Takeda and Affymax Announce Supply Agreement for OMONTYS® (peginesatide) Injection with Fresenius Medical Care North America

<0> Affymax, Inc.Sylvia Wheeler, 650-812-8861Vice President, Corporate CommunicationsorTakeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Jocelyn M. Gerst, 224-554-5542Corporate Communications </0>

Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. (TPUSA) and Affymax, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFY) today announced that Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. (TPA) has entered into a supply agreement for sourcing and supply of OMONTYS(peginesatide) Injection to Fresenius Medical Care North America and certain of its affiliates. OMONTYS is the only once-monthly erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) for anemia available to the dialysis patient population with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the United States.

The agreement, which ends in April 2013, allows Fresenius Medical Care North America to purchase OMONTYS for use in U.S. centers within its organization and provides for discounts and rebates on the product, subject to certain requirements. Fresenius Medical Care North America has stated that its initial plans are to adopt the product into more than 100 dialysis centers in the U.S. over the next few weeks, and then, based on its experience, evaluate the potential to expand to additional centers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are excited to partner with Fresenius Medical Care North America, one of the world’s leading dialysis providers, to offer a new therapeutic option for the treatment of anemia in its chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis,” said Nicole Mowad-Nassar, vice president, marketing at Takeda.

“As a biotechnology company dedicated to advancing new therapies for renal diseases, Affymax shares Fresenius Medical Care North America’s commitment to innovation,” stated John Orwin, chief executive officer of Affymax. “We are very pleased to support Fresenius Medical Care in these efforts to integrate OMONTYS into its organization and to collaborate with them moving forward.”

OMONTYS was approved by the FDA on March 27, 2012, for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adult patients on dialysis. OMONTYS is not indicated, and is not recommended, for use in patients with CKD not on dialysis, in patients receiving treatment for cancer and whose anemia is not due to CKD, or as a substitute for red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in patients who require immediate correction of anemia. OMONTYS has not been shown to improve symptoms, physical functioning, or health-related quality of life. Please see Important Safety Information including below.

OMONTYS (peginesatide) Injection is a synthetic, pegylated, peptide-based ESA. It is the only ESA that is peptide-based and its building blocks (amino acids) are arranged in a different order than erythropoietin (i.e., it has no sequence homology to endogenous erythropoietin).

On March 27, 2012, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved OMONTYS for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adult patients on dialysis. OMONTYS is the only once-monthly erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) for anemia available to this patient population in the United States.

Anemia is a complication of CKD and is associated with cardiovascular illness and mortality. As of 2009, the United States Renal Data System noted there were nearly 400,000 people in the United States who were on dialysis.

Fresenius Medical Care is the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis because of chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 2.1 million individuals worldwide. Through its network of 3,119 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to 253,041 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care is also the world's leading provider of dialysis products such as hemodialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposable products.

For more information about Fresenius Medical Care, visit the company’s website at .

OMONTYS is contraindicated in patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

The safety and efficacy of OMONTYS have not been established for use in patients with anemia due to cancer chemotherapy. OMONTYS is not indicated in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy.

OMONTYS is contraindicated in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. Appropriately control hypertension prior to initiation of and during treatment with OMONTYS. Reduce or withhold OMONTYS if blood pressure becomes difficult to control. Advise patients of the importance of compliance with antihypertensive therapy and dietary restrictions.

For lack or loss of hemoglobin response to OMONTYS, initiate a search for causative factors. If typical causes of lack or loss of hemoglobin response are excluded, evaluate for antibodies to peginesatide.

Patients receiving OMONTYS may require increased anticoagulation with heparin to prevent clotting of the extracorporeal circuit during hemodialysis.

Evaluate transferrin saturation and serum ferritin prior to and during OMONTYS treatment. Administer supplemental iron therapy when serum ferritin is less than 100 mcg/L or when serum transferrin saturation is less than 20%.

The most common adverse reactions in clinical studies in patients with CKD on dialysis treated with OMONTYS were dyspnea, diarrhea, nausea, cough, and arteriovenous fistula site complication.

Affymax, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Palo Alto, California. Affymax’s mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative therapies that improve the lives of patients with kidney disease and other serious and often life-threatening illnesses. The company’s first marketed product, OMONTYS, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2012. For additional information on Affymax, please visit .

Based in Deerfield, Ill., Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. and Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc. are subsidiaries of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. The respective companies currently market oral diabetes, insomnia, rheumatology, gastroenterology and cardiovascular disease treatments and seek to bring innovative products to patients through a pipeline that includes compounds in development for diabetes, gastroenterology, neurology and other conditions. To learn more about these Takeda companies, visit .

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: