustat in Japan under the trade name, Vafseo TM , in August 2020. In addition, MTPC filed a new drug application for vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adult patients in Taiwan in January of 2022. 107 In addition to anemia due to CKD, we believe that vadadustat has the potential to treat other serious or life-threatening conditions, including preventing and lessening the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, a complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or COVID-19, infection. More specifically, in July of 2020, we announced an investigator-sponsored clinical study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, or UTHealth, in Houston, Texas, evaluating the use of vadadustat as a potential therapy to prevent and lessen the severity of ARDS adult patients who have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. With the support of their data monitoring committee, UTHealth decided to expand their study beyond the initial 400 patients, an enrollment target they have now surpassed. Within this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, pa tients will be dosed with vadadustat or a placebo starting within 24 hours of hospital admission and continuing for up to 14 days. This study is being conducted under an Investigational New Drug application, or IND, with UTHealth as the study sponsor and is currently enrolling patients. In January of 2021, UTHealth announced that it had been awarded $5.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, or DOD, to expand this clinical trial at its facilities. • Auryxia ® (ferric citrate) is approved and marketed in the United States for two indications: (1) the control of serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with DD-CKD, or the Hyperphosphatemia Indication, and (2) the treatment of iron deficiency anemia, or IDA, in adult patients with NDD-CKD, or the IDA Indication. Ferric citrate is also approved and marketed in Japan as an oral treatment for the improvement of hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD, including DD-CKD and NDD-CKD, and for the treatment of patients with IDA, under the trade name Riona (ferric citrate hydrate). Since 2018, Auryxia product revenue has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 14% due to market share gains and improved net price per pill, while total prescriptions for phosphate binders in the United States have declined 8%. We believe this growth is due to the benefits of the product perceived by the prescribing nephrologists as communicated by our nephrology-focused commercial and medical organizations. If we obtain FDA approval of vadadustat, we plan to commercialize vadadustat in the United States with our well-established, nephrology-focused commercial organization, while also leveraging our collaboration with Otsuka and its U.S. nephrology commercial organization. In addition, in February 2022, we entered into a Second Amended and Restated License Agreement, or the Vifor Second Amended Agreement with Vifor (International) Ltd., or Vifor Pharma, which amended and restates the Amended and Restated License Agreement, dated April 8, 2019, or the Vifor First Amended Agreement. Pursuant to the Vifor Second Amended Agreement, we granted Vifor Pharma an exclusive license to sell vadadustat to Fresenius Medical Care North America and its affiliates, including Fresenius Kidney Care Group LLC, to certain third-party dialysis organizations approved by us, to independent dialysis organizations that are members of group purchase organizations, and to certain non-retail specialty pharmacies in the United States, or the Territory. We refer to Fresenius Medical Care North America and its affiliates, these organizations and specialty pharmacies collectively as the “Supply Group". We currently retain rights to commercialize vadadustat for use in the non-dialysis dependent CKD market and to sell to dialysis organizations outside of the Supply Group. During the term of the Vifor Second Amended Agreement, Vifor Pharma is not permitted to sell any HIF product that competes with vadadustat in the Territory to the Supply Group. We market Auryxia in the United States with our well-established, nephrology-focused commercial organization. Our Japanese sublicensee, Japan Tobacco, Inc., or JT, and its subsidiary, Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Torii, commercialize Riona in Japan. Auryxia is our only product approved for sale in the United States and it generated approximately $142.2 million in revenue from U.S. product sales during the year ended December 31, 2021. In addition, we continue to explore additional development opportunities to expand our pipeline and portfolio of novel therapeutics through both internal research and external innovation. Our development pipeline includes several earlier stage opportunities, including praliciguat, an investigational oral soluble guanylate cyclase, or sGC, stimulator, that we licensed from Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc., or Cyclerion, in June 2021. Praliciguat is in development for the treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, which is highly complementary of our strategy to identify and develop novel therapeutics for people impacted by kidney diseases. Further, our internal innovation efforts include several preclinical opportunities, both in the HIF pathway, leveraging our learnings from the research and development of vadadustat, as well as new areas of focus we are currently exploring. Operating Overview We have never been profitable and have incurred net losses in each year since inception. Our net losses were $282.8 million, $383.5 million and $279.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Substantially all of our net losses resulted from costs incurred in connection with the continued commercialization of Auryxia and development efforts relating to vadadustat, including conducting clinical trials of, and seeking regulatory approval for, vadadustat, providing general and administrative support for these operations and protecting our intellectual property. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future. The amount of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of our future expenditures, and our financial position will depend, in part, on product 108 revenue, collaboration revenue, and our ability to obtain additional funding. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses if and as we: • conduct and enroll patients in any clinical trials, including any post-marketing studies or any other clinical trials for Auryxia, vadadustat or any other product or product candidate, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired; • continue our commercialization activities for Auryxia and vadadustat, if approved, and any other product or product candidate, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired; • seek marketing approvals for vadadustat and any other product candidate, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired, • maintain marketing approvals for Auryxia, vadadustat, if approved, and any other product, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired; • have Auryxia, vadadustat and any other product or product candidate, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired, manufactured for clinical trials and for commercial sale; • conduct discovery and development activities for additional product candidates or platforms that may lead to the discovery of additional product candidates; • engage in transactions, including strategic, merger, collaboration, acquisition and licensing transactions, pursuant to which we would market and develop commercial products, or develop and commercialize other product candidates and technologies; • make royalty, milestone or other payments under our license agreements and any future license agreements; • maintain, protect and expand our intellectual property portfolio; • attract, hire and retain qualified personnel; • continue to create additional infrastructure and expend additional resources to support our operations as a fully integrated, publicly traded biopharmaceutical company; and • experience any delays or encounter issues with any of the above. We have not generated, and may not generate, enough product revenue to realize net profits from product sales. We have no manufacturing facilities, and all of our manufacturing activities are contracted out to third parties. Additionally, we currently utilize contract research organizations, or CROs, to carry out our clinical development activities. If we obtain marketing approval for vadadustat, and as we continue to commercialize Auryxia, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. We expect to finance future cash needs through product revenue, public or private equity or debt transactions, payments from our collaborators, royalty transactions, strategic transactions, or a combination of these approaches. