Bayer and Nektar form antibiotic agreement

NKTR-061 (inhaled amikacin) would utilize Nektar’s proprietary pulmonary technology to deliver a specially-formulated amikacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, for inhalation deep into the lung.

“This new development agreement reinforces our commitment to fight infectious and respiratory diseases and is a natural fit with Bayer HealthCare’s strategy of developing and marketing specialty pharmaceutical products,” said Dr Ulrich Kostlin, member of the executive committee of Bayer HealthCare.

“There is a large, unmet medical need for a new approach to fight gram-negative pneumonias, particularly in ventilated patients infected with difficult to treat, resistant organisms. Nektar’s pulmonary drug delivery technology offers a very promising approach to address this unmet medical need,” he added.

As part of this agreement, Nektar will receive milestone payments of up to $175 million associated with the successful development and commercialization of NKTR-061. This includes an upfront payment of $50 million. Subsequent to the successful clinical and regulatory development of the product, Bayer HealthCare and Nektar have agreed to co-promote the product in the US and to share profits. For sales outside the US, Nektar will receive tiered performance royalties up to a maximum of 30%.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer HealthCare is responsible for the global clinical development, regulatory strategy, manufacturing and marketing of the product, with Nektar participating in all aspects of decision-making and governance.

This collaboration is Bayer HealthCare’s second with Nektar. In 2005, Bayer and Nektar agreed to collaborate on the joint development of inhaled ciprofloxacin as a potential dry powder therapy for treating pseudomonal infections in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis.