Nektar Therapeutics

Customer and revenue · Reimbursement and pricing pressure healthcare or insurance

If government and private insurance programs do not provide payment or reimbursement for our partnered drug or proprietary drugs, those drugs will not be widely accepted, which would have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Third-party payers are increasingly challenging the price and cost effectiveness of medical products and services.

Strategic execution · Strategic transformation and turnaround risks

Additional cost-savings measures may be necessary following implementation of our strategic reorganization plan and cost restructuring plans. Our 2022 and 2023 Restructuring Plans prioritized key research and development efforts. There is no guarantee that these Restructuring Plans and their associated cost restructuring measures will achieve their intended benefits.

Customer and revenue · Customer concentration and key customer dependence

Our results of operations and financial condition depend significantly on the ability of our collaboration partners to successfully develop and market drugs and they may fail to do so. Under our collaboration agreements with various pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, our collaboration partner is generally solely responsible for designing and conducting large scale clinical studies, preparing and filing documents necessary to obtain government approvals, and marketing and selling the drugs.

Strategic execution · Joint venture and partnership risks

If we are unable to establish and maintain collaboration partnerships on attractive commercial terms, our business, results of operations and financial condition could suffer. The timing of new collaboration partnerships is difficult to predict due to availability of clinical data, the outcomes from our clinical studies, the number of potential partners that need to complete due diligence and approval processes.

Economic and market conditions · Economic recession and downturns

Global economic and political conditions may negatively affect us and may magnify certain risks that affect our business. Adverse macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, economic recession, volatility in the financial markets, supply chain shortages, changes to fiscal and monetary policy or government budget dynamics may adversely affect our business.

Natural and catastrophic events · Natural disasters and extreme weather

If natural disasters or other catastrophic events strike, our business may be harmed. Our corporate headquarters, where the majority of our operations are based, are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for seismic activity. In the event of an earthquake or other natural disaster, our business operations would be significantly disrupted.

Natural and catastrophic events · Pandemic and public health crises

Our business could be adversely affected by the effects of future health epidemics. Our business could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by health epidemics in regions where we have concentrations of clinical trial sites or other business operations, including the manufacturing operations of third parties upon whom we rely.

Geopolitical and trade · Trade policies tariffs and sanctions

With rising international trade tensions or sanctions, our business may be adversely affected following new or increased tariffs. Tariffs could result in increased global clinical trial costs as a result of international transportation of clinical drug supplies, as well as the costs of materials and products imported into the U.S.

Natural and catastrophic events · Force majeure and business interruption

Our collaboration partners and important vendors and suppliers to us or our collaboration partners may also be subject to catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and pandemics any of which could harm our business, including by disrupting supply chains important to the success of our business.

Economic and market conditions · Inflation and deflation pressures

Inflation has increased our operating costs and could negatively impact our operations. Increased price levels resulting from inflation have resulted in increased operating costs. In addition, the United States Federal Reserve has held interest rates at higher levels than in the past decade.

Human capital and workforce · Key personnel dependence and succession

We are dependent on our management team and key technical personnel, and the loss of any key manager or employee may impair our ability to develop our products effectively and may harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Our success largely depends on the continued services of our executive officers and other key personnel.

Project and contract management · Project execution and delivery risks

We depend on third parties to conduct the preclinical studies and clinical trials for our drug candidates and any failure of those parties to fulfill their obligations according to protocol standards could harm our development plans and adversely affect our business. We rely heavily on these parties for the successful execution of our preclinical studies and clinical trials.

Human capital and workforce · Talent acquisition and retention

Because competition for highly qualified technical personnel is intense, we may not be able to attract and retain the personnel we need to support our operations and growth. We face intense competition from other biopharmaceutical companies, research and academic institutions and other organizations for qualified personnel.

Supply chain and procurement · Supplier operation and dependance

If our contract manufacturers are not able to manufacture biologic substance or substances in sufficient quantities that meet applicable quality standards, it could delay clinical studies or constitute a breach of our contractual obligations. As a result of the sale of the Facility, we are currently dependent on Gannet BioChem for the supply of the PEG reagents used in the manufacture of our PEG-conjugate drug candidates.

Capital structure and performance · Financial performance volatility

Our revenue has historically been exclusively derived from our collaboration agreements, which can result in significant fluctuation in our revenue from period to period, and our past revenue is therefore not necessarily indicative of our future revenue. Significant variations in the timing of receipt of cash payments and our recognition of revenue can result from payments based on the execution of new collaboration agreements.

Credit and liquidity · Liquidity and cash flow constraints

We expect to continue to incur substantial losses and negative cash flow from operations and may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we reported a net loss of $164.1 million.

Credit and liquidity · Access to capital and financing

We have substantial future capital requirements and there is a risk that we may not have access to sufficient capital to meet our current business plan. If we are unable to raise additional capital in one or more financing transactions, execute new high value collaborations or other arrangements, or do not receive substantial milestone or royalty payments from our existing collaboration agreements, we would be unable to continue our current level of investment in research and development.

Legal and litigation · Intellectual property disputes

We are involved in legal proceedings and may incur substantial litigation costs and liabilities that will adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings where we or other third parties are enforcing or seeking intellectual property rights, invalidating or limiting patent rights that have already been allowed or issued.

Cybersecurity and data protection · Data breaches and cyber attacks

We significantly rely on information technology systems and infrastructure, and any failure, inadequacy, damage, interruption, compromise, incident or breach, or security lapse of that technology within our internal computer systems and infrastructure, or those of our partners, vendors, CROs, CMOs or other contractors or consultants, may result in a material disruption of our development programs and our operations and financial condition.

Cybersecurity and data protection · Third party data security and vendors

Like other companies in our industry, we, and our third party vendors, have experienced threats and cybersecurity incidents relating to our information technology systems and infrastructure. Cybersecurity incidents and data breaches have been increasing in frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity.