Nektar Therapeutics Shares Up 19%

By Michael Dabaie

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) shares were up 19% at $25.74 in late morning trading.

Nektar and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) said Friday they have agreed to a new joint development plan for bempegaldesleukin plus Opdivo, or nivolumab, in multiple new registrational trials. With the revision to the companies' strategic collaboration agreement, Nektar and Bristol-Myers Squibb will expand the active clinical development program from three ongoing registrational trials to include two additional registrational trials in adjuvant melanoma and in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

The companies said they also will initiate a Phase 1/2 dose study to evaluate bempeg plus nivolumab in combination with axitinib in first-line RCC in order to support a future registrational trial.

The companies will share costs for these studies.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will also independently conduct and fund a Phase 1/2 dose optimization and expansion study in first-line non-small-cell lung cancer with bempeg and nivolumab.

"We believe Nektar will be up sharply on the news, both because of the expansion in plans and the signal of confidence from BMY," SVB Leerink said in a note.

The two registration trials are in early-stage melanoma and muscle-invasive bladder cancer-indications, where bempeg with nivolumab had the strongest signals, the SVB note said.

"We like the strategy of moving bempeg + nivolumab to early-stage settings, as data consistently shows immunooncology...therapy is more effective the earlier it is given. However, melanoma and bladder cancer are highly immunogenic and, similar to the metastatic settings, Nektar and BMY will likely face competition from other IO regimens," SVB Leerink said.

Write to Michael Dabaie at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 10, 2020 12:06 ET (17:06 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.