Safety and Efficacy of a Phased Transition From Epogen to Three Times Weekly Oral Vadadustat for the Treatment of Anemia in Subjects Receiving In-Center Hemodialysis (VOTE)

April 27, 2026 updated by: Geoff Block
The goal of this study is to assess if patients can be retained on long-term vadadustat therapy (and thus potentially benefit from the favorable safety profile) by incorporating a phased transition from Epogen to three times per week vadadustat (TIW-V), reducing the likelihood of GI intolerance through use of a lower vadadustat starting dose, and also reducing or eliminating the initial reduction in hemoglobin through the maintenance of low dose Epogen until target hemoglobin stability is achieved on a tolerable dose of TIW-V.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This is a multi-center, single-arm, open-label study assessing the safety of a phased transition from Epogen to three times per week vadadustat (TIW-V) for the treatment of anemia in subjects receiving in-center hemodialysis.

Subjects who have signed an IRB-approved informed consent form and who meet all of the inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria will simultaneously have their Epogen dose reduced by 50% and initiate 300 mg vadadustat TIW.

Subsequent dose modifications will occur in order to target a narrow hemoglobin range (10-11 g/dL). Patients will have their hemoglobin assessed every 2 weeks and will continue in the trial for up to 28 weeks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patients ≥18 years of age
  • Receiving outpatient in-center hemodialysis for ESKD at least TIW (prescribed)
  • Currently receiving EPO (active administration, not on HOLD)
  • Less than or equal to 0.75 g/d difference between last 2 Hgb values prior to Screening, with neither Hgb <9 g/dL
  • Average of last 2 Hgb between 9-11.4 g/dL (inclusive) prior to Screening
  • Central Screening Hgb 9-11.4 g/dL (inclusive)
  • Central Screening transferrin saturation greater than or equal to 20%
  • Central Screening serum ferritin greater than or equal to 100 ng/mL
  • Understands the procedures and requirements of the study and provides written informed consent and authorization for protected health information disclosure

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Contraindication to receive vadadustat per United States Prescribing Information (USPI) including Screening liver function tests greater than 3x the upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR)-documented history of cirrhosis or active, acute liver disease
  • EMR-documented history of currently active malignancy excluding non-melanomatous skin cancer and in-situ cervical cancer
  • Concomitant use of HIF-PHI or OAT1/OAT3 inhibitors (probenecid, rifampicin, gemfibrozil, or teriflunomide)
  • Unable to comply with study requirements or in the opinion of a healthcare provider or member of the central study team, not clinically stable to participate in the study
  • Documented unplanned absence from dialysis greater than or equal to 3 times in 30 days prior to Screening (excluding rescheduled dialysis treatments)
  • Pregnant at time of consent (per subject self-report)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Phased transition from Epogen to three times weekly (TIW) oral vadadustat
Drug: Epoetin alga (Epogen)/vadadustat
Phased transition from Epogen to three times weekly (TIW) oral vadadustat

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Proportion of patients starting three times per week vadadustat (TIW-V) who remain on TIW-V at week 20
Time Frame: 20 weeks
20 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Proportion of patients starting three times per week vadadustat (TIW-V) who do not demonstrate a drop in Hgb >0.75 g/dL at any point from baseline to week 20
Time Frame: 20 weeks
20 weeks
Proportion of patients starting three times per week vadadustat (TIW-V) who achieve a mean Hgb in a range of 9-11.5 g/dL during weeks 20-24
Time Frame: weeks 20-24
weeks 20-24

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Geoff Block

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Akebia Therapeutics Inc.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 27, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • USRC-2026-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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