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Investing.com -- Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) stock jumped 7% Thursday after the company announced positive results from its REZOLVE-AD Phase 2b study of rezpegaldesleukin for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.
The company reported that rezpegaldesleukin achieved statistical significance on the primary endpoint of mean improvement in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) at week 16 over baseline for all treatment arms versus placebo. The high dose (24 µg/kg every two weeks) showed a 61% mean improvement in EASI score compared to 31% for placebo.
Key secondary endpoints also showed significant improvements, including EASI-75 response rates of 42%, 46%, and 34% across the high, middle, and low dose groups respectively, compared to 17% for placebo. Patient-reported outcomes demonstrated meaningful benefits, with up to 72% of patients in the high-dose group achieving significant improvements in Daily Life Quality Index.
The data presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress in Paris revealed that patients who received extended treatment beyond 16 weeks experienced deepening responses. For patients who crossed over from placebo to high-dose treatment, EASI-75 response rates improved from 50% at week 16 to 62% at week 24.
"These results from REZOLVE-AD, including the improved responses observed with duration of dosing beyond 16 weeks, demonstrate the potential of this new biology and the promise of Tregs as a therapeutic modality to treat inflammatory skin disorders," said Jonathan Zalevsky, Chief Research and Development Officer of Nektar.
The company noted that the treatment was generally well-tolerated, with comparable rates of treatment-emergent adverse events between the drug arms (60.3%) and placebo (57.5%). Nektar plans to report results from a separate study of rezpegaldesleukin in alopecia areata patients in December.
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