Nektar Therapeutics Repurchases $100 Million of Convertible Debt and Reports Third Quarter 2008 Financi...( SAN CARLOS Calif. Nov. 6 /- Nekta...),Health

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today announced that it has repurchased 32%, or $100.0 million, of its outstanding convertible debt for approximately 48 cents on the dollar, for a total purchase price of $47.8 million. The company also reported its financial results for the third quarter and nine-months ended September 30, 2008.

"The turnaround at Nektar is now largely complete," said Nektar President and CEO Howard W. Robin. "We have created one of the most robust pipelines in biotech, dramatically improved the company's financial strength, assembled a new management team with a solid track record, and refocused the business around our powerful polymer and conjugate chemistry drug development platform."

Third Quarter 2008 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were $344.5 million at September 30, 2008 compared to $373.9 million at June 30, 2008.

Revenue for the three month period ended September 30, 2008 was $21.4 million compared to revenue of $56.3 million in the third quarter of 2007. For the first nine months of 2008, revenue was $61.8 million as compared to $207.3 million in the same period of 2007. This decrease in revenue is primarily the result of lower product manufacturing revenues due to the termination of the inhaled insulin collaboration by Pfizer in late 2007.

Nektar has continued to make significant improvements to its operating efficiencies as compared to a year ago. For the first nine months of 2008, the company's general and administrative expense was $37.0 million as compared to $42.3 million for the same period a year ago. Research and development expense was $109.1 million in the first nine months
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