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts when needed or on attractive terms, we may not be able to pursue development and commercial activities related to Auryxia and vadadustat, if approved, or any additional products and product candidates, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired. Any of these events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects. From inception through December 31, 2021, we raised approximately $792.7 million of net proceeds from the sale of equity, including $519.8 million from various underwritten public offerings, $222.9 million from at-the-market offerings, or ATM offerings, pursuant to sales agreements with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and $50.0 million from the sale of 3,571,429 shares of common stock to Vifor Pharma. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we raised $88.4 million of net proceeds from ATM offerings. At the inception of our collaboration agreements with Otsuka and MTPC, our collaborators committed to an aggregate of approximately $573.0 million or more in cost-share funding, which we generally continue to receive on a quarterly prepaid basis, and license payments. Of these commitments, we received approximately $272.0 million at the onset of the collaboration agreements. On November 11, 2019, we entered into a loan agreement, or the Loan Agreement, with funds managed by Pharmakon Advisors LP, or Pharmakon, pursuant to which term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $100.0 million were made available to us in two tranches, subject to certain terms and conditions, or the Term Loans. As of March 31, 2021, we had drawn down the full $100.0 million made available to us under the Loan Agreement. In addition, on February 25, 2021, we received an upfront payment of $44.8 million (net of certain transaction expenses) in connection with our sale to HealthCare Royalty Partners IV, L.P., or HCR, of the right to receive all royalties and sales milestones payable to us under our collaboration agreement with MTPC, or the MTPC Agreement, subject to certain caps and other terms and conditions described in Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic 109 The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or COVID-19, pandemic has presented a substantial public health and economic challenge around the world and continues to affect our employees, patients, healthcare providers with whom we interact, customers, collaboration partners, CROs, contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, vendors, communities and business operations. The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition continues to depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, any resurgences or variants of COVID-19, the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact and the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets where the healthcare providers with whom we interact, our partners, our CROs, our CMOs, and our other vendors operate. We believe our revenue growth was negatively impacted during 2021 primarily as the CKD patient population that we serve continue to experience both higher hospitalization and mortality rates due to COVID-19. While we are unable to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future revenues and revenue growth, COVID-19 continues to adversely and disproportionately impact CKD patients; therefore, we expect COVID-19 to continue to have a negative impact on our revenue growth for the foreseeable future. The majority of our office-based employees began working from home in March 2020, and continue to primarily work from home. While most of our office-based operations can be performed remotely, there is no guarantee that we will continue to be as effective while working remotely because our team is dispersed, which has limited valuable in-person employee team interactions, and employees may become sick themselves and be unable to work. Further, our increased reliance on remote access to our information systems increases our exposure to potential cybersecurity breaches. Moreover, our future success and profitability substantially depends on the management skills of our executives and certain other key employees. The unanticipated loss or unavailability of key employees due to the pandemic could harm our ability to operate our business or execute our business strategy and we may not be successful in finding and integrating suitable successors in the event of key employee loss or unavailability. For example, as of January 1, 2022, we have required all of our employees be fully vaccinated, subject to limited medical and religions exemptions in accordance with applicable laws. At this time, it is not possible to predict with certainty the exact impact that our vaccine requirement will continue to have on us or on our workforce. The vaccine requirement has resulted, and may continue to result, in employee distraction and could result in litigation and difficulty securing future labor needs. This could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, several healthcare facilities have previously restricted access for non-patients, including the members of our sales force. For example, DaVita, Inc., or DaVita, and Fresenius Medical Care, or Fresenius, which account for a vast majority of the dialysis population in the United States, have previously restricted access to their clinics. As a result, we continue to engage with some healthcare providers and other customers virtually, where possible. The restrictions on our customer-facing employees' in-person interactions with healthcare providers could negatively impact our access to healthcare providers and, ultimately, our sales, including with respect to vadadustat, if approved. Recently, such precautionary measures have been relaxed at certain healthcare facilities and, as a result, members of our sales force have resumed in person interactions with certain customers. Nevertheless, some restrictions remain, and more restrictions may be put in place again due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, including those involving new variants of COVID-19 which may be more contagious and more severe than prior strains of the virus. Given this uncertain environment and the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CKD patients, we are actively monitoring the demand for Auryxia, and will be for vadadustat, if approved, including the potential for further declines or changes in prescription trends and customer orders. In addition, the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic or the response efforts to the pandemic, including, among others, competition for labor and resources and increases in labor, sourcing, manufacturing and shipping costs, may cause disruptions to, closures of or other impacts on our CMOs and other vendors in our supply chain on which we rely for the supply of our products and product candidates. At this time, our third party contract manufacturers continue to operate at or near normal levels. However, it is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic and response efforts may have an impact in the future on our contract manufacturers’ ability to manufacture and deliver Auryxia and vadadustat (if approved in the United States and which is currently marketed under the trade name Vafseo TM by MTPC in Japan), which may result in increased costs and delays, or disruptions to manufacturing and supply of our products and product candidates and have a negative effect on our inventory reserves, which could result in an increase in inventory write-offs due to expiry. COVID-19 pandemic precautions have caused moderate delays in enrolling new clinical trials and may cause delays in enrolling other new clinical trials. We are using remote monitoring and central monitoring, where possible. 110 This uncertain COVID-19 pandemic environment has presented new risks to our business. While we are working to mitigate the impacts on our business, we are mindful that many of these risks and the impact to the larger healthcare market are outside of our control. For additional information on the various risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, please refer to Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors. Financial Overview Revenue To date, our revenues have been derived from collaboration revenues, which include license and milestone payments, royalty and cost-sharing revenue generated through collaboration and license agreements with partners for the development and commercialization of vadadustat and, following the Merger, commercial sales of Auryxia and royalty revenue from sales of Riona in Japan. Cost-sharing revenue represents amounts reimbursed by our collaboration partners for expenses incurred by us for research and development activities and, potentially, co-promotion activities, under our collaboration agreements. We expect our revenue to continue to be generated primarily from our collaborations with Otsuka and MTPC and any other collaborations into which we may enter, as well as commercial sales of Auryxia and vadadustat, if approved, in the United States, and royalty revenue from JT and Torii, based on net sales of Riona in Japan. Cost of Goods Sold Cost of goods sold includes direct costs to manufacture commercial drug substance