(Reuters) -Nektar Therapeutics said on Tuesday its experimental eczema drug had met the main goal of a mid-stage study, sending its shares up by more than 140% in premarket trading.
In the 393-patient trial, drug candidate rezpegaldesleukin showed a reduction in the severity of eczema measured with a widely used index.
Rezpegaldesleukin met the study’s secondary goals as well, such as reducing disease severity by 50% to 75% or more. The highest bi-weekly 24 mg dose saw a reduction of 90% or more.
Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic skin condition that causes inflammation, redness and intense itching.
Peer Corvus Pharmaceuticals said earlier this month that its eczema drug candidate soquelitinib showed improvement in an early-stage study.
This was “supportive of NKTR’s (Nektar) approach,” B.Riley analyst Mayank Mamtani said.
Eczema has multiple approved treatments, including AbbVie’s Rinvoq, Pfizer’s Cibinqo, Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, Eli Lilly’s Ebglyss as well as some generic drugs such as cetirizine.
It is estimated that 16.5 million adults in the U.S. have eczema, according to the National Eczema Association.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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