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ARTICLE | Company News

Aug. 1 Company Quick Takes: Nektar gains on breakthrough for NKTR-214; plus Adaptive's MRD test, Acadia, Vanda and more

August 2, 2019 1:14 AM UTC

Nektar gains after FDA breakthrough therapy designation
Nektar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:NKTR) was up $2.73 (10%) to $31.19 after FDA granted breakthrough designation for bempegaldesleukin (NKTR-214) in combination with Opdivo nivolumab from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) for patients with previously untreated unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The companies are co-developing the combo for various cancers under a February 2018 deal in which Nektar received $1.85 billion in upfront cash and equity (see “Clever Pegylation Pay Off”).

Broader approval for Adaptive’s clonoSEQ MRD test
The clonoSEQ Assay from Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. (NASDAQ:ADPT) is now approved for a broader range of cancers and sample types for patients in New York via the State of New York Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP). In 2018, FDA approved clonoSEQ for MRD assessment in bone marrow samples from patients with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma; the CLEP approval makes the test available to patients in New York with these and other B cell cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma using DNA from bone marrow, blood or archived tissue samples...