and drug product for Auryxia, as well as indirect costs, including costs for packaging, shipping, insurance and quality assurance, idle capacity charges, write-offs for inventory that fails to meet specifications or is otherwise no longer suitable for commercial sale, changes in our excess purchase commitment liability, and royalties due to the licensor of Auryxia related to the U.S. product sales recognized during the period. Cost of goods sold also includes costs to manufacture drug product provided to MTPC for commercial sale of Vafseo in Japan. As a result of the Merger and the application of purchase accounting, costs of goods sold also includes both amortization expense and, if applicable, impairment charges associated with the fair value of the developed product rights for Auryxia as well as expense associated with the fair value inventory step-up. The fair value of the developed product rights for Auryxia is being amortized over its estimated useful life, which as of December 31, 2021 is estimated to be six years. The fair value inventory step-up as a result of the Merger was fully amortized as of the first quarter of 2021. Research and Development Expenses Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred for the development of vadadustat, which include: • personnel-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, recruiting fees, travel and stock-based compensation expense of our research and development personnel; • expenses incurred under agreements with CROs and investigative sites that conduct our clinical trials; • the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical study materials through CMOs; • facilities, depreciation and other expenses, which include direct and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities, insurance and other supplies; • costs associated with preclinical, clinical and regulatory activities; and • costs associated with vadadustat pre-launch inventory build, which remains subject to approval in the United States. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Costs for certain development activities are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information and data provided to us by our vendors and our clinical sites. We cannot determine with certainty the duration and completion costs of current or future clinical trials of Auryxia and vadadustat or if, when, or to what extent we will generate revenue from the commercialization and sale of vadadustat, if approved. We may never succeed in achieving marketing approval for vadadustat. The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of Auryxia and vadadustat will depend on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, those described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors. A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of Auryxia and vadadustat could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated 111 with that development. For example, if the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory authorities were to require us to conduct clinical trials in addition to or different from those that we currently anticipate, or if we experience delays in any of our clinical trials, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development. From inception through December 31, 2021, we have incurred $1.4 billion in research and development expenses. We expect to have significant research and development expenditures for the foreseeable future as we continue the development of Auryxia, vadadustat and any other product or product candidate, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired. Our direct research and development expenses consist principally of external costs, such as fees paid to clinical trial sites, consultants, central laboratories and CROs in connection with our clinical trials, and drug substance and drug product manufacturing for clinical trials. In 2020, we completed our global Phase 3 clinical program for vadadustat to which the majority of our research and development costs are attributable. A significant portion of our research and development costs have been external costs, which we track on a program-by-program basis. These external costs include fees paid to investigators, consultants, central laboratories and CROs in connection with our clinical trials, and costs related to acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials. Our internal research and development costs are primarily personnel-related costs, depreciation and other indirect costs. We do not track our internal research and development expenses on a program-by-program basis as they are deployed across multiple projects under development. The following table summarizes our external research and development expenses by program, as well as expenses not allocated to programs, for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020: Year ended December 31, 2021 2020 (in thousands) Vadadustat external costs $ 48,506 $ 128,869 External costs for other programs 25,907 15,020 Total external research and development expenses 74,413 143,889 Headcount, consulting, facilities and other 73,439 74,596 Total research and development expenses $ 147,852 $ 218,485 Selling, General and Administrative Expenses Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related costs for personnel, including stock-based compensation and travel expenses for our commercial personnel, including our field sales force and other commercial support personnel, as well as personnel in executive and other administrative or non-research and development functions. Other selling, general and administrative expenses include facility-related costs, fees for directors, accounting and legal services fees, recruiting fees and expenses associated with obtaining and maintaining patents. Results of Operations Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 112 Year ended December 31, Increase (Decrease) 2021 2020 (In Thousands) Revenues: Product revenue, net $ 142,216 $ 128,901 $ 13,315 License, collaboration and other revenue 71,362 166,406 (95,044) Total revenues 213,578 295,307 (81,729) Cost of goods sold: Product 117,352 148,866 (31,514) Amortization of intangibles 36,042 31,515 4,527 Impairment of intangible asset — 115,527 (115,527) Total cost of goods sold 153,394 295,908 (142,514) Operating expenses: Research and development 147,852 218,485 (70,633) Selling, general and administrative 174,161 153,947 20,214 License expense 3,489 3,409 80 Total operating expenses 325,502 375,841 (50,339) Operating loss (265,318) (376,442) 111,124 Other expense, net (17,522) (7,015) (10,507) Net loss before income taxes (282,840) (383,457) 100,617 Benefit from income taxes — — — Net loss $ (282,840) $ (383,457) $ 100,617 Product Revenue, Net . Net product revenue is derived from sales of our only commercial product in the United States, Auryxia. We distribute our product principally through a limited number of wholesale distributors as well as certain specialty pharmacy providers. Net product revenue was $142.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to net product revenue of $128.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increase in units sold and improved payer mix, partially offset by the negative impact from COVID-19 on our revenues during 2021. We believe our revenue growth continues to be negatively impacted primarily as the CKD patient populations that we serve continue to experience both higher hospitalization and mortality rates due to COVID-19. As an oral drug, Auryxia is covered by Medicare only under Part D. However, in September 2018, CMS decided that Auryxia would no longer be covered by Medicare for the IDA Indication. While this decision does not impact CMS coverage of the Hyperphosphatemia Indication, it requires Part D plan sponsors to impose prior authorization or other steps to ensure that Auryxia is used only for the Hyperphosphatemia Indication. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has issued a guidance that expressly encouraged Part D plans to waive all prior authorization requirements. This guidance was issued in March of 2020 and updated in May of 2020. In both versions of the guidance, CMS clarified that due to COVID-19, Part D plan sponsors are encouraged to waive prior authorization requirements. Further, on October 15, 2019, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts against CMS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenging CMS’s decision that Auryxia would no longer be covered by Medicare for the IDA Indication and imposing a prior authorization requirement for Auryxia in the Hyperphosphatemia Indication, or the CMS Decision. On October 22, 2021, the parties agreed to dismiss the litigation. See Part I, Item 3. Legal Proceedings for further information. While we believe that the vast majority of the Medicare prescriptions written for Auryxia today are for the Hyperphosphatemia Indication and therefore will continue to be covered by Medicare with prior authorization, the CMS Decision has had and will continue to have an adverse impact on the sales and future growth of Auryxia for the Hyperphosphatemia Indication and the IDA Indication. License, Collaboration and Other Revenue. License, collaboration and other revenue was $71.