NEW YORK, July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that William P. Kane has joined the Company as Vice President, Commercial Operations.
In this role, Mr. Kane will assume responsibility for the development and execution of the Company’s commercial activities, including brand planning and forecasting, commercial and managed markets communications, advocate development, comprehensive pre-launch and launch initiatives, and field sales.
Mr. Kane joins the Company from Sepracor Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and New Product Planning, focusing on key in-line brands including Lunesta(R). Previously, Mr. Kane spent 18 years at Pfizer Inc., playing integral roles of increasing responsibility within Pfizer’s U.S. Pharmaceuticals division, in the areas of strategy development, new product planning, brand management, co-promote collaboration, managed markets marketing and public policy initiatives. He has considerable experience developing and marketing blockbuster brands, including Zoloft(R), Zyrtec(R), and Celebrex(R), for which he served as Team Leader for one of the most successful product launches in the pharmaceutical industry, with first year sales of $1.2 billion. Prior to leaving Pfizer, Mr. Kane served as Group Vice President, Managed Markets Marketing, where he played a key role in preparing Pfizer for the implementation of Medicare Part D.
Commenting on the hiring of Mr. Kane, Michael S. Weiss, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are excited to have been able to attract an executive having such broad marketing experience with some of the largest and most successful pharmaceutical brands.” Weiss continued, “We believe that Will’s past launch success and strong team leadership will be invaluable as we prepare for the potential launch of Sulonex(TM) and as we continue to advance our additional drug candidates through clinical development.”
ABOUT KERYX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. is focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of medically important, novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Keryx’s lead compound under development is Sulonex(TM), previously referred to as KRX-101, a first-in-class, oral heparinoid compound for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy, a life-threatening kidney disease caused by diabetes. Sulonex is in a pivotal Phase III and Phase IV clinical program under a Special Protocol Assessment with the Food & Drug Administration. Additionally, Keryx is developing Zerenex(TM), an oral, inorganic, iron-based compound that has the capacity to bind phosphate and form non-absorbable complexes. Zerenex is currently in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia (elevated serum phosphorous levels) in patients with end- stage renal disease. Keryx is also developing clinical-stage oncology compounds, including KRX-0401, a novel, first-in-class, oral modulator of Akt, a pathway associated with tumor survival and growth, and other important signal transduction pathways. KRX-0401 is currently in Phase II clinical development for multiple tumor types. Keryx also has an active 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
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Lauren Fischer, Director - Investor Relations of KeryxBiopharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-212-531-5965, lfischer@keryx.com
Web site: http://www.keryx.com/
