Nektar to wind down subsidiary after withdrawing opioid NDA

Nektar's decision to withdraw its NDA for oxycodegol will spell the end of its Inheris subsidiary, which it created last year ahead of the therapy's planned launch. The company will not invest further in the opioid's development following its unanimous rebuke by an FDA panel Tuesday and will wind down the subsidiary, spokesperson Jennifer Ruddock told BioCentury.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) made the decision late Tuesday after all 27 members of FDA's Analgesic Drug Products and Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committees voted against recommending the therapy's approval, either to treat chronic lower back pain or for general extended-release/long-acting opioid analgesic chronic pain indications (see "FDA Panel Rebuffs 'Safer' Opioid")...