Interim data analysis show induction of response and/or disease stabilization in 69% of evaluable patients in combination with Dexamethasone NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KERX) today announced that Dr. Paul Richardson, Clinical Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, MA reported positive interim results from the phase II study of KRX-0401 in patients with advanced relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 48th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, FL. KRX-0401, the Company's lead oncology compound under development, is a novel, oral, anticancer agent that modulates Akt and several other important signal transduction pathways, including MAP kinase and JNK. KRX-0401 is currently being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials as a single agent and in combination with other anti-cancer agents across several tumor types. Dr. Richardson, along with Dr. Ken Anderson at DFCI and other leading investigators from MM centers including Emory University, University of Michigan, Alta Bates, City of Hope, University of Virginia and Northwestern University have been instrumental in the pre-clinical and clinical development of perifosine for MM. The poster (Abstract # 3582), entitled "A Multicenter Phase II Study of Perifosine (KRX-0401) Alone and in Combination with Dexamethasone (Dex) for Patients with Relapsed or Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (MM)," was presented today, December 11th, 2006 at 10:30 am in the Orange County Convention Center. In this ongoing Phase II study, patients with relapsed or relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma are treated with KRX-0401 (150 mg oral daily dose) to assess the single agent activity of KRX-0401 in this patient population. If a patient progresses on KRX-0401 alone, dexamethasone (20mg twice weekly) is added to their KRX-0401 regimen. Results: 55 patients (30 men and 25 women, median age 63 y, range 3879) have been treated to date. All had relapsed and refractory MM, with a median of 4 lines of prior treatment (range 2 - 11). Prior therapy included dex (95%), thalidomide (89%), bortezomib (78%), lenalidomide (31%) and stem cell transplant (73%). Among 33 patients currently evaluable for response, best response (EBMT/Blade criteria) to single agent perifosine after 2 cycles was stable disease (