Oct. 10, 2009 (PR Newswire) --
PHOENIX and SAN CARLOS, Calif., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) presented topline data today from its Phase 2 clinical trial of oral NKTR-118 at the American Academy of Pain Management's (AAPM) 20th Annual Clinical Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. NKTR-118, an oral peripherally-acting opioid antagonist, is a late stage investigational product candidate in clinical development for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation. NKTR-118 was developed by Nektar, utilizing its proprietary small molecule advanced polymer conjugate technology platform.
Today's presentation at AAPM includes topline data previously announced by the company in March 2009. In a Phase 2 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 208 patients with opioid-induced constipation, NKTR-118 met the primary endpoint of increase in spontaneous bowel movements over the baseline period. There was no reversal or reduction of opioid-mediated analgesia in any dose groups. NKTR-118 was also well tolerated with the most commonly reported side effects being dose-dependent gastrointestinal-related effects.
Download Today's Poster Presentation for NKTR-118
The poster presentation from today's AAPM 20th Annual Clinical Meeting can be found on Nektar's website at http://www.nektar.com/product_pipeline/cns_pain_oral_nktr-118and119.html
AAPM Poster #39: "NKTR-118 Significantly Reverses Opioid-Induced Constipation"
Complete Data from NKTR-118 Phase 2 Clinical Trial to be presented in Oral Plenary Session at ACG 2009
Data from the Phase 2 clinical trial of NKTR-118 have been accepted for presentation in an oral plenary session of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting to be held in San Diego, California on October 27, 2009. The data will be presented by Dr. Lynn Webster, medical director of Lifetree Clinical Research and lead clinical investigator of the Phase 2 trial.
On September 21, 2009, Nektar Therapeutics announced it had entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with AstraZeneca for its NKTR-118 and NKTR-119 programs.
About Opioid-Induced Constipation
The oral peripheral antagonist NKTR-118 targets mu-opioid receptors within the enteric nervous system, which mediate opioid-induced bowel dysfunction, a symptom complex resulting from opioid use that encompasses symptoms such as constipation, bloating, abdominal cramping, and gastroesophageal reflux. Constipation is the hallmark of this syndrome and is generally its most prominent component.
