Filling an acute need

Having already made the leap from a royalty-based drug delivery model to become a company that is developing products of its own, Nektar Therapeutics is looking to branch out from its areas of expertise in pegylated and dry powder formulations into products requiring aerosolized liquid delivery. To this end, the company last week said it will acquire Aerogen Inc. - a move that broadens its pulmonary delivery capabilities and allows it to develop therapeutics for the acute care setting, where dry powder delivery is not an option.

NKTR's suite of technologies for dry powder delivery makes stabilization and sterilization easier because of the absence of water, according to Chris Searcy, vice president of corporate development. It also quickens a drug's onset of action by delivering a larger payload in a shorter amount of time...