Nektar Completes Atopic Dermatitis Phase 3 Starts

The Tip Desk · November 12, 2026 · 3 min read

The company posted a $55.7 million net loss, or $1.63 a share, as it launched the third ZENITH AD trial and pulled the alopecia areata registrational start forward to December.

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) completed the start of its global Phase 3 atopic dermatitis program in October and said the alopecia areata registrational trial is on track to begin in December, earlier than the early-2027 start it had described two months earlier.

The clinical-stage biotechnology company said President and Chief Executive Officer Howard Robin called the quarter pivotal as rezpegaldesleukin moved quickly into Phase 3. All three ZENITH AD trials are now underway, and the company is targeting topline data in the summer of 2028 and a first BLA filing in 2029.

In October, Nektar initiated ZENITH AD-3, the third and final registrational study, which is enrolling patients with prior systemic biologic and/or JAK inhibitor treatment experience to support a broad label. The first two trials had started in July.

Revenue in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, was $9.4 million, down from $11.8 million a year earlier. Sequential quarterly revenue had been $10.1 million in the second quarter and $10.9 million in the first quarter. Revenue was non-cash royalty income related to the sales of future royalties.

Total operating costs and expenses were $67.2 million in the third quarter, up from $43.5 million a year earlier. Research and development expense was $44.1 million, compared with $27.3 million in the third quarter of 2025. The company said the increase reflected activities supporting the Phase 3 ZENITH AD and ZENITH AA programs and manufacturing associated with rezpegaldesleukin.

General and administrative expense was $24.6 million, versus $16.1 million a year earlier, which the company attributed primarily to higher legal expenses in the quarter.

Net loss was $55.7 million, or $1.63 a share, compared with a net loss of $35.5 million, or $1.87 a share, in the third quarter of 2025. Weighted average shares used in the per-share calculation were 34.2 million, versus 18.9 million a year earlier.

Cash and investments in marketable securities were $952.9 million on September 30, 2026, compared with $1,023.4 million on June 30, 2026.

In September, collaborators presented a 100-patient biomarker sub-study of the Phase 2b REZOLVE-AD study at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress, showing early molecular responses as early as Week 2 across immune pathways and associations with clinical response at Week 16. In August, results from the 16-week induction period of REZOLVE-AD were published in The Lancet; the study met all primary and key secondary endpoints on the 24 micrograms per kilogram Q2W regimen, including EASI-75 and EASI-90.

In October, data from the 52-week treatment extension and 6-month off-treatment period of the Phase 2b REZOLVE-AA study were presented at EADV. Among patients who achieved a SALT Score of 20 or lower in the 52-week cohort, 75% maintained that response after four months off treatment and 63% after six months. Hair regrowth continued off treatment, with 19% achieving a SALT Score of 10 or lower, an improvement from 7% at the end of 52 weeks. The company said the data support evaluation of less frequent dosing beyond the 52-week induction period.

Robin said the company is focused on advancing to topline data readouts in the summer of 2028 with the first BLA filing in 2029.