What Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Nektar has launched three Phase III trials of REZPEG for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and expects to start a pivotal alopecia areata study in December, ahead of schedule. It also plans a small vitiligo proof-of-concept study, with results expected in late 2027 or early 2028.
• The company expects initial top-line results from its atopic dermatitis program in summer 2028 and is targeting a biologics license application by the end of 2029. Alopecia areata Phase III data are expected in 2029.
• Nektar raised its 2026 year-end cash forecast to more than $840 million, from a prior range of $815 million to $840 million; it ended Q3 with about $953 million in cash and investments and no debt. The company reported a Q3 net loss of approximately $56 million.

Nektar Therapeutics NASDAQ: NKTR said it has initiated three Phase III studies of its experimental drug rezpegaldesleukin, or REZPEG, in atopic dermatitis and expects to begin a pivotal alopecia areata study in December, earlier than previously planned.

On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, the company also raised its year-end cash outlook and outlined plans to test REZPEG in vitiligo. Nektar expects initial top-line data from the atopic dermatitis program in summer 2028 and aims to file a biologics license application by the end of 2029.

President and CEO Howard Robin said REZPEG is designed to selectively expand regulatory T cells, an approach the company believes could address multiple inflammatory pathways rather than block a single pathway. The drug remains under investigation, and its potential benefits have not been established in Phase III trials.

Atopic Dermatitis Program Expanded

The global ZENITH-AD program comprises three studies, each expected to enroll 510 patients age 12 and older with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. The studies include patients who have not previously received biologics or oral JAK inhibitors as well as those who have been treated with those drugs.

Chief Medical Officer Mary Tagliaferri said Nektar changed the second study, ZENITH AD-2, to evaluate REZPEG alongside topical corticosteroids in both previously treated and treatment-naive patients. The change followed feedback from regulators in the U.S., Europe and Japan and is intended to support a label covering combination use as well as monotherapy.

Each study includes a 24-week induction period comparing REZPEG with placebo. Patients who achieve specified responses will enter a 28-week maintenance period evaluating monthly and quarterly dosing. Tagliaferri said enrollment is just beginning and the company expects all three studies to complete enrollment around January 2028.

Nektar also expects to report one-year off-treatment follow-up data from its Phase IIb REZOLVE-AD study in the first quarter of 2027. Of the 125 patients who completed maintenance treatment, 110 had received REZPEG during that period and 15 had received placebo.

Tagliaferri said the results could help Nektar determine whether quarterly dosing, or potentially dosing every six months for some patients with deep responses, might maintain disease control after a year of treatment. Those dosing possibilities depend on the forthcoming data.

Alopecia and Vitiligo Studies Planned

The Phase III ZENITH AA study is expected to enroll approximately 850 patients age 12 and older with severe to very severe alopecia areata. Patients will receive REZPEG or placebo for 52 weeks, with the primary endpoint measuring the proportion achieving a scalp hair-loss score of 20 or less. Nektar expects data in 2029.

Patients who respond will enter a long-term extension and be randomized to monthly or quarterly dosing. Those who have not achieved the specified response will continue dosing every two weeks. Tagliaferri said the extension does not include a treatment-withdrawal component.

The company also presented Phase II alopecia follow-up data at the EADV conference. Tagliaferri said 7% of patients treated for 52 weeks had a scalp hair-loss score of 10 or less at the end of treatment, rising to 19% six months after treatment stopped.

Nektar plans a proof-of-concept study in approximately 30 patients with vitiligo, an autoimmune condition that causes loss of skin pigmentation. Tagliaferri said the study will enroll patients with active non-segmental vitiligo, though its final design is still being developed. The company expects proof-of-concept data in late 2027 or early 2028.

A separate, TrialNet-sponsored Phase II study of REZPEG in new-onset type 1 diabetes is ongoing. Tagliaferri said six-month data from its first cohort of 18 patients are anticipated around the end of 2027 or beginning of 2028.

Cash Outlook Raised

Nektar ended the third quarter with approximately $953 million in cash and investments and no debt, Chief Financial Officer Linda Rubinstein said. The company now expects to finish 2026 with more than $840 million in cash and investments, compared with its previous forecast of $815 million to $840 million.

Third-quarter net loss was approximately $56 million, or $1.63 per share. Research and development expenses were about $44 million, while general and administrative expenses were about $25 million. Non-cash royalty revenue totaled $8.5 million.

For the full year, Nektar expects research and development expenses of $185 million to $200 million and general and administrative expenses of approximately $65 million. Rubinstein said research spending is expected to increase in the fourth quarter as the atopic dermatitis trials enroll patients and the alopecia study starts up.

About Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Francisco, California. It discovers and develops medicines, with a current focus on treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Its lead investigational program, rezpegaldesleukin (REZPEG), is designed to stimulate regulatory T cells, which help regulate immune responses. Nektar is studying the candidate in clinical trials for immune-mediated conditions; it is not an approved medicine. Founded in 1990 as Inhale Therapeutic Systems, the company later adopted the Nektar name as it expanded its drug-development work.

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