Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Phase 2a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose Range Study to Assess the Pharmacodynamic Response, Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability of 42-Day Repeat Oral Doses of AKB-6548 in Subjects With Anemia Secondary to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), Stages 3 and 4
Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the dose response (efficacy), pharmacodynamic response, pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of orally administered AKB-6548 in pre-dialysis participants with anemia with repeat dosing for 42 days.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Ability to understand and give informed consent for participation. 2. Hemoglobin values during the screening period must be 8-11 g/dL (both inclusive).

3.

1. Patients will be considered not treated with erythropoietin analogue (Epoetin and Darbepoeitin) if they have not received erythropoietin analogue for at least 4 weeks and Mircera® for at least 8 weeks prior to screening visit. OR
2. Patients who are on ESA therapy must be on stable dose for 4 weeks prior to enrollment (≤30% of dose change).

   4. Patients on hemodialysis (≥2 times in a week) for at least 12 weeks prior to screening visit and have access consisting of an arteriovenous fistula, AV graft, or catheter (permanent/temporary).

   5. Patients with no planned change in dialysis modality and with no planned renal transplant during study period.

   6. Left ventricular ejection fraction ≥40% by echocardiogram prior to randomization.

   7. No iron, folate or Vitamin B12 deficiency.

   8. Females of childbearing potential, must agree to use one of the approved contraception methods, from screening until completion of the follow-up visit.

   Exclusion Criteria:
   1. Red blood cell transfusion within 8 weeks prior to participating in the study.
   2. History of previous or concurrent cancer.
   3. Serologic status reflecting active hepatitis B or C infection or Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
   4. Active infection at initiation of study.
   5. History of renal transplant.
   6. Uncontrolled hypertension (defined as SBP \>180 mmHg or DBP \>100 mmHg) at screening visit (before dialysis).
   7. Patient on high rhEPO dose at screening visit. \[High dose defined as an epoetin dose of ≥450 IU/kg/week intravenous or ≥ 300 IU/kg/week subcutaneous or darbepoetin dose of ≥1.5 µg/kg/week subcutaneous\].
   8. Major surgery within 90 days of the first day of study drug dosing, and minor surgery within 30 days of the first day of study drug dosing.
   9. Unable to swallow tablets or disease significantly affecting gastrointestinal function and/or inhibiting small intestine absorption such as; malabsorption syndrome, resection of the small bowel or poorly controlled inflammatory bowel disease affecting the small intestine.
   10. History of uncontrolled autoimmune hemolytic anemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) or thalassemia.
   11. Presence or a history of bleeding disorders or clinical conditions (e.g. gastrointestinal \[GI\] bleeding or constitutional disorders) that may increase risk of life-threatening bleeding.
   12. History of stroke or intracranial hemorrhage within 6 months prior to enrollment.
   13. History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to Desidustat or Epoetin alfa or to any erythropoieisis-stimulating agent.
   14. Pregnant and breastfeeding women.
   15. Current life-threatening illness, medical condition or organ system dysfunction which, in the Investigator's opinion, could compromise the patient's safety.
   16. Other laboratory abnormalities that, in the opinion of the investigator, would compromise the patient's safety or interfere with data interpretation.
   17. Presence of other clinically significant systemic disorders or diseases (e.g., respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, immunological, dermatological, neurological, psychiatric disease or any other body system involvement) which, in the Investigator's opinion, could compromise the patient's safety.
   18. History of significant alcoholism or drug abuse within the past 1 year. History or presence of significant smoking (more than 10 cigarettes per day) or consumption of tobacco/nicotine products (more than 10 times per day).
   19. History of difficulty with donating blood.
   20. History or presence of any clinically significant electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities during screening.
   21. Participants who have participated in any drug research study other than the present trial within past 3 months.
   22. Participants who have donated one unit (350 ml) of blood in the past 3 months or history of whole blood transfusion in last 120 days prior to entry in the study.
   23. Existing clinically active chronic inflammatory disease (RA, Celiac disease, UC, Crohns disease)
   24. In case of DM patients, HbA1c \>9%.
   25. Female volunteers with following criteria will not be recruited:

       * History of pregnancy or lactation in the past 3 months
       * Fertile female volunteers not protected against pregnancy by adequate long- term anti-fertility measures
       * History of less than 1 year of menopause and not using adequate long-term anti-fertility measures
       * Positive urine pregnancy test at Visit 2
       * Positive serum β-hCG level at the screening visit
   26. Currently active clinically significant cardiovascular disease such as uncontrolled arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, any class 3 or 4 cardiac disease as defined by the New York Heart Association Functional Classification or history of myocardial infarction prior to first dose with study drug.
B: Key Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 to 79 years of age, inclusive
* Chronic Kidney Disease (eGFR \<60 mL/min), not yet on dialysis
* Hemoglobin (Hgb) ≤ 10.5 g/dL
* Transferring saturation ≥ 20%
* Ferritin ≥ 50 ng/mL

Key Exclusion Criteria:

