SAN CARLOS, Calif., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nektar Therapeutics today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.
Net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 was $31.8 million or $0.34 per share, compared to net loss of $40.7 million or $0.44 per share in the first quarter of 2008.
Nektar made improvements to its operating efficiencies as compared to a year ago. Total operating costs and expenses were down 35% to $40.0 million in the first quarter of 2009 as compared to $61.9 million in the first quarter of 2008.
“Nektar continues to make great progress advancing our clinical pipeline and delivering on our objectives in the first quarter of 2009,” stated Howard W. Robin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nektar. “Our recently reported positive Phase 2 data for NKTR-118 provides the first clinical validation of our advanced polymer conjugate technology with oral small molecule drugs. With a robust clinical pipeline and a proven technology platform, Nektar is well-positioned to enter into strategic, high-value partnerships and capitalize on multiple new product opportunities generated by our platform.”
Research and development expense was $23.9 million in the first quarter of 2009 as compared to $37.4 million for the same quarter in 2008. Included in the $23.9 million of overall research and development spending is approximately $13.5 million of investment in Nektar preclinical and clinical development programs.
Revenue for the three month period ended March 31, 2009 was $9.7 million compared to revenue of $20.0 million in the first quarter of 2008. This decrease in revenue is primarily the result of lower contract research and manufacturing revenues resulting from the sale of certain of the company’s pulmonary assets to Novartis.
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at March 31, 2009 were $325.3 million.
Conference Call to Discuss First Quarter 2009 Financial Results
A conference call to review results will be held on May 6, 2009 at 2 PM Pacific Time.
Details are below:
Howard Robin, president and chief executive officer, and John Nicholson, chief financial officer, will host a conference call beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)/2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on Wednesday, May 6, 2009.
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.
An audio replay will also be available shortly after the call and will remain so through May 20, 2009.
About Nektar
Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics based on its PEGylation and advanced polymer conjugate technology platforms. Nektar’s technology and drug development expertise have enabled nine approved products for partners, which include leading biopharmaceutical companies. Nektar is also developing a robust pipeline of its own high-value therapeutics that addresses unmet medical needs by leveraging and expanding its technology platforms to improve and enable molecules.
For more information on Nektar Therapeutics, please visit http://www.nektar.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current views regarding the progress and potential of the company’s pipeline of proprietary drug candidates, the value and potential of the company’s technology platform, and the company’s position to enter into new strategic collaborations with third parties. These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: (i) the company’s proprietary product candidates and those of its collaboration partners are in various stages of clinical development and the risk of failure is high and can unexpectedly occur at any stage of development prior to regulatory approval for numerous reasons including, without limitation, safety and efficacy findings; (ii) the timing or success of the commencement or end of clinical trials and commercial launch of partnered products may be delayed or unsuccessful due to slower than anticipated patient enrollment, drug manufacturing challenges, changing standards of care, clinical trial design, clinical outcomes, or delay or failure in obtaining regulatory approval in one or more important markets; (iii) the company’s patent applications for its proprietary or partner product candidates may not issue, patents that have issued may not be enforceable, or intellectual property licenses from third parties may be required in the future; (iv) the outcome of any future intellectual property or other litigation related to the company’s proprietary product candidates or complex commercial agreements; (v) if the company is unable to establish and maintain collaboration partnerships on attractive commercial terms, our business, results of operations and financial condition could suffer; and (vi) certain other important risks and uncertainties set forth in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 6, 2009 and the company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to be filed on or about May 8, 2009. Actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Jennifer Ruddock of Nektar Therapeutics, +1-650-631-4954; or
Susan Noonan of SAN Group, +1-212-966-3650, for Nektar Therapeutics
Web site: http://www.nektar.com/
