Keryx CEO Presents on CEOCast

    Keryx CEO Presents on CEOCast

NEW YORK, May 12 --

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX; AIM: KRX) Chairman and Chief

Executive Officer, Michael S. Weiss, was recently interviewed on CEOCast.com.

Mr. Weiss discussed the clinical opportunity for the company's lead product,

KRX-101, for diabetic nephropathy and the company's in-licensing plans.

Mr. Weiss said the company is finalizing plans for U.S.-based clinical

studies for KRX-101. KRX-101 has been extensively studied in Europe for

diabetic nephropathy and other conditions, and results of a randomized Phase

II clinical trial were published in the June 2002 issue of the Journal of

American Society of Nephrology. The U.S. F.D.A. has granted KRX-101 Fast-

Track designation for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy, and has also

agreed, in principle, to permit the Company to utilize the accelerated

approval process under subpart H of the F.D.A.'s regulations, which permits

the use of surrogate endpoints in pivotal trials.

Diabetic nephropathy, the most common cause of end-stage renal disease,

presents a serious unmet medical need. Approximately 3.5 million Americans

are afflicted with the life-threatening disease, and currently there is no

effective drug for treatment or prevention.

Mr. Weiss also said the company is seeking to acquire late Phase I and

early Phase II product candidates which Keryx believes can benefit from its

management experience and resources. At December 31, 2002, the company had

approximately $24.1 million in cash or cash equivalents.

Mr. Weiss has nearly a decade of experience in the biotech industry as a

founder and manager of a number of biotechnology companies. Mr. Weiss is the

Vice Chairman of Genta Incorporated (Nasdaq: GNTA) and Chairman of ACCESS

Oncology, Inc., a cancer-focused biotechnology company that he founded and for

which he served as CEO from 1999-2002. Previously, he also served as Senior

Managing Director of Paramount Capital, where he was primarily responsible for

creating and financing biotechnology companies.

To hear the presentation, visit www.ceocast.com.

About Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX, AIM: KRX) is a drug

development company focused on the acquisition, development and

commercialization of novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of

serious, life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Keryx is

developing KRX-101 (sulodexide), a novel treatment for diabetic nephropathy,

for which Keryx is in the process of planning its US-based clinical program.

Keryx is also seeking in-licensing opportunities of additional clinical-stage

drug candidates. In addition, Keryx is seeking partners for its novel

KinAce(TM) drug discovery technology, which allows for rapid and rational

development of drug candidates that target a vast range of protein kinases,

and its associated product candidates.

Cautionary Statement

Statements contained or referenced in this news release that are not

historical facts, may be forward-looking statements, as the term is defined in

the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify

forward-looking statements by terminology such as "anticipate", "estimate",

"expect", "project", "hope", "should', "intend", "plan", "believe",

"scheduled", will" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection

with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Important

factors may cause Keryx's actual results to differ materially, including:

adverse results in its drug discovery and clinical development processes;

failure to obtain patent protection for its discoveries; commercial

limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties;

difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products

resulting from its development efforts; and the requirement for substantial

funding to conduct research and development, and to expand commercialization

activities. Important factors that might cause or contribute to such a

discrepancy include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed under the

heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report or Form 10-K, which has been filed

with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other filings we

periodically make with the Commission. Any forward-looking statements set

forth in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release.

Keryx does 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 www.keryx.com. The information in

Keryx's website is not incorporated by reference into this press release and

is included as an inactive textual reference only.

Contact:

Thomas Redington

203/222-7399

212/926-1733

www.redingtoninc.com

Ron Bentsur

Director of Investor Relations

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

[phone]

[e-mail]

SOURCE Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

-0- 05/12/2003

/CONTACT: Ron Bentsur, Director of Investor Relations, Keryx

Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., [phone], [e-mail]/

/Web site: http://www.keryx.com /



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