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $166.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. We recognized $65.5 million in collaboration revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 from our cost sharing arrangement under the Otsuka collaboration agreement for the United States, or the Otsuka U.S. Agreement, and the Otsuka collaboration agreement for certain territories outside the United States, or the Otsuka International Agreement, and royalty revenue earned under our collaboration agreement with MTPC, or the MTPC Agreement. We recognized $154.3 million in collaboration revenue for the year ended December 31, 113 2020 from our cost sharing arrangement under the Otsuka U.S. Agreement and the Otsuka International Agreement and recognition of a milestone and royalty revenue under the MTPC Agreement. The decrease in collaboration revenue was driven by lower payments recognized under both the Otsuka U.S. Agreement and the Otsuka International Agreement as we completed our global Phase 3 clinical development program for vadadustat in 2020 and are currently engaged in close-out activities with respect to the program. Cost of Goods Sold - Product . Cost of goods sold of $117.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily consisted of costs associated with the manufacturing of Auryxia and supply of Vafseo to MTPC for commercial sale in Japan, $33.4 million in non-cash charges related to our excess purchase commitment liability, $21.6 million in non-cash charges related to the fair-value inventory step-up from the application of purchase accounting, and $15.6 million primarily related to excess and obsolescence reserves associated with Auryxia as well as inventory reserves associated with a previously disclosed manufacturing quality issue related to Auryxia. See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details of the increase to the liability for excess purchase commitments. Cost of goods sold of $148.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily consisted of costs associated with the manufacturing of Auryxia, $68.2 million in non-cash charges related to the fair-value inventory step-up from the application of purchase accounting, $25.1 million in non-cash charges related to an increase in the liability for excess purchase commitments, and $20.1 million primarily related to the write-down of inventory associated with specific lots of Auryxia because it was determined that these lots were not manufactured in conformance with the FDA's GMP guidance relating to validation. Cost of Goods Sold - Amortization of Intangibles. Amortization of intangibles relates to the acquired developed product rights for Auryxia. Amortization of intangibles during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $36.0 million and $31.5 million, respectively. The increase in amortization charges is due to the prospective adjustment of the estimated useful life of the developed product rights for Auryxia from seven years to six years that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2020. Cost of Goods Sold - Impairment of Intangible Asset. In the second quarter of 2020, in connection with a routine business review, we reduced our short-term and long-term Auryxia revenue forecast. This reduction was primarily driven by the compounding impact of the CMS Decision that rescinded Medicare Part D coverage of Auryxia for the IDA Indication, and imposed a prior authorization requirement for Auryxia for the Hyperphosphatemia Indication. As a result, we recorded an impairment charge of $115.5 million to the Auryxia intangible asset during the year ended December 31, 2020. There were no such impairment charges during the year ended December 31, 2021. Research and Development Expenses . Research and development expenses were $147.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $218.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The net decrease of $70.6 million was due to the following: (in millions) Vadadustat external development expenses (80.4) Other external research and development 10.9 Headcount, consulting and facilities (1.1) Total net decrease $ (70.6) The decrease in the costs related to the development of vadadustat is primarily attributable to a decrease in external costs related to our global Phase 3 program (INNO 2 VATE and PRO 2 TECT), for which we reported top-line data in the second and third quarters of 2020, respectively. Although we expect our research and development expenses to continue to decrease in the near term as we completed our global Phase 3 clinical development program for vadadustat in 2020, we will continue to incur significant research and development expenses in future periods in support of ongoing or planned studies with respect to Auryxia and vadadustat and development of other potential product candidates. Selling, General and Administrative Expenses . Selling, general and administrative expenses were $174.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $153.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase of $20.2 million was primarily due to higher marketing expenses, increased headcount related costs, and one-time legal costs. In 2022, we expect our selling, general and administrative expenses for our ongoing commercialization of Auryxia and for support of our potential commercialization of vadadustat to increase modestly from 2021. License Expenses. License expense related to royalties due to Panion relating to sales of Riona in Japan were $3.5 million and $3.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. 114 Other Expense, Net . Other expense, net, was $17.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $7.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to $9.1 million in non-cash interest expense on the liability related to the sale of our right to receive royalties and sales milestones from MTPC as further described in Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as interest expense associated with our Term Loans. Other expense, net for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to interest expense associated with our Term Loans. Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 For discussion of our 2020 results and a comparison with 2019 results please refer to Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 that was filed with the SEC on February 25, 2021, or the 2020 Form 10-K. Liquidity and Capital Resources We have funded our operations principally through sales of our common stock, payments received from our collaboration partners and, following the Merger, product sales, debt and a royalty transaction. As of December 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $149.8 million. Cash in excess of immediate requirements is invested in accordance with our investment policy, primarily with a view to liquidity and capital preservation. At inception of our collaboration agreements with Otsuka and MTPC, our collaborators committed to an aggregate of approximately $573.0 million or more in cost-share funding, of which we received approximately $272.0 million at the onset of the collaborations, as further described in Note 4 contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the remainder of which we will generally continue to receive on a quarterly prepaid basis, and through license payments. Cash Flows The following table sets forth the primary sources and uses of cash for each of the periods set forth below: Year ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 (In Thousands) Net cash provided by (used in): Operating activities $ (252,965) $ (110,388) $ (257,441) Investing activities 39,941 (40,004) 211,176 Financing activities 133,731 231,720 88,970 Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ (79,293) $ 81,328 $ 42,705 Operating Activities . Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2021 of $253.0 million was largely driven by payroll-related expenses, rebate payments and payments for inventory. These payments were partially offset by adjustments for non-cash items, including amortization of intangibles of $36.0 million, increases to the liability for excess purchase commitments of $33.4 million, stock-based compensation expense of $22.7 million, fair value step-up of inventory sold or written off of $21.6 million, write-downs of inventory of $15.6 million, and non-cash interest expense related to the sale of future royalties of $9.1 million. Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 of $110.4 million was largely driven by timing of payments on our Phase 3 development program for vadadustat, payments for inventory and merger-related liabilities. These payments were partially offset by adjustments for non-cash items, including the intangible asset impairment charge of $115.5 million, the fair value write-up of inventory sold or written off of $68.2 million, amortization of intangibles of $31.5 million, increases to the liability for excess purchase commitments of $25.1 million, stock-based compensation expense of $24.5 million, and write-downs of inventory of $20.1 million primarily associated with specific lots of Auryxia because it was determined that these lots were not manufactured in conformance with the FDA's GMP guidance relating to validation. Investing Activities . Net cash provided by investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2021 of $39.9 million was comprised of proceeds from the maturities of available for sale securities of $40.0 million, partially offset by immaterial purchases of equipment. 