Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. to Raise $20 Million in Registered Direct Offering
25 Septembre 2009 - 11:25PM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keryx
Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ:KERX), has entered
into definitive agreements to sell 8 million shares of its common
stock at a price per share of $2.50 pursuant to a registered direct
offering to several select institutional investors, representing
gross proceeds of approximately $20 million. Investors will also
receive warrants to purchase 2,800,000 shares of the Company's
common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $2.65 per
share and are exercisable at any time on or after the closing date
and prior to 366 days from such initial issuance date. The closing
of the offering is expected to take place on or about Wednesday,
September 30, 2009, subject to the satisfaction of customary
closing conditions. The Company plans to use the net proceeds from
the offering to fund the upcoming Phase 3 programs for its lead
drug candidates, Perifosine, a novel, oral PI3K/AKT pathway
inhibitor for oncology, and Zerenex, a differentiated, iron-based
phosphate binder. Commenting on the transaction, Ron Bentsur, Chief
Executive Officer of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, stated, "We are
extremely pleased to have consummated this transaction, raising $20
million for Keryx. We believe that following this offering we will
have sufficient capital to complete the Phase 3 programs for
Perifosine and Zerenex." The shares and warrants are being offered
by the Company pursuant to an effective shelf registration
statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated
September 23, 2009. Rodman & Renshaw, LLC, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group, Inc.
(NASDAQ:RODM) , acted as the exclusive placement agent for the
transaction. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Brean Murray,
Carret & Co., LLC acted as advisors to the transaction. This
press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the
securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or
qualification under the securities laws of any such state or
jurisdiction. The shares of common stock may only be offered by
means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus supplement
and accompanying base prospectus can be obtained from the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov/. ABOUT KERYX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS,
INC. (NASDAQ:KERX) Keryx Biopharmaceuticals is focused on the
acquisition, development and commercialization of medically
important pharmaceutical products for the treatment of
life-threatening diseases, including cancer and renal disease.
Keryx is developing KRX-0401 (perifosine), a novel, potentially
first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits the
phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, a key signaling
cascade that has been shown to induce cell growth and cell
transformation. KRX-0401 has demonstrated both safety and clinical
efficacy in several tumor types, both as a single agent and in
combination with novel therapies. 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, with a Phase 3 in multiple myeloma, under Special
Protocol Assessment (SPA), pending commencement by year-end. Keryx
is also developing Zerenex(TM) (ferric citrate), an oral,
iron-based compound that has the capacity to bind to phosphate and
form non-absorbable complexes. Zerenex has recently completed a
Phase 2 clinical program as a treatment for hyperphosphatemia
(elevated phosphate levels) in patients with end-stage renal
disease, and Keryx is in the process of finalizing the U.S. Phase 3
program for Zerenex in consultation with the FDA. Keryx is
headquartered in New York City. Forward Looking Statement Some of
the statements included in this press release may be
forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the
safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among the factors that
could cause our actual results to differ materially are the
following: There can be no assurance that the Company will complete
cost-effective clinical trials or meet the projected development
timelines for the drug candidates in its pipeline, including
Zerenex and KRX-0401; that the Company's capital, following this
offering, will be sufficient to fund its operations as estimated;
or that the Company's stock will not be affected by other risk
factors identified from time to time in our reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements
set forth in this press release speak only as of the date of this
press release. We do 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 http://www.keryx.com. The information in our
website is not incorporated by reference into this press release
and is included as an inactive textual reference only. For more
information, please contact: Lauren Fischer Director, Investor
Relations Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Tel: 212.531.5962 E-mail:
DATASOURCE: Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Lauren Fischer,
Director, Investor Relations, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.,
+1-212-531-5962, Web Site: http://www.keryx.com/
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