Better Health for All

Ardelyx, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapeutics for GI and cardio-renal diseases, indicating that its entire product portfolio is dedicated to health improvement.

Its lead product, IBSRELA, demonstrated significant health benefits in clinical trials, with 27-37% of patients achieving responder status (abdominal pain reduction and increased stool frequency) compared to 19-24% for placebo. The company offers a copay assistance program for commercially insured patients, allowing them to pay as little as $0 per 30-day prescription fill, and also has programs for uninsured/underinsured patients. However, this copay assistance is not available to government beneficiaries. The product has common adverse reactions, with diarrhea affecting 15-16% of IBSRELA-treated patients (compared to 2-4% for placebo) and severe diarrhea reported in 2.5% of patients. The drug is contraindicated in children under 6 years due to the risk of serious dehydration and should be avoided in children 6-12 years. The company provides clear information on potential side effects and contraindications. Clinical trials for IBSRELA involved 1199 patients aged 18-75 across 214 sites in the United States, with subgroup analyses for sex, race, and age, showing similar effectiveness across these groups, though with some exceptions in Asian and older patients in specific trials.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Ardelyx, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutics, not a financial institution.

Therefore, most KPIs related to lending, fees, debt, and financial literacy are not applicable to its core business model. The company does not offer consumer credit products, APRs, or fee structures to evaluate. It does not generate or manage customer finance data, nor is it regulated as a lender. Its patient assistance programs, such as ArdelyxAssist, aim to provide access and affordability support for its medical products, not financial services. The company's compliance programs adhere to pharmaceutical industry standards like the HHS OIG Guidance and PhRMA Code, which are not related to fair lending practices. Corporate giving to scientists, researchers, and patient-based organizations is noted, but this does not constitute profit reinvestment in community finance or profit-sharing with underserved communities as defined by the rubric.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Ardelyx, Inc. reported a CEO-to-median employee pay ratio of 40:1 for the fiscal year ending in 2024.

The CEO's total compensation was $9,606,165, while the median employee pay was $239,432. This ratio is lower than the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 285-to-1 for S&P 500 companies in 2024.

Honest & Fair Business

Ardelyx is currently facing a securities class action lawsuit alleging that the company issued false or misleading statements between October 31, 2023, and July 1, 2024, which artificially inflated its stock price.

Regarding its whistleblower policy, Ardelyx maintains an open-door environment and provides multiple channels for reporting suspected misconduct, including a hotline, a secure web form, email, and direct contact with the Chief Compliance Officer. However, there is no evidence provided regarding the independence of investigation processes, training frequency, or the measured effectiveness of this program.

Kind to Animals

Ardelyx, Inc. is listed on the Cruelty Free Investing use of animals list because it exploits animals for product testing.

The company uses between 50,000 and 100,000 animals annually for testing, with no transparent reduction targets mentioned in the provided information.

Planet-Friendly Business

Ardelyx, Inc. reported no regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues in its ESG report summaries for fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Safe & Smart Tech

Ardelyx has no documented incidents of unauthorized data use.

The company states it complies with numerous privacy regulations, including HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and CPRA, and its privacy policy addresses U.S. state data privacy laws, California's "Shine the Light" law, and Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A. However, the company acknowledges that data security incidents can occur and that there is no perfect security. Users have rights to access, correct, delete, and limit the use of their personal information, and can opt-out of data 'sale' and targeted advertising, including using Global Privacy Control signals. Ardelyx retains personal information for the length of time necessary to satisfy stated purposes, considering factors like sensitivity and legal requirements, but specific retention periods are not provided, and the policy mentions collecting data for the 12 months prior to the policy date.