**Exhibit      31.1**

**CERTIFICATION      OF PERIODIC REPORT**

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

| 1. | I                have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K 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(s) 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:                March 16, 2007 |                                                                                      | /s/              Michael S. Weiss |
|                                | Michael                S. Weiss                                                           |
|                                | Chief                Executive Officer  (Principal                Executive Officer) |

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