BOSTON and JERUSALEM, September 27, 2000 - Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX; AIM: KRX) today provided an update on the clinical development of its drug compound, KRX-101 (sulodexide), for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. After recently meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of an ongoing dialogue regarding the clinical pathway of the product, the Company announced that it has approval to proceed to Phase III clinical trials of KRX-101 in the United States. Keryx will next design a study protocol for submission to the FDA.

"We recognize and appreciate the FDA's direction and effort in helping us to define the U.S. clinical development pathway for KRX-101," said Morris Laster, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals. "Diabetic nephropathy is a tragic condition for millions of people. Eventually, we hope to be able to mitigate this life-threatening medical condition that afflicts such a substantial percentage of diabetic patients worldwide."

Keryx in-licensed KRX-101 from Alfa Wassermann for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Sulodexide has been shown to have a strong safety profile based on nearly 20 years of commercial use as a cardiovascular therapeutic in Europe, Asia and South America and past clinical trials in nearly 3,000 patients.

Nephropathy, one of the most common complications of diabetes, results in the degradation of kidney function. This condition generally progresses to the point that the patient must undergo regular dialysis or obtain a kidney transplant to survive. The goal of treatment, therefore, is to slow the progression of kidney damage and control related complications.

In addition to developing KRX-101, Keryx's principal efforts are directed to the discovery of drugs that target kinases using its proprietary KinAceä platform. This post-genomics, core technology enables the Company to generate new drug candidates for a variety of conditions, such as cancer and metabolic, cardiovascular, immunological, and neurological disorders.

About Keryx Biopharmaceuticals
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals is building a pipeline of drug candidates that target protein kinases by applying its proprietary bioinformatics technology to genomics data. Kinases, which play a key role in the way cells communicate, are implicated in a wide range of diseases, including cancer and metabolic, cardiovascular, immunological, and neurological disorders. Using its KinAce technology platform, the Company has established a pipeline of 13 drug candidates, the most advanced of which, KRX-123, is scheduled to enter clinical trials in Israel for advanced prostate cancer in the first half of 2001. The Company is also developing an in-licensed product, KRX-101 (sulodexide), for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Keryx is traded on NASDAQ (KERX) and AIM (KRX).

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