Business
Nektar Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.
About this update from Nektar Therapeutics
[{"type":"text","content":"SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.\nCash and investments in marketable securities at March 31, 2020 were approximately $1.5 billion as compared to $1.6 billion at December 31, 2019.\n\"Amid the challenges of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, our Nektar team made significant progress to advance our various clinical studies for our immuno-oncology pipeline while also prioritizing the safety of the patients we serve, our employees and the physicians and staff in our clinical trial network,\" said Howard W. Robin, President and CEO of Nektar. \"For our ongoing studies in oncology, we are working with our global study sites to ensure that patients continue to receive uninterrupted access to study treatment and that we preserve the integrity and conduct of our trials. Many of our clinical trial timelines remain intact; however, at this time, we currently expect that enrollment and study starts managed by our partners will likely be delayed from three to six months. From an operational perspective, Nektar's strong financial position coupled with decisive mitigation actions to address the potential impact to our business, provides a solid foundation for Nektar as we navigate this unprecedented time.\"\nSummary of Q1 2020 Financial Results\nRevenue in the first quarter of 2020 was $50.6 million as compared to $28.2 million in the first quarter of 2019. The increase was due primarily to the recognition of a $25.0 million milestone payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb related to the initiation of the registrational trial of bempegaldesleukin plus Opdivo® in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. \nTotal operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were $184.2 million as compared to $148.9 million in the first quarter of 2019. Total operating costs and expenses increased primarily as a result of impairment of assets and other costs for NKTR-181, partially offset by a decrease in R&D.\nDuring the first quarter of 2020, Nektar reported $45.2 million in impairment charges and additional costs related to the discontinuation of the NKTR-181 program, which was announced in January 2020. This includes $19.7 million for the impairment of advance payments to contract manufacturers for commercial batches of NKTR-181, and $25.5 mill...