Following termination of its immuno-oncology partnership with Bristol, Nektar is paring operations, closing its India site and focusing on mid-stage NKTR-358, partnered with Lilly, and NKTR-255.
Nektar Therapeutics acknowledged that changes were coming when discussing the failure of its lead candidate bempegaldesleukin (bempeg) in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb Company’s Opdivo (nivolumab) in the Phase III PIVOT IO-001 study in March, and on 25 April the firm followed up with a major restructuring that will reduce headcount by 70% and place primary focus on mid-stage candidates NKTR-358 and NKTR-255.
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Merck’s immuno-oncology blockbuster was the world’s best-selling drugs by revenues for the second year in a row, with an almost $12bn lead over its closest rival, Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drug Ozempic.
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