Credit: Shutterstock photoNektar TherapeuticsNKTR reported a loss of 6 cents per share in the third quarter of 2015, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 30 cents. The company had reported earnings of 53 cents per share in the year-ago period
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) - Earnings Surprise | FindTheCompany
Revenues in the third quarter of 2015 were $60 million, down 54.9% from the year-ago figure, which had included a one-time approval milestone payment for Movantik. Revenues were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $41 million.
Quarter in Detail
Total revenue comprised net product revenues, royalty revenues, non-cash royalty revenues, license, collaboration and other revenues.
License, collaboration and other revenues during the quarter fell 61.4% from the year-ago quarter to $46.5 million. We note that Nektar has an agreement with AstraZeneca AZN for Movantik (EU: Moventig ), which is approved for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients with chronic non-cancer pain.
In the reported quarter, the company received a milestone payment of $40 million for the first commercial sale of Moventig in Germany.
Nektar's net product sales and royalty revenues were $7.4 million during the reported quarter, up 20.3% from the year-ago-period.
Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 26.4% year over year to $43.2 million primarily due to the initiation of a phase III efficacy study and a long-term safety study on NKTR-181 in patients with chronic low back pain.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses increased 4.5% year over year to $9.5 million during the quarter.
Pipeline Update
Nektar has made significant progress on its pipeline so far. Currently, the company is enrolling patients in a phase III SUMMIT-07 efficacy study on NKTR-181 for the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain. The pipeline includes another phase III candidate, Amikacin Inhale, being developed as an adjunctive treatment for intubated and mechanically ventilated patients with gram-negative pneumonia.
The company expects to initiate the first in-human study on NKTR-214 for the treatment of solid tumor malignancies shortly.
We remind investors that a biologics license application for Adynovate for the treatment of patients with hemophilia A is currently under review in the U.S.
Nektar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the health care sector are Anika Therapeutics Inc. ANIK and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SPPI both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
