On Jul. 14, 2020, Akebia Therapeutics announced the initiation of an investigator-sponsored study evaluating the use of vadadustat, Akebia’s investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI), as a potential therapy to prevent and lessen the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a complication of COVID-19 infection.