Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Announces Termination of SUN-MACRO Pha...( NEW YORK March 27 /- Keryx Biopha...),Health

NEW YORK, March 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX) announced today that following a Drug Safety and Monitoring Committee (DSMC) review of the SUN-MACRO Phase 4 trial of Sulonex(TM) (sulodexide oral gelcap), the Company has decided to terminate the study and cease further development of Sulonex.

The Company previously announced via conference call on March 10th that the trial had been suspended pending an interim analysis, following which the Company would make a decision regarding whether the trial ought to be continued or terminated.

Based on a review of the available proteinuria data, Sulonex did not appear to be different than placebo. The study was not terminated by the DSMC for a safety problem or safety signal.

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 growt
'/>"/>