**Exhibit      31.1 **

**CERTIFICATION      OF PERIODIC REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002      **

| 1. | I                have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Keryx                Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.; |
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| 2. | Based                on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement                of a                material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make                the                statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements                were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this                report; |
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| 3. | Based                on my knowledge, the consolidated financial statements, and other                financial information included in this report, fairly present in                all                material respects the financial condition, results of operations                and cash                flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in                this                report; |
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| 4. | The                registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for                establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as                defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal                control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules                13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
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|  | a) | Designed                      such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure                      controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,                      to ensure                      that material information relating to the registrant, including                      its                      consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within                      those                      entities, particularly during the period in which this report                      is being                      prepared; |
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|  | b) | Designed                        such internal control over financial reporting, or caused                        such internal                        control over financial reporting to be designed under our                        supervision, to                        provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of                        financial                        reporting and the preparation of financial statements for                        external                        purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting                        principles; |
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|  | c) | Evaluated                          the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures                          and presented in this report our conclusions about the                          effectiveness of                          the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of                          the period                          covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
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|  | d) | Disclosed                            in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over                            financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent                            fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an                            annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably                            likely to                            materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial                            reporting; and |
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| 5. | The                registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our                most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,                to                the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s                board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
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|  | a) | All                          significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the                          design or                          operation of internal control over financial reporting                          which are                          reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record,                          process, summarize and report financial information; and |
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|  | b) | Any                            fraud, whether or not material, that involves management                            or other                            employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control                            over financial reporting. |
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| Date:                  May 7, 2007 |                                                                                                                          | /s/ Michael                S. Weiss         |
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|                               | Michael                  S. Weiss Chief                  Executive Officer  Principal                  Executive Officer |