SAN CARLOS, Calif., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nektar Therapeutics today announced that it has completed enrollment ahead of schedule in its Phase 2 clinical study of NKTR-102 in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. NKTR-102 is Nektar’s investigational proprietary compound currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical development in ovarian, breast and colorectal cancers.
“We have completed enrollment in the second stage of our study in an unusually short period of time, which reflects the enthusiasm of the investigators working with NKTR-102 in this particularly challenging cancer,” said Lorianne Masuoka, M.D., Chief Medical Officer. “The majority of women in the NKTR-102 trial continue on therapy and we are looking forward to announcing preliminary response data from the study in the coming months. We are extremely excited about the potential of NKTR-102 to offer a valuable and promising new treatment option for women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.”
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.(1)( ) Current FDA-approved single agents used to treat women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer have modest overall response rates of between 6.5 to 12.3%, with median progression-free survival times of between 9.1 and 13.6 weeks.(2)
Nektar is developing NKTR-102, a novel prodrug which is a PEGylated form of irinotecan. NKTR-102 was invented by Nektar using its advanced polymer conjugate technology platform and is the first oncolytic that leverages Nektar’s platform. Using a proprietary approach that directly conjugates the drug to this unique polymer architecture, Nektar is the first company to have created a PEGylated small molecule with a unique pharmacokinetic profile that has demonstrated therapeutic activity in patients.
About Nektar
Nektar is headquartered in San Carlos, California, with additional R&D 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.
(1) American Cancer Society, 2009.
(2) Gordon et al., Journal of Clinical Oncology 2001, 19: 3312-3322
Nektar Therapeutics
