Nektar falls after autoimmune disorder drug misses main goal in mid-stage study

Shares of drug developer Nektar Therapeutics NKTR.O fall 6.8% to $50 premarket

Co says its experimental drug for alopecia areata, rezpegaldesleukin, narrowly missed the main goal of achieving statistically significant reduction in severity in a mid-stage study

Says both treatment arms met statistical significance on the main goal when excluding four patients with major study eligibility violations

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system attacks hair follicles, causing patchy hair loss on the scalp

Co plans to move into late-stage development for the drug in 2026

As of last close, stock has more than tripled YTD