Nektar Therapeutics' stock jumps premarket after it says data presented by Eli Lilly for a skin treatment was incorrectly calculated

Nektar Therapeutics' stock (NKTR) jumped 12.7% in premarket trade Monday, after the company said that efficacy data previously generated by its former partner Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) for its atopic dermatitis treatment rezpegaldesleukin and presented at the Sept. 22922 EADV Congress were incorrectly calculated. The San Francisco-based company said new and corrected data found that 12 weeks of rezpeg therapy at the highest dose achieved a a mean Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score improvement of 83% with a p-value of 0.002 as compared to placebo and an EASI-75 response rate of 41%. The EASI score is a tool used to measure the extent (area) and severity of atopic eczema. Nektar said it discovered the error in the data generated by Eli Lilly from two Phase 1b studies when all rights to rezpeg were returned to it along with the raw data files. "This transfer of the raw data files to Nektar was the first opportunity for Nektar to review the complete patient data files," the company said in a statement. "Subsequently, an independent statistical firm was employed to analyze the raw data de-novo, and the firm provided the new and corrected data." Lilly confirmed the errors in written communications with Nektar, it added. "These corrected data importantly demonstrate that REZPEG, a novel and differentiated T regulatory cell mechanism, holds great promise for treating patients with atopic dermatitis," Nektar CEO Howard W. Robin said in a statement. Nektar is now planning to hold an investor meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the corrected data, along with new and final data from a 36-week follow-up. The company is planning to start a Phase 2b study in October. The stock has fallen 76% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

-Ciara Linnane

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-07-23 0650ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.