Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Cash and investments in marketable securities at September 30, 2015 were $267.8 million as compared to $279.7 million at June 30, 2015. Cash and investments at September 30, 2015 include a $40.0 million milestone payment received from AstraZeneca in Q3 2015 for the first commercial sale of MOVENTIG^® (naloxegol) in Germany.  Cash and investments at September 30, 2015 do not include the proceeds from the $250 million direct private placement of 7.75% Senior Secured Notes due in 2020, which was closed on October 5, 2015.  A portion of the proceeds from these new $250 million Senior Notes were used to redeem fully $125.0 million of 12% Senior Secured Notes due in 2017.

"We have made great progress in advancing our pipeline this year," said Howard W. Robin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nektar. "MOVANTIK is performing very well with positive feedback from physicians and patients, ADYNOVATE is poised for approval, the NKTR-181 Phase 3 SUMMIT-07 efficacy study is enrolling ahead of schedule and we are exceptionally pleased to report that the FDA cleared the NKTR-214 IND earlier than anticipated.  NKTR-214 has the potential to bring a new mechanism - direct and selective stimulation of a patient's cancer-fighting T-cells -- to the next generation of cancer immunotherapies.  We expect to dose our first patients shortly at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Yale Cancer Center."

Year-to-date revenue for 2015 was $191.4 million as compared to $181.2 million in the first nine months of 2014.  The increase in revenue in the first nine months of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014 includes the recognition of $90.0 million of the $100.0 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca following the first commercial sale of MOVANTIK in the U.S. and the recognition of the $40.0 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca following the first commercial sale of MOVANTIK in a major European country. In addition, product sales and royalty revenue increased by $9.3 million in the first nine months of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014.  Revenue in the third quarter of 2015 was $60.0 million as compared to $132.9 million in the third quarter of 2014 due to the recognition of a one-time $105 million approval milestone for MOVANTIK in the third quarter of 2014.

Total operating costs and expenses in the third quarter of 2015 were $59.5 million as compared to $52.6 million in the third quarter of 2014.  Year-to-date total operating costs and expenses in 2015 were $191.4 million as compared to $160.2 million for the same period in 2014.  Total operating costs and expenses increased primarily as a result of increased research and development (R&D) expense.

Research and development expense in the third quarter of 2015 was $43.2 million as compared to $34.2 million in the third quarter of 2014.  Year-to-date R&D expense for 2015 was $135.7 million as compared to $109.2 million for the same period in 2014.  R&D expense was higher in the third quarter and first nine months of 2015 as compared to the same periods in 2014 primarily due to the initiation of the Phase 3 efficacy trial of NKTR-181 in chronic low back pain and the long-term safety study for NKTR-181. R&D expense for the first nine months of 2015 also increased as a result of IND-enabling and clinical study start-up activities for NKTR-214.

General and administrative expense was $9.5 million in the third quarter of 2015 as compared to $9.1 million in the third quarter of 2014.  G&A expense in the first nine months of 2015 was $30.0 million as compared to $28.7 million for the same period in 2014.

Net loss in the third quarter of 2015 was $8.2 million or $0.06 net loss per diluted share as compared to net income of $70.6 million or $0.53 net income per diluted share in the third quarter of 2014. Net loss in the first nine months of 2015 was $27.0 million or $0.21 net loss per diluted share as compared to net loss of $8.2 million or $0.07 net loss per diluted share in the first nine months of 2014.

The company also announced upcoming presentations at the following scientific congresses during the fourth quarter of 2015:

Society for Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) 30^th Anniversary Annual Meeting, National Harbor, MD:

• Abstract Title: "Synergistic antitumor activity of the CD122-biased immunostimulatory cytokine NKTR-214 when combined with anti-PD-1 in murine tumor models", Hoch, U., et al.
  • Date: November 6, 2015, 12:45 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time

2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, San Antonio, TX:

• Poster P1-13-02: "Early change in topoisomerase 1 (Top1) positive circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is associated with overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced breast cancer after treatment with etirinotecan pegol", Rugo, H., et al.
  • Poster Session: Advanced Chemotherapy
  • Date: December 9, 2015, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Central Time
• Poster P4-11-08: "Impact of treatment on quality of life (QOL) in the BEACON study, a randomized phase III trial of etirinotecan pegol (EP) versus Treatment of Physician's Choice (TPC) in patients (pts) with advanced breast cancer (aBC) whose disease has progressed following treatment with an Anthracycline, a Taxane and Capecitabine", Cortes, J., et al.
  • Poster Session: "Psychosocial, Quality of Life, and Educational Aspects: Psychosocial, QOL, and Educational Aspects -- Other"
  • Date: December 11, 2015, 7:30 a.m. — 9:00 a.m. Central Time

Conference Call to Discuss Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results

Nektar management will host a conference call to review the results beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/2:00 p.m. Pacific Time today, Thursday, November 5, 2015.

