Nektar Therapeutics Skyrockets: Here’s Why This Biotech Stock Exploded This Week

Biotech lightning struck—Nektar Therapeutics just ripped through the market with staggering momentum.

Clinical catalysts ignite rally

Fresh trial data dropped like a crypto pump—sudden, dramatic, and sending shockwaves through investor portfolios. The numbers don't lie: double-digit percentage gains materialized almost overnight.

Market reacts—fast and fierce

Traders piled in like it was a Bitcoin breakout, chasing the surge with classic FOMO energy. Volume spiked, shorts got squeezed, and the ticker turned into a momentum trader’s dream—or nightmare, depending which side of the trade you were on.

Big pharma eyes new prey

Rumors swirled about partnership potential. Because nothing gets institutional blood pumping like the possibility of a deep-pocketed acquirer stepping in—especially when retail’s already done the heavy lifting.

Bottom line: another week, another biotech rollercoaster. Just another reminder that in markets, sometimes the biggest gains come from the most unexpected labs—not spreadsheets.

What happened this week

Nektar's lead drug is rezpegaldesleukin, a treatment for skin conditions alopecia areata and atopic dermatitis. The company is making promising progress with the drug and received a fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for it in the treatment of atopic dermatitis in February. That good news was followed by another FDA fast track designation for it in severe to very severe alopecia areata at the end of July.

However, as is often the case in the pharmaceutical industry, other companies are developing rival programs, one of which is Sanofi's amlitelimab for atopic dermatitis. It's not that amlitelimab failed to meet its primary and secondary endpoints, but rather that the efficacy data wasn't strong enough when compared to that of Sanofi's existing treatment for the same condition, Dupixent -- a drug that goes off patent in 2031.

What's next for Nektar Therapeutics

The disappointing results from Sanofi appear to clear the way for Nektar's rezpegaldesleukin to become a potentially commercially viable treatment.

Image source: Getty Images.

That said, Nektar hasn't released phase 2 top-line data for rezpegaldesleukin in alopecia areata yet -- it's due at the end of the year -- let alone initiated phase 3 in either atopic dermatitis or alopecia areata. There's still a long way to go, and this week's news reveals nothing about the efficacy or commercial viability of Nektar's lead program beyond the fact that a potential competitor's position is weaker. Given all that, the move may be an overreaction.