Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Announces the Appointment of Abraham Ceesay as Vice President of Marketing
February 18 2014 - 8:30AM
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:KERX), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on the acquisition, development and
commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of
renal disease, today announced the appointment of Abraham Ceesay as
Vice President of Marketing and Operations. In this role, Mr.
Ceesay will develop and lead all aspects of the ZerenexTM launch
strategy and execution, including brand planning, forecasting and
analysis, marketing operations and patient access programs. The
Company's new drug application for Zerenex (ferric citrate
coordination complex) is currently under review by the FDA with an
assigned Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of June
7, 2014.
Greg Madison, the Company's Executive Vice President, Chief
Operating Officer, commented, "Mr. Ceesay brings an exceptional
track record for successful marketing and product launches of
innovative products, including significant renal experience. While
at Genzyme, I saw first hand Abe's competencies in the development
of launch initiatives, brand creation strategies and marketing
efforts to maximize the commercial potential for renal drugs. We
look forward to leveraging Abe's capabilities for the potential
launch and marketing of Zerenex."
Mr. Ceesay brings to Keryx extensive experience in the launch
and growth of innovative therapeutic products and a strong track
record in the leadership of global commercial teams. Prior to
joining Keryx, Mr. Ceesay served as Vice President, Marketing at
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:IRWD), where he held
responsibility for the management of the U.S. linaclotide P&L,
leadership of the Linzess® brand team and co-promotion
collaboration with Forest Laboratories. In his role, Mr. Ceesay
developed and led all facets of the Linzess® launch strategy and
also led the cross functional U.S. Operating Team responsible for
the commercial and development decisions to support the
commercialization of Linzess®. Previous to his career with
Ironwood, Mr. Ceesay spent eight years at Genzyme/Sanofi, initially
as a field sales specialist and ultimately as the Director, Renal
Global Marketing, in which capacity he held marketing
responsibility for the company's renal franchise (Renagel®,
Renvela®, Hectorol®). Over the course of his career at Genzyme, Mr.
Ceesay developed and implemented brand strategies for the global
renal franchise, including all marketing facets of the Renvela®
launch strategy. Mr. Ceesay holds a bachelors degree from Ithaca
College, and a Masters of Business Administration from Suffolk
University's Sawyer School of Management.
About Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Keryx
Biopharmaceuticals is focused on the acquisition, development and
commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of
renal disease. Keryx is developing ZerenexTM (ferric citrate
coordination complex), an oral, ferric iron-based compound. Zerenex
has completed a U.S.-based Phase 3 clinical program for the
treatment of hyperphosphatemia (elevated phosphate levels) in
patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis, conducted
pursuant to a Special Protocol Assessment ("SPA") agreement with
the FDA. Keryx's New Drug Application ("NDA"), submitted to the FDA
in 2013, is currently under review and has an assigned Prescription
Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA") goal date of June 7, 2014. Zerenex has
also completed a Phase 2 study in the U.S. for the management of
elevated serum phosphorus levels and iron deficiency anemia in
patients with Stage 3 to 5 non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney
disease. In addition, Keryx's Japanese partner, Japan Tobacco, Inc.
and Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., received marketing approval of
ferric citrate in Japan for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in
patients with chronic kidney disease on January 17, 2014. Keryx is
headquartered in New York City.
Cautionary Statement
Some of the statements included in this press release,
particularly those relating to the results of clinical trials, the
clinical benefits to be derived from Zerenex, regulatory
submissions and approvals, the commercial opportunity and
competitive positioning, and any business prospects for Zerenex,
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: acceptance of the NDA filing represents only a
preliminary evaluation of the application and is not indicative of
deficiencies that may be identified during the FDA's review; a
PDUFA goal date is subject to change and does not guarantee that
the review of the NDA will be completed on a timely basis; the risk
that the FDA, and/or EMA ultimately deny approval of the U.S. NDA,
and/or MAA, respectively; the risk that SPAs are not a guarantee
that the FDA will ultimately approve a product candidate following
filing acceptance; whether the FDA and EMA will concur with our
interpretation of our Phase 3 study results, supportive data, or
the conduct of the studies; whether Riona® will be successfully
launched and marketed by our Japanese partner, Japan Tobacco, Inc.
and Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; whether, Zerenex, if approved
by the FDA and/or EMA, will be successfully launched and marketed;
and 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 undertake 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 found on our website is not incorporated by reference
into this press release and is included for reference purposes
only.
CONTACT: KERYX CONTACT:
Lauren Fischer
Director - Investor Relations
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Tel: 212.531.5965
E-mail: lfischer@keryx.com
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (delisted) (NASDAQ:KERX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (delisted) (NASDAQ:KERX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024