Nektar Therapeutics' NKTR-181 Achieved Long-acting Pk Profile With Analgesic Response And Excellent Safety Profile

Nektar Therapeutics NKTR announced today positive interim data from an ongoing single-dose Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating NKTR-181, the company's novel mu-opioid analgesic candidate. Interim study results show that the molecule achieved its study objectives with an extended PK profile, slow entry into the CNS, and analgesic response. This interim data also show that the drug candidate exhibits an excellent safety and tolerability profile with no dose-limiting tolerability issues observed in the study to-date. NKTR-181, a novel mu-opioid analgesic investigational drug candidate, was created using Nektar's small molecule polymer conjugate technology. With slower entry into the CNS when compared to historical oxycodone data, NKTR-181 has the potential to greatly reduce the euphoria that underlies opioid abuse liability and dependence, as well as the serious CNS-related side-effects of respiratory depression and sedation. The unique molecular design of the polymer drug conjugate also prevents conversion of NKTR-181 into a rapidly-acting, more abusable opioid. "NKTR-181 is an exciting development in pain management research," said Lynn R. Webster, MD, Medical Director of Lifetree Clinical Research. "New therapeutics to manage chronic pain without the serious risks associated with existing opioids are desperately needed. A novel opioid therapy, such as NKTR-181, with lower potential for abuse liability and fewer CNS-related side effects than existing opioids provides great promise for pain practitioners looking for safer, more effective pain management. The profile and properties observed with NKTR-181 in the clinic are highly interesting because these properties are inherent to the molecule's novel structure, which represents a significant potential advance over existing long-acting opioid drugs, which are typically simply re-formulations of many traditional opioids."