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Nektar Therapeutics reported encouraging signs that hair regrowth with its investigational alopecia areata drug rezpegaldesleukin could persist after treatment stopped. But the headline durability figures came from just eight patients who had first reached a particular response threshold, and the results are from a Phase 2b study—not a confirmatory Phase 3 trial. Those limits help explain why positive clinical news did not guarantee a positive day for NKTR shares; the available reports do not establish one definitive cause for the decline.
What Nektar reported about hair regrowth after treatment
In longer-term Phase 2b REZOLVE-AA results presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress on October 1, 2026, Nektar reported that some patients maintained hair regrowth after stopping rezpegaldesleukin. The most striking maintenance results apply only to a small subset: patients who had achieved a Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of 20 or lower while on treatment.
| Outcome reported by Nektar | Result | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Maintained SALT ≤20 at four months off treatment | 6 of 8 patients (75%) | Maintenance among patients who had already reached SALT ≤20 |
| Maintained SALT ≤20 at six months off treatment | 5 of 8 patients (63%) | Maintenance among the same small responder subset |
| Reached SALT ≤10 after six months off treatment | 19% | A stricter hair-loss threshold after stopping treatment |
| Reached SALT ≤10 at the end of 52 weeks on treatment | 7% | The corresponding on-treatment figure reported by Nektar |
Nektar’s October 1, 2026 release reports these outcomes. The maintenance percentages should not be read as the share of everyone in the study who retained regrowth: their denominator is the eight patients who had first reached SALT ≤20. With only eight people in that subgroup, each patient’s outcome materially changes the percentage.
How to read the trial’s different response measures
SALT scores quantify scalp hair loss; lower scores indicate less hair loss. A threshold such as SALT ≤10 describes a more substantial degree of regrowth than SALT ≤20. SALT30 and SALT50 are different measures: they refer to reductions in SALT score from baseline of at least 30% and 50%, respectively. They are not interchangeable with reaching a particular score or with maintaining a response after treatment ends.
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In a separate, earlier update on the 52-week treatment extension, Nektar reported results while patients continued twice-monthly dosing. The overall-population response figures below are on-treatment outcomes, not the later off-treatment maintenance results.
| Week 52 outcome | Low-dose arm | High-dose arm | Placebo |
|---|---|---|---|
| SALT50 response | 37.7% | 38.8% | 13.6% |
| SALT30 response | 45.6% | 47.6% | 24.2% |
Nektar also said 29% and 31% of patients in the 18 and 24 µg/kg extension arms, respectively, newly reached SALT ≤20 between weeks 36 and 52. These are company-reported extension findings; they do not turn the small post-treatment responder subset into a result for the full study population. Nektar described the extension results in its April 20, 2026 release.
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Did Nektar’s alopecia study meet its main goal?
The available evidence does not support describing the later extension data as a reversal of the initial primary-endpoint result. A contemporaneous December 2025 account of the initial topline results said the prespecified primary endpoint in the full study population did not reach statistical significance. Nektar’s April 2026 release concerns later extension findings. Those are distinct results, and positive-looking extension data do not erase the original primary-endpoint outcome.
Rezpegaldesleukin remains investigational. Phase 2b findings can help guide development, but they are not confirmatory Phase 3 evidence, and they do not establish that a treatment will be approved or work for patients broadly. Nektar itself cautions that clinical development may fail despite earlier positive findings.
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Why did NKTR shares fall after the results?
Contemporaneous coverage reported a sharp same-day decline, but not a proven single cause. Yahoo Finance described a fall of about 21% on October 1, 2026, while Investing.com reported that NKTR fell 22.4% to $46.99 and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 2.1%. These are figures reported by those outlets; the cited reports do not establish a definitive causal breakdown or resolve differences in price-measurement methodology.
One plausible interpretation is that investors weighed the limitations of the evidence, expectations already reflected in the share price, or both. That is interpretation, not an established explanation for the move. A promising biological signal and a falling stock price can coexist: clinical results inform a company’s prospects, but they do not remove uncertainty about trial size, later-stage results, development, or regulatory review.
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What comes next for Nektar’s alopecia program?
In its August 13, 2026 financial update, Nektar said it planned to begin one registrational Phase 3 alopecia areata study in early 2027. That was a company plan at the time of the update, not confirmation that the trial began. The next major evidence step is therefore the planned Phase 3 study; its results and any eventual regulatory decision remain unknown. Nektar’s second-quarter 2026 update also reported $1,023.4 million in cash and marketable securities as of June 30, 2026, a financial figure that does not by itself establish the program’s clinical prospects.
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