BOSTON, April 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:KERX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative medicines to people with kidney disease, today announced that Gregory Madison has resigned as president and chief executive officer of the company and his seat on its board of directors, effective immediately. Jodie Morrison, a member of the company’s board of directors, has been named interim chief executive officer. The company also announced preliminary first quarter 2018 revenue.
“On behalf of the entire board I would like to thank Greg for his contributions to Keryx over the past four years, in particular for his role in transitioning Keryx from a development-stage organization to a commercial entity, and wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Michael Rogers, chairman of Keryx’s board of directors. “We are fortunate to have Jodie – a fellow director – step into a management role and help lead Keryx as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities. We look forward to her continued contributions both as an ongoing member of our board and as interim CEO while we conduct the search for a permanent chief executive officer.”
“We have a very talented leadership team at Keryx and I look forward to working with them to review our business in the coming weeks,” said Jodie Morrison, interim chief executive officer of Keryx. “Auryxia is an important therapy with the potential to benefit millions of people in the U.S. living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and iron deficiency anemia or hyperphosphatemia. The board and the entire leadership team at Keryx are focused on ensuring that we maximize the value of Auryxia and help as many patients as possible who are living with these complications of CKD.”
Jodie Morrison has served on Keryx’s board of directors since June 2016. From 2013 to 2017, she served as president and chief executive officer of Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she took the company through its initial public offering in 2014. From December 2006 until March 2013, Ms. Morrison held other senior positions with Tokai, including chief operating officer, head of clinical affairs and program operations and vice president of clinical affairs and program operations. Ms. Morrison received a B.A. in neuroscience from Mount Holyoke College, her clinical research certification from the Boston University School of Medicine and her business training through the Greater Boston Executive Program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Preliminary Financial Data
The company expects to report total revenue for the first quarter of 2018 of between $21.0 million and $22.5 million, including between $20.0 million and $21.0 million in net Auryxia U.S. product sales. The company will announce its full first quarter 2018 financial results in the coming weeks and plans to host a conference call at that time.
The preliminary financial data for the first quarter of 2018 set forth above are derived from preliminary internal financial reports. The company has not yet finalized its complete results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. In connection with the finalization of its quarterly closing and reporting processes and the completion of its financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, the company may identify items that would require the company to make adjustments, some of which could be material, to the preliminary financial data set forth above.
About Auryxia® (ferric citrate) Tablets
Auryxia (ferric citrate) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 5, 2014 for the control of serum phosphorus levels in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis and approved by the FDA on November 6, 2017 for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease not on dialysis. Auryxia tablets were designed to contain 210 mg of ferric iron, equivalent to 1 gram of ferric citrate, and offers convenient mealtime dosing. The starting dose of Auryxia for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia for patients on dialysis is six tablets per day (two per meal) and for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in patients not on dialysis is three tablets per day (one per meal). For more information about Auryxia and the U.S. full prescribing information, please visit www.Auryxia.com.
