Nektar, stung by new investor lawsuit over IL-2 drug, secures $150M for Keytruda combo pivotal trial

Nektar Therapeutics’ IL-2 drug hasn’t always lived up to expectations in the four and a half years since it scored a prominent ally in Bristol Myers Squibb — a pact that eventually ballooned to $3.6 billion.

The early data snapshots for a combo of bempegaldesleukin, or NKTR-214, with Opdivo, in particular, rattled investors, and the biotech’s explanation, pinning the blame on manufacturing, did little to salvage their stock price. In fact, just yesterday, two shareholders sued the board of directors for hyping trial results and then selling $171 million worth of stock at an inflated price.