Nektar hedges bets on deal with AstraZeneca

Along with presenting second-quarter financial results, Howard Robin, president and chief executive of USA-based Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) confirmed that, along with its partner, Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), it will be filing both the naloxegol (or NKTR-118) New Drug Application and Marketing Authorization with the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency, respectively, in September. He said that naloxegol could be the first once-daily oral drug to treat patients with opioid-induced constipation.

Nektar reiterated its prior guidance that revenue for 2013 was estimated to be between $200 million to $210 million, which included the projected recognition of a $70 million milestone payment planned to be received later in 2013 in connection with the acceptance by the FDA of the New Drug Application filing for naloxegol, which was licensed to AstraZeneca in a deal that included an upfront $125 million and potential payments that could add up to $1.12 billion (The Pharma Letter September 22, 2009). Nektar would get another $25 million if the application to European regulators is accepted.

Agreement amended