115 Net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 of $40.0 million was comprised primarily of purchase of available for sale securities of $99.9 million, partially offset by proceeds from the maturities of available for sale securities of $60.2 million. Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $133.7 million and consisted of net proceeds from the sale of future royalties of $44.8 million, net proceeds from the public issuance of common stock in connection with our ATM sales agreement of $88.2 million, and proceeds from the sale of stock under our employee stock purchase plan. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $231.7 million and consisted of net proceeds from the public issuance of common stock in connection with our ATM sales agreement of $209.4 million, proceeds from the issuance of debt of $20.0 million, and proceeds from the exercise of stock options and from the sale of stock under our employee stock purchase plan. A discussion of changes in our cash flow from the year ended December 31, 2019 to the year ended December 31, 2020 can be found in Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" of the 2020 Form 10-K. Operating Capital Requirements and Going Concern We have one product, Auryxia, approved for commercial sale in the United States and one product candidate, vadadustat, subject to FDA approval in the U.S., but have not generated, and may not generate, enough product revenue from the sale of Auryxia or sales of vadadustat, if approved, to realize net profits from product sales. We have incurred losses and cumulative negative cash flows from operations since our inception in February 2007, and as of December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion. We anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect to continue to incur additional research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses for our ongoing research and development and potential commercialization of vadadustat and our ongoing development and commercialization of Auryxia. We expect our cash resources to fund our current operating plan for at least twelve months from the date of this filing. However, the potential timely regulatory approval of vadadustat and the receipt of associated regulatory milestones and product revenues are an important source of funding of our cash runway, which are outside of our control. We expect to finance future cash needs through product revenue, public or private equity or debt transactions, payments from our collaborators (including associated regulatory approval milestones), royalty transactions, strategic transactions, or a combination of these approaches. In any event, we will require additional funding to fund our strategy and operating plan beyond the next twelve months, including to pursue development and commercial activities related to Auryxia and vadadustat, if approved, or any additional products and product candidates, including those that may be in-licensed or acquired. If we are unable to obtain sufficient funding, we could be required to delay our development efforts, limit activities and reduce costs, which could adversely affect our business prospects. There can be no assurance that the current operating plan will be achieved in the time frame anticipated by us, or that its cash resources will fund our operating plan for the period anticipated by us or that additional funding will be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, on February 18, 2022, we entered into the First Amendment and Waiver with BioPharma Credit PLC, or the Collateral Agent, BPCR Limited Partnership, as a Lender, and BioPharma Credit Investments V (Master) LP, as a Lender, or the First Amendment and Waiver, which amends and waives certain provisions of the Loan Agreement, dated November 11, 2019. The Collateral Agent and the lenders are collectively referred to as Pharmakon (see Note 18). Pursuant to the covenants in the Loan Agreement, as amended, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ending June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022 and our future Annual Reports on Form 10-K must not be subject to any qualification as to going concern. If any of these filings are subject to any qualification related to going concern, it will result in an event of default under the Loan Agreement. If an event of default occurs and is continuing under the Loan Agreement, the Collateral Agent is entitled to take enforcement action, including acceleration of amounts due under the Loan Agreement, which we may not have the available cash resources to repay at such time. Should we not be able to meet the quarterly or annual covenants in the future, we would seek a waiver of this provision. However, there can be no assurances that we would be successful in obtaining such waiver. Going Concern Because the potential timely regulatory approval of vadadustat and the receipt of associated regulatory milestones and product revenues are outside of our control, there is uncertainty as to whether or not we will meet our quarterly and annual debt covenants. The conditions above, including the going concern covenants in our Loan Agreement, raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year after the date the financial statements are issued. 116 Management’s plans to alleviate the conditions that raise substantial doubt include raising additional funding through the sources detailed above for us to continue as a going concern for a period of twelve months from the date the financial statements are issued. We have concluded that the likelihood that our plan to obtain sufficient funding from one or more of these sources will be successful, while reasonably possible, is less than probable. Accordingly, we have concluded that substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from the date of issuance of these financial statements. Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may be substantially different than actual results, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our future funding requirements, both near- and long-term, will depend on many factors including, but not limited to, those described under Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors under the heading "Risks Related to our Financial Position, Need for Additional Capital and Growth Strategy." Contractual Obligations and Commitments Leases We lease approximately 65,167 square feet of office and lab space in Cambridge, Massachusetts under a lease which was most recently amended in November 2020, collectively the Cambridge Lease. Under the Third Amendment to the Cambridge Lease, or the Third Amendment, executed in July 2016, total monthly lease payments under the initial base rent were approximately $242,000 and are subject to annual rent escalations. In addition to such annual rent escalations, base rent payments for a portion of said premises commenced on January 1, 2017 in the monthly amount of approximately $22,000. The Fourth Amendment to the Cambridge Lease, executed in May 2017, provided additional storage space to us and did not impact rent payments. In April 2018, we entered into a Fifth Amendment to the Cambridge Lease, or the Fifth Amendment, for an additional 19,805 square feet of office space on the 12 th floor. Monthly lease payments for the existing 45,362 square feet of office and lab space, under the Third Amendment, remain unchanged. The new space leased by us was delivered in September 2018 and additional monthly lease payments of approximately $135,000 commenced in February 2019 and are subject to annual rent escalations, which commenced in September 2019. In November 2020, we entered into a Sixth Amendment to the Cambridge Lease, or the Sixth Amendment, to extend the term of the Cambridge Lease with respect to the lab space from November 30, 2021 to January 31, 2025. The Sixth Amendment includes two months of free rent starting in December 2020 and additional monthly lease payments of approximately $48,000 which commenced in December 2021, and is subject to annual rent escalations, which commence in December 2022. Additionally, as a result of the Merger, we have a lease for 27,300 square feet of office space in Boston, Massachusetts, or the Boston Lease, which expires on February 28, 2023. The total monthly lease payments under the base rent are approximately $136,000 and are subject to annual rent escalations. On February 24, 2022, we entered into a First Amendment to Lease, or the First Lease Amendment, with CLPF One Marina Park Drive LLC (successor-in-interest to Fallon Cornerstone One MPD LLC), or the Landlord, amending the Boston Lease. Pursuant to