NEW YORK, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keryx
Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX) today announced that
several posters on Zerenex™ (ferric citrate), the Company's
iron-based phosphate binder for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia
(elevated phosphate levels) in patients with end-stage renal
disease who are on dialysis, have been accepted for presentation at
the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) 2010 Spring Clinical Meeting
taking place April 13-17, 2010, in
Orlando, Florida.
The following posters will be presented tomorrow, April 14, 2010, from 6:00pm-7:30pm:
- LONG-TERM USE OF FERRIC CITRATE IN ESRD PATIENTS
- THE SAFETY AND TOLERABILITY OF HIGHER DOSES OF FERRIC CITRATE
(FC) IN CONTROLLING SERUM PHOSPHORUS (P) IN ESRD PATIENTS
- IRON ABSORPTION WITH HIGHER DOSES OF FERRIC CITRATE IN
CONTROLLING SERUM PHOSPHORUS IN ESRD PATIENTS
The Company's Phase 3 clinical program of Zerenex as a treatment
for hyperphosphatemia in patients with end-stage renal disease who
are on dialysis is pending commencement under a Special Protocol
Assessment (SPA) agreement with the FDA.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals retains a worldwide exclusive license
(except for the Asian Pacific Region) to Zerenex (ferric citrate)
from Panion & BF Biotech, Inc. The Company has
sublicensed the development of ferric citrate in Japan to Japan Tobacco Inc. and Torii
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
About Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals is focused on the acquisition,
development and commercialization of medically important
pharmaceutical products for the treatment of life-threatening
diseases, including cancer and renal disease. Keryx is developing
KRX-0401 (perifosine), a novel, potentially first-in-class, oral
anti-cancer agent that inhibits Akt activation in the
phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, and also affects a number
of other key signal transduction pathways, including the JNK
pathway, all of which are pathways associated with programmed cell
death, cell growth, cell differentiation and cell survival.
KRX-0401 has demonstrated both safety and clinical efficacy in
several tumor types, both as a single agent and in combination with
novel therapies. KRX-0401 is currently in Phase 3 clinical
development for both refractory advanced colorectal cancer and
multiple myeloma, and in Phase 2 clinical development for several
other tumor types. Each of the KRX-0401 Phase 3 programs are
being conducted under Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreements
with the FDA. Keryx is also developing Zerenex(TM) (ferric
citrate), an oral, iron-based compound that has the capacity to
bind to phosphate and form non-absorbable complexes. The Phase 3
clinical program of Zerenex in the treatment for hyperphosphatemia
(elevated phosphate levels) in patients with end-stage renal
disease is pending commencement under an SPA agreement with the
FDA. Keryx is headquartered in New York
City.
Cautionary Statement
Some of the statements included in this press release,
particularly those anticipating future clinical and business
prospects for Zerenex (ferric citrate), may be forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For
those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for
forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among the factors that could cause
our actual results to differ materially are the following: our
ability to successfully and cost-effectively complete clinical
trials for Zerenex; the risk that the data (both safety and
efficacy) from the Phase 3 program will not coincide with the data
analyses from the Phase 2 clinical trials previously reported by
the Company, including the effects on IV iron and erythropoietin
use observed in the long-term safety extension trial; and other
risk factors identified from time to time in our reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking
statements set forth in this press release speak only as of the
date of this press release. We do not intend to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that
occur after the date hereof. This press release and prior releases
are available at http://www.keryx.com. The information in our
website is not incorporated by reference into this press release
and is included as an inactive textual reference only.
CONTACT: Lauren Fischer, Director, Investor Relations,
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-212-531-5962,
lfischer@keryx.com
SOURCE Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.