Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar reported second-quarter 2026 non-cash royalty revenue of $10.1 million. R&D expense was $39.1 million, G&A expense was $12.8 million, non-cash interest expense was $7.2 million, and net loss was $40.6 million, or $1.23 basic and diluted net loss per share. The company ended the quarter with $1.02 billion in cash and investments and no debt. For 2026, it now expects revenue of $40 million to $45 million, R&D expense of $210 million to $230 million, G&A expense of $60 million to $65 million, non-cash interest expense of $30 million to $35 million, and year-end cash and investments of approximately $815 million to $840 million.

Howard W. Robin framed the quarter around clinical execution and rezpeg’s expansion from promising Phase 2 data into pivotal testing. He stressed that the drug’s upstream Treg mechanism could make it a potential “pipeline in a product” across autoimmune diseases, while highlighting a large unmet need in atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata. His tone was upbeat and focused on differentiation, especially around dosing convenience, durability, and safety.

Linda Rubinstein said Nektar’s balance sheet remains strong after April’s underwritten public offering, which generated $350 million in net proceeds. She highlighted the $1.02 billion cash and investments balance, no debt, and the raised year-end 2026 cash guidance of $815 million to $840 million. She also reiterated that R&D should rise quarter by quarter in 2026 as Phase 3 and CMC activities progress, while G&A and non-cash interest guidance remained unchanged.

Analysts focused on how the off-treatment data in alopecia areata and atopic dermatitis could inform maintenance dosing, with management saying the 24-week off-treatment AA readout in Q4 and the 52-week off-treatment AD data next year will help determine whether dosing can be extended beyond twice monthly or quarterly. In AD, management said the market research supports first-line use rather than only a step-through strategy, citing physician interest in a novel mechanism and concerns about IL-13 class overlap. Questions also touched on alopecia competition and a recent non-JAK dataset; management said the study was hard to interpret because it was small, open-label, and in a less severe population. On litigation, Howard said he could not comment on the ongoing case but noted a federal jury trial is scheduled for September 8 in San Francisco.