the First Lease Amendment, we agreed to extend the term of the Boston Lease until July 31, 2031. The monthly lease payment pursuant to the First Amendment will be $200,122 commencing on August 1, 2023 and subject to annual rent escalation of approximately 2% commencing on August 1, 2024. The First Lease Amendment also includes a Landlord’s allowance for certain leasehold improvements to the Premises in an amount of up to $1,954,680, provided that such allowance must be used prior to August 1, 2024. See Note 18 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. In September 2019, Keryx entered into an agreement to sublease the Boston office space to Foundation Medicine, Inc., or Foundation. The sublease is subject and subordinate to the Boston Lease between Keryx and the landlord. The term of the sublease commenced on October 16, 2019, upon receipt of the required consent from the landlord for the sublease agreement, and expires on February 27, 2023. Foundation is obligated to pay Keryx rent that approximates the rent due from us to Keryx’s landlord with respect to the Boston Lease. Keryx continues to be obligated for all payment terms pursuant to the Boston Lease, and we will guaranty Keryx’s obligations under the sublease. Term Loans On November 11, 2019, Akebia, with Keryx as guarantor, entered into a loan agreement, or the Loan Agreement, with BioPharma Credit PLC as collateral agent and a lender, or the Collateral Agent, and BioPharma Credit Investments V (Master) LP as a lender, pursuant to which term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $100.0 million were made available to us in two tranches, subject to certain terms and conditions, or the Term Loans. BioPharma Credit PLC subsequently transferred its interest in the Term Loans, solely in its capacity as a lender, to its affiliate, BPCR Limited Partnership. The Collateral Agent 117 and the lenders are collectively referred to as Pharmakon. The first tranche of $80.0 million, or Tranche A, was drawn on November 25, 2019, or the Tranche A Funding Date, and the second tranche of $20.0 million, or Tranche B, was drawn on December 10, 2020, or the Tranche B Funding Date. A more detailed description of the term loans can be found in Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On February 18, 2022, in connection with entering into the Vifor Second Amended Agreement, we, BioPharma Credit PLC, or the Collateral Agent, BPCR Limited Partnership, as a Lender, and BioPharma Credit Investments V (Master) LP, as a Lender, entered into the First Amendment and Waiver, which amends and waives certain provisions of the Loan Agreement, dated November 11, 2019, between the parties. See Note 18 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. Manufacturing Agreements As a result of the Merger, our contractual obligations include Keryx’s commercial supply agreements with BioVectra Inc., or BioVectra, and Siegfried Evionnaz SA, or Siegfried, to supply commercial drug substance for Auryxia. Pursuant to the Manufacture and Supply Agreement with BioVectra and the Product Manufacture and Supply and Facility Construction Agreement with BioVectra, we agreed to purchase minimum quantities of Auryxia drug substance annually at predetermined prices. On September 4, 2020, we and BioVectra entered into an Amended and Restated Product Manufacture and Supply and Facility Construction Agreement, which provided for reduced minimum quantity commitments and revised the predetermined prices. The price per kilogram decreases with an increase in quantity above the predetermined purchase quantity tiers. In addition, the Manufacture and Supply Agreement with BioVectra and the Amended and Restated Product Manufacture and Supply and Facility Construction Agreement with BioVectra, requires us to reimburse BioVectra for certain costs in connection with construction of a new facility for the manufacture and supply of Auryxia drug substance. These construction costs are recorded in other assets and amortized into drug substance as inventory is released to us from BioVectra. The term of the Manufacture and Supply Agreement with BioVectra expires on December 31, 2022. The term of the Amended and Restated Product Manufacture and Supply and Facility Construction Agreement expires on December 31, 2026, after which, it automatically renews for successive one-year terms unless either party gives notice of its intention to terminate within a specified time prior to the end of the then-current term. In addition, we and BioVectra each have the ability to terminate these agreements upon the occurrence of certain conditions. As of December 31, 2021 , we are required to reimburse BioVectra for certain costs in connection with the construction of the new facility and to purchase minimum quantities of Auryxia drug substance annually for a total cost of approximately $83.6 million through the end of the contract term. Pursuant to the Siegfried Master Manufacturing Services and Supply Agreement, as amended (the most recent amendment having been executed on February 11, 2021), or the Siegfried Agreement, we have agreed to purchase a minimum quantity of drug substance of Auryxia at predetermined prices. The term of the Siegfried Agreement expires on December 31, 2022, subject to our option to extend the term through December 31, 2023, by providing 12 months' prior written notice to Siegfried. As of the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have notified Siegfried that we have elected not to exercise our option to extend the term of the Siegfried Agreement through December 31, 2023. In addition, the Siegfried Agreement provides us and Siegfried with certain early termination rights. As of December 31, 2021, we are required to purchase a minimum quantity of drug substance under the Siegfried Agreement for Auryxia annually at a total cost of approximately $15.6 million through the year ending December 31, 2022. As part of purchase accounting, we identified executory contracts in the commercial supply agreements between Keryx and its contract manufacturers for Auryxia, which include future firm purchase commitments. These executory contracts were deemed to have an off-market element related to the amount of purchase commitments that exceed the current forecast. The liability related to the amount of purchase commitments that exceed the current forecast was $76.7 million and $55.8 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The $20.9 million increase in liability, which was driven by reductions in the short-term and long-term Auryxia revenue sales forecast and related estimates of expiry during the year ended December 31, 2021 partially offset by a decrease due to inventory received that had been previously reserved within the excess purchase commitment liability and a reduction in commitments related to an amendment to the Siegfried Agreement during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in the liability was recorded to cost of goods sold. On April 9, 2019, we entered into a Supply Agreement with Esteve Química, S.A., or Esteve, or the Esteve Agreement. The Esteve Agreement includes the terms and conditions under which Esteve will manufacture vadadustat drug substance for commercial use. Pursuant to the Esteve Agreement, we provide rolling forecasts to Esteve on a quarterly basis, or the Esteve Forecast. The Esteve Forecast reflects our needs for vadadustat drug substance produced by Esteve over a certain number of months, represented as a quantity of vadadustat drug substance per calendar quarter. The parties have agreed to a volume-based pricing structure under the Esteve Agreement. The Esteve Agreement has an initial term of four years, beginning April 9, 2019 and ending April 9, 2023. Pursuant to the Esteve Agreement, we have agreed to purchase a certain percentage of the global 118 demand for vadadustat drug substance from Esteve. As of December 31, 2021, we have committed to purchase $28.9 million of vadadustat drug substance from Esteve through the fourth quarter of 2022. On March 11, 2020, we entered into a Supply Agreement with Patheon Inc., or Patheon, or the Patheon Agreement. The Patheon Agreement includes the terms and conditions under which Patheon will manufacture vadadustat drug product for commercial use. Pursuant to the Patheon Agreement, we provide Patheon a long-term forecast on an annual basis, as well as short-term forecasts on a quarterly basis, or the Patheon Forecast. The Patheon Forecast reflects our needs for commercial supply of vadadustat drug product produced by Patheon, represented as a quantity of drug product per calendar quarter. The parties have agreed to a volume-based pricing structure under the Patheon Agreement. The Patheon Agreement has an initial term beginning March 11, 2020 and ending June 30, 2023. Pursuant to the Patheon Agreement, we have agreed to purchase a certain percentage of the global demand for vadadustat drug product from Patheon. As of December 31, 2021, we had a minimum commitment with Patheon for $4.0 million through the fourth quarter of 2022. On April 2, 2020, we entered into a Supply Agreement with STA Pharmaceutical Hong