Philip J. Vickers, Ph.D. was elected to Akebia Therapeutics' Board of Directors as a Class I director in April 2026. Since September 2023 he has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Solu Therapeutics, Inc., a venture-capital-backed biotechnology company. He was Chief Executive Officer and a director of Faze Medicines from January 2021 to November 2022 and President and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Biologics Inc. from November 2017 to December 2020. From June 2013 to June 2017 he was Global Head of Research and Development and an Executive Committee member at Shire plc, and he earlier held research and development roles at Merck & Co., Pfizer, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals.