Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) is an emerging, small-cap biopharma company that has a pair of lead compounds in late-stage, Phase 3 development for the treatment of cancer (perifosine) and renal disease (Zerenex) under Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreements with the FDA.
An article from RTT News provides an in-depth look at Canadian drugmaker Aeterna Zentaris, the company that licensed the rights to Perifosine to Keryx BioPharmaceuticals for North America:
"Personalized medicine, which refers to tailoring treatments to a patient's specific condition, is a revolutionary concept in the field of healthcare, very different from the 'one-size-fits-all' approach to the diagnosis and treatment of disease. One of the companies pursuing this innovative approach of personalized medicine is Canadian drugmaker Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS: News) (AEZ.TO: News).
Aeterna is a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy. The company has two drug candidates in phase III testing - Perifosine for advanced metastatic colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma, and AEZS-130, a diagnostic test for growth hormone deficiencies." Read more at RTTNews.com.
KRX-0401 (perifosine) is a novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits Akt activation in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, and also affects a number of other key signal transduction pathways, including the JNK pathway, all of which are pathways associated with programmed cell death, cell growth, cell differentiation and cell survival. The effects of KRX-0401 on Akt are of particular interest because of the importance of this pathway in the development of most cancers, with evidence that it is often activated in tumors that are resistant to other forms of anticancer therapy, and the difficulty encountered thus far in the discovery of drugs that will inhibit this pathway without causing excessive toxicity. High levels of activated Akt (pAkt) are seen frequently in many types of cancer and have been correlated with poor prognosis. Read more about perifosine at Keryx.com.
Keryx is currently awaiting results of its Phase III trial for perifosine for both refractory advanced colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma. In a short article on Seeking Alpha about Keryx's January 12 presentation at the JP Morgan's 30th Annual Healthcare Conference, contributor A.G.C.M pointed out that "if Perifosine results are positive it could spark a bidding war amongst big pharma companies looking to boost dwindling revenue due to patent expiration on blockbuster drugs." He went on to say that "Keryx stock could possibly return investors triple digit returns if the Phase III results are positive." Read more at Seeking Alpha.