Kong Limited, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, or WuXi STA, as amended on April 15, 2021, or the WuXi STA DS Agreement. The WuXi STA DS Agreement includes the terms and conditions under which WuXi STA will manufacture vadadustat drug substance for commercial use. Pursuant to the WuXi STA DS Agreement, we provide rolling forecasts to WuXi STA on a quarterly basis, or the WuXi STA DS Forecast. The WuXi STA DS Forecast reflects our needs for vadadustat drug substance produced by WuXi STA over a certain number of quarters. The parties have agreed to a volume-based pricing structure under the WuXi STA DS Agreement. The WuXi STA DS Agreement has an initial term of four years, beginning April 2, 2020 and ending April 2, 2024. Pursuant to the WuXi STA DS Agreement, we have agreed to purchase a certain percentage of the global demand for vadadustat drug substance from WuXi STA. As of December 31, 2021, we have committed to purchase $29.2 million of vadadustat drug substance from WuXi STA through the third quarter of 2022. On February 10, 2021, we entered into a Supply Agreement with WuXi STA, or the WuXi STA DP Agreement. The WuXi STA DP Agreement includes the terms and conditions under which WuXi STA will manufacture and supply vadadustat drug product for commercial purposes. Pursuant to the WuXi STA DP Agreement, we will provide rolling forecasts to WuXi STA on a quarterly basis, or the WuXi STA DP Forecast. Each WuXi STA DP Forecast will reflect the quantities of vadadustat drug product that we expect to order from WuXi STA over a certain number of months, represented as a quantity of vadadustat drug product per calendar quarter. Pursuant to the WuXi STA DP Agreement, we have agreed to purchase a certain percentage of global demand for vadadustat drug product from WuXi STA. The parties have agreed to a volume-based pricing structure under the WuXi STA DP Agreement. The vadadustat drug product price will remain fixed for the first 12 months and thereafter shall be annually reviewed by us and WuXi STA. We will also reimburse WuXi STA for certain reasonable expenses. The WuXi STA DP Agreement has an initial term of four years, beginning February 10, 2021 and ending February 10, 2025. The WuXi STA DP Agreement may be renewed or extended by mutual agreement of us and WuXi STA with at least 18 months’ prior written notice. The WuXi STA DP Agreement allows us to terminate the relationship on 180 calendar days’ prior written notice to WuXi STA for any reason. In addition, each party has the ability to terminate the WuXi STA DP Agreement upon the occurrence of certain conditions. Other Third Party Contracts Under our agreement with IQVIA to provide contract research organization services for the PRO 2 TECT and INNO 2 VATE programs, the total remaining contract costs as of December 31, 2021 were approximately $5.0 million, of which Otsuka reimburses a significant portion back to us. Substantive performance for the committed work with IQVIA was completed in 2020 and close out activities were performed throughout 2021 and will continue to be performed throughout 2022. We also contract with various other organizations to conduct research and development activities with remaining contract costs to us of approximately $237.8 million as of December 31, 2021. The scope of the services under these research and development contracts can be modified and the contracts cancelled by us upon written notice, and therefore not included in the table of contractual obligations and commitments. In some instances, the contracts may be cancelled by the third party upon written notice. Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to revenue, inventory, our excess purchase commitment liability, liabilities related to sale of future royalties, impairment of intangible assets, and income 119 taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. In making estimates and judgments, management employs critical accounting policies. While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe the following accounting policies to be most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Product Revenue, Net We sell Auryxia in the United States, primarily to wholesale distributors as well as certain specialty pharmacy providers, collectively, Customers. These Customers resell our product to health care providers and patients. In addition to distribution agreements with Customers, we enter into arrangements with health care providers and payors that provide for government-mandated and/or privately-negotiated rebates, chargebacks, and discounts with respect to the purchase of our product. We recognize revenue on product sales when the Customer obtains control of our product, which occurs at a point in time, typically upon delivery to the Customer. We expense incremental costs of obtaining a contract as and when incurred if the expected amortization period of the asset that we would have recognized is one year or less. Revenue from product sales is recorded at the net sales price (transaction price), which includes estimates of variable consideration for which reserves are established and are based on various incentives that are offered within contracts between us and our Customers, health care providers, payors and other indirect customers relating to sales of our products. These reserves are based on the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales. These reserves include: • Trade Discounts and Allowances: Discounts that include incentive fees that are explicitly stated in our contracts. In addition, we compensate (through trade discounts and allowances) our Customers for sales order management, data, and distribution services. • Product Returns: Consistent with industry practice, we generally offer Customers a limited right of return which allows for the product to be returned when the product expiry is within an allowable window, when the quantity delivered is different than quantity ordered, the product is damaged in transit prior to receipt by the customer, or is subject to a recall. This right of return generally lapses once the product is provided to a patient. We estimate the amount of our product sales that may be returned for credit by our Customers. We currently estimate product return reserve using available industry data and our own historical sales information, including our visibility into the inventory remaining in the distribution channel. • Provider Chargebacks and Discounts: Chargebacks for fees and discounts to providers represent the estimated obligations resulting from contractual commitments to sell products to qualified healthcare providers at prices lower than the list prices charged to Customers who directly purchase the product from us. Customers charge us for the difference between what they pay for the product and the ultimate selling price to the qualified healthcare providers. Reserves for chargebacks consist of credits that we expect to issue for units that remain in the distribution channel at each reporting period end that we expect will be sold to qualified healthcare providers, and chargebacks that Customers have claimed but for which we have not yet issued a credit. • Commercial and Medicare Part D Rebates: We contract with various commercial payor organizations, primarily health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers, for the payment of rebates with respect to utilization of our products. We estimate the rebates for commercial and Medicare Part D payors based upon (i) our contracts with the payors and (ii) information obtained from our Customers and other third parties regarding the payor mix for Auryxia. • Other Government Rebates: We are subject to discount obligations under state Medicaid programs and other government programs. We estimate Medicaid and other government programs rebates based upon a range of possible outcomes that are probability-weighted for the estimated payor mix. For Medicare, we also estimate the number of patients in the prescription drug coverage gap for whom we will owe an additional liability under the Medicare Part D program. Our liability for these rebates consists of invoices received for claims from prior quarters that have not been paid or for which an invoice has not yet been received, estimates of claims for the current quarter, and estimated future claims that will be made for product that has been recognized as revenue, but which remains in the distribution channel at the end of each reporting period. • Other Incentives: Other incentives that we offer include voluntary patient assistance programs such as our co-pay assistance program, which are intended to provide financial assistance to qualified commercially insured patients with prescription drug co-payments required by payors. The calculation of the accrual for co-pay assistance is based on actual claims processed during a given period, as well as historical utilization data to estimate the amount we expect to receive associated with product that has been recognized as revenue, but remains in in the distribution channel at the end of each reporting period. When appropriate, these estimates take into