SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics
(NASDAQ:NKTR) announced that it has entered into an oncology
clinical collaboration with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) to evaluate
several combination regimens in multiple cancer settings, including
metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and
squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The
collaboration will evaluate Nektar's lead immuno-oncology
candidate, the CD122-biased agonist NKTR-214 with avelumab, a human
anti-PD-L1 antibody in development by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt,
Germany, and Pfizer; talazoparib,
a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor developed by
Pfizer; or enzalutamide, an androgen receptor inhibitor in
development by Pfizer and Astellas Pharma Inc.
"We are excited to partner with Pfizer to evaluate the potential
benefit of the combination of NKTR-214 with agents targeting
multiple mechanisms in the Company's portfolio for patients with a
diagnosis of prostate and head and neck cancer," said Mary Tagliaferri, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
and Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Nektar.
"Importantly, this new clinical collaboration will allow us to
understand how we might access multiple immuno-oncology and
targeted modalities simultaneously to treat cancer in complementary
and novel ways."
Under the new collaboration, Pfizer will initiate a Phase
1b/2 clinical trial to evaluate the
anti-cancer activity of the combined agents, avelumab, talazoparib
and NKTR-214 and separately avelumab, enzalutamide and NKTR-214.
Nektar, Pfizer and their respective partners will each maintain
global commercial rights to their respective medicines.
"We are looking forward to combining Nektar's unique
CD122-biased agonist with a number of agents with distinct
mechanisms," said Chris Boshoff,
M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Immuno-Oncology, Early
Development and Translational Oncology at Pfizer. "We hope to
achieve our goal of improving the care of patients with
difficult-to-treat cancers with unique immunotherapy-based
regimens."
NKTR-214 is an investigational immuno-stimulatory therapy
designed to expand specific cancer-fighting CD8+ effector T cells
and natural killer (NK) cells directly in the tumor
micro-environment and increase expression of PD-1 on these immune
cells. NKTR-214 targets CD122 specific receptors found on the
surface of these cancer-fighting immune cells in order to stimulate
their proliferation. NKTR-214 is being evaluated in multiple
clinical trials in cancer patients. It has an antibody-like dosing
regimen similar to the existing checkpoint inhibitor class of
approved medicines.
About Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common
cancer in American men and is the second leading cause of death for
American males. The American Cancer Society estimates over 164,000
new cases of prostate cancer are projected in 2018, with
approximately 29,000 expected deaths. mCRPC is an incurable disease
and is usually associated with poor prognosis. The five-year
survival rate for mCRPC is approximately 29%.1
About Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
Squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN) are
usually only diagnosed at an advanced stage and thus have a
relatively poor prognosis. One cause may be human papillomavirus
(HPV), but the main cause is tobacco smoking and excessive
consumption of high-percentage alcohol.
About Nektar Therapeutics
Nektar Therapeutics is a research-based development stage
biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover and develop
innovative medicines to address the unmet medical needs of
patients. Our R&D pipeline of new investigational medicines
includes treatments for cancer, auto-immune disease and chronic
pain. We leverage Nektar's proprietary and proven chemistry
platform in the discovery and design of our new therapeutic
candidates. Nektar is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with additional
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.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains uncertain or forward-looking
statements which can be identified by words such as: "anticipate,"
"intend," "plan," "expect," "believe," "should," "may," "will" and
similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking
statements include, among others, statements we make regarding the
potential therapeutic potential of NKTR-214, the therapeutic
potential of NKTR-214 in combination with other drug compounds, the
timing and likelihood of advancement into the clinic for NKTR-214
in combination with other compounds, future clinical development
plans for NKTR-214, and the potential of our research and
development pipeline. Forward-looking statements are neither
historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead,
they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and
assumptions and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and
changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of
which are outside of our control. Our actual results may differ
materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements
and you should not rely on such statements. Important factors that
could cause our actual results to differ materially from those
indicated in the forward-looking statements include: (i)
pre-clinical and clinical study outcomes remain very unpredictable
and it is possible that a study could fail; (ii) NKTR-214 is in
early-stage clinical development and there are substantial risks
that can unexpectedly occur for numerous reasons including negative
safety and efficacy findings; (iii) scientific discovery of new
medical breakthroughs is an inherently uncertain process and the
future success of applying NKTR-214 with new drug compounds is
uncertain and unpredictable and one or more development programs
may fail; (iv) our drug candidates and those of our collaboration
partners are in various stages of clinical development and the risk
of failure is high and can unexpectedly occur at any stage prior to
regulatory approval for numerous reasons including negative safety
and efficacy findings even after positive findings in previous
preclinical and clinical studies; (v) the commencement or end
of studies and the availability of study data may be delayed
or unsuccessful; (vi) patents may not issue from our patent
applications for our drug candidates, patents that have issued may
not be enforceable, or additional intellectual property licenses
from third parties may be required; and (vii) certain other
important risks and uncertainties set forth in our Annual Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
August 9, 2018. Any
forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based
only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of
the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to update
any forward-looking statement.
Nektar Contacts:
For Investors:
Jennifer Ruddock of Nektar
Therapeutics
415-482-5585
For Media:
Dan Budwick of 1AB
973.271.6085
1. American Cancer Society, 2018
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SOURCE Nektar Therapeutics