Nektar (NKTR) Up on Positive New Data From Eczema Study
Nektar Therapeutics NKTR announced positive new data from the early-stage study evaluating its pipeline candidate, rezpegaldesleukin (rezpeg) in patients suffering from moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), also called “eczema”.
Rezpeg is a selective regulatory T-cell (Treg) therapy, designed to address AD, a condition afflicting nearly 10% of the American population. AD is a chronic skin disease characterized by itchy and inflamed skin.
The data from the phase Ib study showed that treatment with rezpeg led to a statistically significant improvement in clinical efficiency endpoints as measured by Body Surface Area, Dermatology Life Quality Index and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure.
Earlier in August, Nektar had reported strong efficacy for EASI-related endpoints. EASI is a widely used and validated standard measurement for AD studies.
Per the previously reported data, there was an 83% improvement in the mean EASI score, with an EASI 75 response rate of 41%, after 12 weeks of treatment with the highest dose of rezpeg, These positive results indicate that rezpeg holds great potential as a treatment option for individuals suffering from AD.
Following this development, shares of the company were up 4.8% on Sep 13. Nektar’s shares have also rallied 69.4% year to date against the industry's 3.2% decline.
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Nektar plans to begin a phase IIb study of rezpeg in biologic-naïve patients with moderate-to-severe AD by October 2023. The company also plans to explore rezpeg’s potential in a mid-stage study for patients with alopecia areata by early 2024.
Nektar regained full rights to rezpeg from Eli Lily LLY in April 2023, and is now in-charge of its clinical development. Rezpeg is a wholly owned asset of Nektar, and the company owes no royalty payments to LLY.
Rezpeg was earlier developed in collaboration with Eli Lilly for several autoimmune indications. However, in February, LLY announced that the phase II study evaluating rezpeg for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) did not meet the primary endpoint of a reduction in SLE disease activity index at six months. LLY and Nektar were also co-developing the candidate for AD. Following the above setback, Eli Lilly notified Nektar that it did not intend to advance rezpeg for SLE treatment.
Nektar Therapeutics Price and Consensus
Nektar Therapeutics price-consensus-chart | Nektar Therapeutics Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Nektar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A couple of better-ranked stocks in the same industry are Anika Therapeutics ANIK and Annovis Bio ANVS, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate forAnika Therapeutics has narrowed from a loss of $1.41 per share to a loss of $1.32 for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has narrowed from a loss of 79 cents to a loss of 64 cents for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have lost 42.4% year to date.
ANIK’s earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in the remaining three, delivering an average negative surprise of 32.12%.
In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Annovis Bio has narrowed from a loss of $4.89 per share to a loss of $4.38 for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has narrowed from a loss of $3.18 to a loss of $2.77 for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have lost 17% year to date.
ANVS’ earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in one, delivering an average surprise of 13.40%.
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