* Body mass index \>42
* Red blood cell transfusion within 12 weeks
* Androgen therapy within the previous 21 days prior to study dosing
* Therapy with any approved or experimental erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) within the 11 weeks prior to the Screening visit
* Participants meeting the criteria of ESA resistance within the previous 4 months
* Individual doses of intravenous iron of greater than 250 mg within the past 21 days
* Aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase \>1.8x upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Alkaline phosphatase \>2x ULN
* Total bilirubin \>1.5x ULN
* Uncontrolled hypertension
* New York Heart Association Class III or IV congestive heart failure
* Myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, or stroke within 6 months prior to dosing
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Participant must be at least 18 years of age inclusive, at the time of signing the informed consent.
* Participants who are Stage 3, 4 or 5 CKD defined by estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) using the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formula.
* Hemoglobin as measured by HemoCue at screening visit and Day 1 is \<=11.0 grams/deciliter (g/dL) \[\<=110 gram/Litre (g/L)\].
* Palpable brachial artery as assessed at screening.
* Participants, if necessary may be on stable maintenance oral iron supplementation (\<50% change in overall dose and compliance of 80% of prescribed doses in the 4 weeks prior to and including the screening period). If participants have been on intravenous (IV) iron, then participants will not have received IV iron for 4 weeks prior to the Day 1 visit.
* Male or female participants will be included.
* A female participant is eligible to participate if she is not pregnant, not breastfeeding, and at least one of the following conditions applies: Not a woman of childbearing potential (WOCBP) or a WOCBP who has been on an approved form of contraceptive for the 4 weeks prior to Day 1 and agrees to follow the contraceptive guidance until the Follow-up visit.
* Capable of giving signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* On dialysis or clinical evidence of impending need to initiate dialysis within 12 weeks of Day 1.
* Planned kidney transplant within 12 weeks of Day 1.
* Presence of an arteriovenous (AV) fistula.
* Recombinant human erythropoietin use within the 12 weeks prior to the screening visit and through Day 1.
* History of severe allergic or anaphylactic reactions or hypersensitivity to the study treatment or challenge agents, or excipients in the study treatments or challenge agents.
* Planned use of any prescription or non-prescription drugs or dietary supplements that are prohibited from screening until all assessments on Day 42 have been successfully completed.
* The participant has participated in a clinical trial and has received an experimental investigational product within the prior 30 days or within 5 half-lives of the investigational product (whichever is longer) prior to screening and through Day 1.
* At or below the lower limit of the reference range at screening for Vitamin B12 (may rescreen in a minimum of 8 weeks).
* Ferritin \<=50 nanograms/milliliter \[\<=50 microgram/liter (µg/L)\] at screening.
* Transferrin saturation (TSAT) \<=15% (0.15) at screening.
* Folate \<2.0 nanogram/milliliter (4.5 nanomoles/liter; may rescreen in a minimum of 8 weeks) at screening.
* High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) \>=50 micrograms/milliliter (\>=50 mg/L) at screening.
* Myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndrome \<=12 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1.
* Hospitalization for greater than 24 hours \<=12 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1.
* Stroke or transient ischemic attack \<=12 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1.
* Class 4 heart failure, as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification system.
* Resting SBP \>180 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or DBP \>110 mmHg at screening visit or current uncontrolled hypertension as determined by the investigator.
* QT interval corrected for heart rate using Bazett's formula (QTcB) \>500 milliseconds (msec), or QTcB \>530 msec in participants with bundle branch block. There is no corrected QT (QTc) exclusion for participants with a predominantly ventricular paced rhythm.
* Active chronic inflammatory disease that could impact erythropoiesis.
* History of bone marrow aplasia or pure red cell aplasia.
* Conditions, other than anemia of CKD, which can affect erythropoiesis.
* Evidence of actively bleeding gastric, duodenal, or esophageal ulcer disease or clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding from \<=8 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1.
* ALT \>2 times upper limit of normal (ULN; screening only).
* Bilirubin \>1.5 times ULN (screening only); Isolated bilirubin \>1.5 times ULN is acceptable if bilirubin is fractionated and direct bilirubin \<35%
* Current or chronic history of liver disease, or known hepatic or biliary abnormalities (with the exception of Gilbert's syndrome or asymptomatic gallstones).
* Major surgery within the 12 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1, or planned during the study.
* Anticipated or planned vascular access surgery (i.e., arteriovenous \[AV\] fistula) within the 12 weeks prior to screening and through the Day 42 assessments.
* Received a tissue heart valve replacement or repair within the 6 months prior to screening or has received a mechanical heart valve replacement.
* Blood transfusion within 6 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1, or an anticipated need for blood transfusion during the study.
* Clinical evidence of an acute infection, or history of infection requiring IV antibiotic therapy from 8 weeks prior to screening and through Day 1. Prophylactic oral antibiotics are allowed.
* History of malignancy within the two years prior to screening and through Day 1 or currently receiving treatment for cancer, with the exception of localized squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma of the skin definitively treated 12 weeks prior to Day 1.
* Platelet count \<50,000/µL (\<50 Giga cells per liter).
* History of a bleeding disorder (e.g., hemophilia).
* Any other condition, clinical or laboratory abnormality, or examination finding that the investigator considers would put the participant at unacceptable risk, which may affect study compliance or prevent understanding of the aims or investigational procedures or possible consequences of the study.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Subjects who have ESRD and have been receiving maintenance hemodialysis for at least 12 weeks prior to the Screening Visit
* Body weight (post-dialysis weight) greater than 45.0 kg and a body mass index between 20.0 and 40.0 kg/m2 (inclusive) at the Screening Visit
* Hemoglobin value as defined in the protocol
* Meet the erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) therapy criteria at the Screening Visit as defined in the protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

* Transferrin saturation and ferritin levels at the Screening Visit as defined in the protocol
* Anemia due to known causes other than chronic kidney disease
* Known history of hyporesponsiveness to ESAs
* Acute coronary syndrome (e.g., myocardial infarction) within 1 year prior to Screening visit

Answer: B