consideration a range of possible outcomes which are probability-weighted in accordance with the expected value method in ASC 606 for relevant factors such as our historical experience, current contractual and statutory requirements, specific known market events and trends, industry data, and forecasted customer buying 120 and payment patterns. Overall, these reserves reflect our best estimates of the amount of consideration to which we are entitled based on the terms of the respective underlying contracts. The preceding estimates and judgments materially affect our recognition of net product revenues. Changes in our estimates of net product revenues could have a material effect on net product revenues recorded in the period in which we determine that change occurs. Collaboration Revenues We enter into out-license and collaboration agreements which are within the scope of ASC 606, under which we license certain rights to our product candidates to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment to us of one or more of the following: non-refundable, up-front license fees; development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments; payments for manufacturing supply services we provide through our contract manufacturers; and royalties on net sales of licensed products. Each of these payments may result in license, collaboration and other revenue, except for revenues from royalties on net sales of licensed products, which are classified as royalty revenues. For elements of our collaboration agreements that are accounted for pursuant to ASC 606, we must develop assumptions that require judgment to determine whether the individual promises should be accounted for as separate performance obligations or as a combined performance obligation, and to determine the stand-alone selling price for each performance obligation identified in the contract. We use key assumptions to determine the stand-alone selling price, which may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement rates for personnel costs, discount rates, and probabilities of technical and regulatory success. If the license to our intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in an out-license and collaboration arrangement, we recognize revenue from non-refundable, up-front fees allocated to the license when the license is transferred to the customer and the customer is able to use and benefit from the license. For licenses that are bundled with other promises, we utilize judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue from non-refundable, up-front fees. With regard to the Otsuka collaboration agreements, we recognize revenue related to amounts allocated to the identified performance obligation on a proportional performance basis as the underlying services are performed. The preceding estimates and judgments materially affect our recognition of collaboration revenues. Changes in our estimates of forecasted development costs could impact proportional performance percentages and could have a material effect on collaboration revenue recorded in the period in which we determine that change occurs. Inventory We value our inventories at the lower-of-cost or net realizable value. We determine the cost of our inventories, which includes amounts related to materials and manufacturing overhead, on a first-in, first-out basis. We classify inventory costs as long-term, in other assets in our consolidated balance sheets, when we expect to utilize the inventory beyond our normal operating cycle. We perform an assessment of the recoverability of capitalized inventory during each reporting period, and write down any excess and obsolete inventory to our net realizable value in the period in which the impairment is first identified. Such impairment charges, should they occur, are recorded as a component of cost of product sales in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The determination of whether inventory costs will be realizable requires the use of estimates by management. If actual market conditions are less favorable than projected by management, additional write-downs of inventory may be required. Additionally, our product is subject to strict quality control and monitoring that we perform throughout the manufacturing process. In the event that certain batches or units of product do not meet quality specifications, we will record a charge to cost of product sales, to write-down any unmarketable inventory to its estimated net realizable value. In all cases, product inventory is carried at the lower of cost or its estimated net realizable value. Excess Purchase Commitment Liability We identified executory contracts in the commercial supply agreements between Keryx and its contract manufacturers for Auryxia, which include future firm purchase commitments. These executory contracts were deemed to have an off-market element related to the amount of purchase commitments that exceed the current forecast and as such, we recorded a liability in purchase accounting. We re-evaluate the excess purchase commitments each reporting period to assess whether any adjustments to the excess purchase commitment liability are necessary. This evaluation includes reviewing the contractual minimums, expiration and utilization assumptions, and sales forecasts. Inventory receipts that have been previously identified as excess are recorded as a reduction to the excess purchase commitment liability. Liability Related to Sale of Future Royalties We treat the liability related to sale of future royalties as a debt financing, amortized under the effective interest rate method over the estimated life of the related expected royalty stream. The liability related to sale of future royalties and the debt amortization are based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. We will 121 periodically assess the expected royalty payments. To the extent our estimates of future royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the estimated timing of such payments is materially different than previous estimates, we will adjust the effective interest rate and recognize related non-cash interest expense on a prospective basis. Changes in our estimates of future royalty payments could have a material effect on the liability related to sale of future royalties balance recorded in the period in which we determine that change occurs. Intangible Assets We maintain a definite-lived intangible asset related to developed product rights for Auryxia, which was acquired on December 12, 2018 as part of the Merger. Intangible assets are initially recorded at fair value and stated net of accumulated amortization and impairments. We amortize our intangible assets that have finite lives using either the straight-line method, or if reliably determinable, based on the pattern in which the economic benefit of the asset is expected to be utilized. Amortization for our intangible asset is recorded over its remaining estimated useful life, which as of December 31, 2021 is estimated to be six years. We review intangible assets subject to amortization to determine if any adverse conditions exist or a change in circumstances has occurred that would indicate impairment or a change in the remaining useful life. If an impairment indicator exists, we perform a recoverability test by comparing the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows of the intangible asset group to its carrying value on the consolidated balance sheet. If the carrying value of the intangible asset group exceeds the undiscounted cash flows used in the recoverability test, we will write the carrying value of the intangible asset group down to the fair value in the period identified. We calculate the fair value of the intangible asset group as the present value of estimated future cash flows expected to be generated from the intangible asset group using a risk-adjusted discount rate. In determining estimated future cash flows associated with the intangible asset group, we use market participant assumptions pursuant to ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (ASC 820). During the second quarter of 2020, we identified indicators of impairment related to the developed product rights for Auryxia and recorded an impairment charge of $115.5 million (see Note 9 contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information). Income Taxes Income taxes are recorded in accordance with FASB Topic 740, Income Taxes, or ASC 740, which provides for deferred taxes using an asset and liability approach. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are provided, if, based upon the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. All deferred taxes as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 are classified as noncurrent within the income tax provision (see Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data). Recent Accounting Pronouncements For additional discussion of recent accounting pronouncements, please refer to New Accounting Pronouncements – Recently Adopted and New Accounting Pronouncements – Not Yet Adopted included within Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.