This press release and a live audio-only Webcast of the conference call can be accessed through a link that is posted on the home page and Investor Relations section of the Nektar website: http://www.nektar.com. The web broadcast of the conference call will be available for replay through Monday, December 7, 2015.

To access the conference call, follow these instructions:

Dial: (877) 881.2183 (U.S.); (970) 315.0453 (international)   
Passcode: 65851649 (Nektar Therapeutics is the host)

In the event that any non-GAAP financial measure is discussed on the conference call that is not described in the press release, or explained on the conference call, related information will be made available on the Investor Relations page at the Nektar website as soon as practical after the conclusion of the conference call.

About Nektar

Nektar Therapeutics has a robust R&D pipeline in pain, oncology, hemophilia and other therapeutic areas. In the area of pain, Nektar has an exclusive worldwide license agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK™ (naloxegol), the first FDA-approved once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA) medication for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC), in adult patients with chronic, non-cancer pain. The product is also approved in the European Union as MOVENTIG® (naloxegol) and is indicated for adult patients with OIC who have had an inadequate response to laxatives. The AstraZeneca agreement also includes NKTR-119, an earlier stage development program that is a co-formulation of MOVANTIK and an opioid. NKTR-181, a wholly-owned mu-opioid analgesic molecule for chronic pain conditions, is in Phase 3 development. In hemophilia, ADYNOVATE™ [Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant)], a longer-acting PEGylated Factor VIII therapeutic has been filed for approval in the U.S. by partner Baxalta Inc. In anti-infectives, Amikacin Inhale is in Phase 3 studies conducted by Bayer Healthcare as an adjunctive treatment for intubated and mechanically ventilated patients with Gram-negative pneumonia.

Nektar's technology has enabled nine approved products in the U.S. or Europe through partnerships with leading biopharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca's MOVANTIK™, UCB's Cimzia® for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, Roche's PEGASYS® for hepatitis C and Amgen's Neulasta® for neutropenia.

Nektar is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with additional operations in Huntsville, Alabama and Hyderabad, India. Further information about the company and its drug development programs and capabilities may be found online at http://www.nektar.com.

MOVANTIK™ is a trademark and MOVENTIG® is a registered trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies.

ADYNOVATE is a trademark of Baxalta Inc.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "expect," "believe," "should," "may," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding the potential of MOVANTIK, the enrollment status of the SUMMIT-07 efficacy study of NKTR-181, the projected time-frame for dosing the first patient in the clinical program for NKTR-214, Baxalta's regulatory expectations for ADYNOVATE, and the value and potential of our polymer conjugate technology and research and development pipeline. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, (i) the commercial potential of a new drug at the early stages of commercial launch, such as MOVANTIK, is difficult to predict and will have a significant impact on our future results of operation and financial condition; (ii) the timing of the commencement or end of clinical trials and the commercial launch of our drug candidates and those of our partners may be delayed or unsuccessful due to regulatory delays, institutional review board review and approvals, slower than anticipated patient enrollment, manufacturing challenges, changing standards of care, evolving regulatory requirements, clinical trial design, clinical outcomes, competitive factors, or delay or failure in ultimately obtaining regulatory approval in one or more important markets; (iii) scientific discovery of new medical breakthroughs is an inherently uncertain process and the future success of the application of our technology platform to potential new drug candidates is therefore highly uncertain and unpredictable and one or more research and development programs could fail; (iv) patents may not issue from our patent applications for our drugs (including MOVANTIK and ADYNOVATE) and drug candidates, patents that have issued may not be enforceable, or additional intellectual property licenses from third parties may be required; and (v) the outcome of any existing or future intellectual property or other litigation related to our drugs and drug candidates and those of our collaboration partners including MOVANTIK and ADYNOVATE.  Other important risks and uncertainties set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2015.  Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

                                                       

 

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