Nektar Therapeutics sliced out $65 million in annual expenses and announced a series of personnel changes that includes the departure of its CFO. Nektar says that the changes will help advance the company's pipeline. Researchers plan to complete a Phase IIb clinical trial of NKTR-061 (inhaled amikacin) to treat hospital-acquired gram-negative pneumonia by year-end. Additionally, the company plans to initiate Phase II clinical trials by the end of the year in its two leading PEGylated small molecule programs: NKTR-102 (PEGylated-irinotecan) for solid tumors and NKTR-118 (PEGylated-naloxol) for opioid-induced constipation. Among the personnel changes, Hoyoung Huh M.D., Ph.D. has been promoted to chief operating officer and head of the PEGylation Business Unit. Chief Financial Officer Louis Drapeau is retiring and will leave the company in the coming months.
"During the past several months, we have enacted change at Nektar that prioritizes strong management, timely decision-making, and efficient use of resources," said Howard W. Robin, chief executive officer and president of the company. "Today's actions greatly strengthen our ability to build a world-class therapeutics company."
- check out the release on Nektar
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