Full Press Release Details
Reports Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2017
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq:
NKTR) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.
Cash and investments in marketable securities at September 30,
2017 were $412.2 million as compared to $389.1 million at December 31, 2016. The cash balance
includes the $150.0 million upfront payment from Nektar's collaboration with Eli Lilly & Company for the development
and commercialization of NKTR-358.
"Nektar's immuno-oncology portfolio continues to
expand as we add novel drug candidates to our growing pipeline," said Howard W. Robin, President and CEO of Nektar. "NKTR-214
is the first I-O agent to both increase tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and increase PD-1 expression on human immune cells,
which uniquely complements checkpoint inhibition and other anti-cancer mechanisms. As the majority of cancer patients have tumors
that do not express PD-L1 and these patients receive limited benefit from treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, the potential of
NKTR-214 to help patients is significant. Finally, based on recent positive conversations
with the agency regarding our regulatory plans for NKTR-181, we are now planning to submit an NDA for NKTR-181 by April 2018 with
our data package of over 2,100 patients and healthy volunteers."
Revenue in the third quarter of 2017 was $152.9 million as
compared to $36.3 million in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date revenue for 2017 was $212.2 million as
compared to $128.0 million in the first nine months of 2016. Revenue in 2017 included recognition of $127.6
million of the $150.0 million upfront payment from Nektar's collaboration with Eli Lilly & Company for the development
and commercialization of NKTR-358.
Total operating costs and expenses in the third quarter of 2017 were $83.4
million as compared to $69.2 million in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date total operating costs and
expenses in 2017 were $247.9 million as compared to $208.7 million for the same period in 2016. 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 2017 was $65.7
million as compared to $52.0 million in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date R&D expense for 2017 was $187.0
million as compared to $153.6 million for the same period in 2016. R&D expense was higher in the third
quarter and first nine months of 2017 as compared to the same periods in 2016 primarily because of expenses for our pipeline programs,
including Phase 3 clinical studies for NKTR-181, Phase 1/2 clinical studies of NKTR-214 and NKTR-358 and IND-enabling activities
for NKTR-262 and NKTR-255.
General and administrative expense was $12.1 million in
the third quarter of 2017 as compared to $10.3 million in the third quarter of 2016. G&A expense in the first
nine months of 2017 was $40.0 million as compared to $31.5 million for the same period in 2016. G&A expense
in the first nine months of 2017 includes a $3.3 million charge for a litigation settlement related to a cross-license agreement.
Net income in the third quarter of 2017 was $60.9
million or $0.39 basic income per share as compared to net loss of $43.2
million or $0.32 basic loss per share in the third quarter of 2016. Net loss in the first nine months of 2017
was $62.9 million or $0.41 basic loss per share as compared to $111.3 million or $0.82
basic loss per share in the first nine months of 2016.
The company also announced upcoming presentations at the following
scientific congresses during the fourth quarter of 2017:
Society for Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) 32nd
Annual Meeting, National Harbor, MD:
Oral Presentation: "PIVOT-02:
Preliminary safety, efficacy and biomarker results from the Phase 1/2 study of CD-122-biased agonist NKTR-214 plus nivolumab in
patients with locally advanced/metastatic solid tumors"
Presenter: Dr. Adi Diab, Assistant Professor, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of
Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Session: Clinical Trials: Novel Combinations
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Poster #P77: "The Novel
IL-2 Cytokine Immune Agonist NKTR-214 Harnesses the Adaptive and Innate Immune System for the Treatment of Solid Cancers"
Presenter: Salah Eddine Bentebibel, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Session: Biomarkers and Immune Monitoring
Date: Friday, November 10, 2017, 12:30-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Poster #P140: "NKTR-214 enhances
anti-tumor T-cell immune responses induced by checkpoint blockade or vaccination"
Presenter: Meenu Sharma, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Session: Cancer Vaccines
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017, 12:30-2:00
Poster #P274: "Combination of NKTR-214 and radiotherapy (RT) to reverse anergy and expand
tumor-specific CD8 T-Cells"
Presenter: Joshua Walker, Oregon Health & Science University
Session: Combination Therapy
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017, 12:30-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Poster #P275: "Harnessing
the innate and adaptive immune system to eradicate treated and distant untreated solid tumors"
Presenter: Saul Kivimae, Nektar Therapeutics
Session: Combination Therapy
Date: Friday, November 10, 2017, 12:30-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Poster #P332: "Pre-clinical efficacy
and tolerability of NKTR-255, a polymer-conjugated IL-15 for immuno-oncology"
Presenter: Peiwen Kuo, Nektar Therapeutics
Session: Combination Therapy
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017, 12:30-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Apes Adenoviral vaccine encoding neoantigens synergizes with immunomodulators to cure established tumors in mice"
Presenter: Anna Morena D'Alise, Nouscom srl
Session: Personalized Vaccines and Technologies/Personalized Medicines
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017, 12:30-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 56th Annual
Meeting, Palm Springs, CA:
Poster #T166: "Abuse potential
of NKTR-181 in recreational opioid users: results from a randomized, double-blind crossover oral study"
Presenter: Snow Ge, Nektar Therapeutics
Session: Poster Session II
Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Conference Call to Discuss Third Quarter 2017 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, Tuesday, November 7, 2017.
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 Investors section of the Nektar website: http://ir.nektar.com/index.cfm.
The web broadcast of the conference call will be available for replay through Monday, December 11, 2017.
To access the conference call, follow these instructions:
Dial: (877) 881.2183 (U.S.); (970) 315.0453 (international)
Passcode: 4677348 (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
Nektar Therapeutics is a research-based development stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover and develop
innovative medicines to address the unmet medical needs of patients. Our R&D pipeline of new investigational medicines includes