Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Announces Michael P. Tarnok as Interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

NEW YORK, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX - News) today announced the appointment of Michael P. Tarnok to be its interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Michael S. Weiss, effective immediately.

Mr. Tarnok, age 54, has served on Keryx's Board of Directors since September 2007. Mr. Tarnok spent the majority of his career at Pfizer Inc., which he joined in 1989 as Finance Director -- US Manufacturing. From 2000-2007, Mr. Tarnok served as Senior Vice President, Finance in Pfizer's US Pharmaceuticals Division. In this position, Mr. Tarnok handled all finance responsibilities for the division, including contracting, trade management, forecasting of significant product launches and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Prior to joining Pfizer, Mr. Tarnok worked primarily in financial disciplines for ITT Rayonier, Inc., Celanese Corporation and Olivetti Corporation of America.

ABOUT KERYX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals is focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of medically important, novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases, including renal disease and cancer. Keryx is developing Zerenex(TM) (ferric citrate), an oral, iron-based compound that has the capacity to bind to phosphate and form non-absorbable complexes. Zerenex is currently in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia (elevated phosphate levels) in patients with end-stage renal disease, or ESRD. The Company is also developing KRX-0401 (perifosine), a novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that modulates Akt, a protein in the body associated with tumor survival and growth. KRX-0401 also modulates a number of other key signal transduction pathways, including the JNK and MAPK pathways, which are pathways associated with programmed cell death, cell growth, cell differentiation and cell survival. KRX-0401 is currently in Phase 2 clinical development for multiple tumor types. The Company also has an in-licensing and acquisition program designed to identify and acquire additional drug candidates. Keryx is headquartered in New York City.

KERYX CONTACT:

Lauren Fischer Director - Investor Relations Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Tel: 212.531.5965 E-mail: lfischer@keryx.com