Mulquin v. Nektar Therapeutics, et al. 4:18-cv-06607-HSG — On October 30, 2018, investors sued Nektar Therapeutics (“Nektar” or the “Company”) in United States District Court, Northern District of California. The NKTR class action alleges that the plaintiffs acquired Nektar stock at artificially inflated prices between November 11, 2017 and October 2, 2018 (the “Class Period”). They are now seeking compensation for financial losses incurred upon public revelation of the Company’s alleged misconduct during that time. For more information on the NKTR Lawsuit, please contact us today!

Summary of the Allegations

Company Background

Nektar (NASDAQ: NKTR) is a self-described research-based development stage biopharmaceutical company that “discovers and develops innovative medicines in areas of high unmet medical need.”

The Company says it leverages its “proprietary and proven chemistry platform in the discovery and design” of its new drug candidates. It also says that its R&D pipeline of new investigational drugs includes treatments for cancer, auto-immune disease and chronic pain.

Nektar’s claims about its lead immune-oncology (“I-0”) product candidate, NKTTR-214, are at the crux of the October 30 complaint.

Summary of Facts

The Company and two of its officers and/or directors (the “Individual Defendants) are now accused of deceiving investors by lying and withholding critical information about Nektar’s business, operational and compliance practices during the Class Period.

Specifically, they are accused of omitting truthful information about certain studies, and the safety and efficacy of its lead I-O product candidate from SEC filings and related material. By knowingly or recklessly doing so, they allegedly caused Nektar stock to trade at artificially inflated prices during the time in question.

The truth emerged in a report published by Plainview LLC (“Plainview”) on October 1, 2018. In it, Plainview concluded that, “the core concept of Nektar’s plan to develop NKTR-214 into ‘a new universal cancer treatment’ ‘has never worked in practice,’ and further asserted that Nektar’s decision to only disclose certain trial results represented ‘an unprecedented level of opacity.’”

A closer look…

As alleged in the October 30 complaint, the Company and/or Individual Defendants repeatedly made false and misleading public statements during the Class Period.

For instance, in a press release issued at the beginning of the Class Period, the Company said in relevant part: “Nektar and Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into a clinical collaboration in September of 2016 to evaluate the potential for the combination of Opdivo and NKTR-214 to show improved and sustained efficacy and tolerability above the current standard of care.”

Then, in a May 10, 2018 press release, one of the Individual Defendants said in pertinent part: “Nektar begins 2018 in a very strong position with a major collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb for NKTR-214 and key advancements in our immuno-oncology and immunology pipeline.”

Finally, in another press release issued on August 8, 2018, the same Individual Defendant also stated in pertinent part: “[o]ver the past few months, we have reported significant progress across all areas of our pipeline with notable milestones for immuno-oncology, immunology and pain programs.”

Impact of the Alleged Fraud on Nektar’s Stock Price and Market Capitalization

The following chart illustrates the stock price during the class period:

Actions You May Take

If you have purchased shares during the Class Period, you may join the class action as a lead plaintiff, remain a passive class member, or opt out of this litigation and pursue individual claims that may not be available to the class as a whole.

NOTE: The deadline to file for lead plaintiff in this class action is December 31, 2018. You must file an application to be appointed lead plaintiff prior to this deadline in order to be considered by the Court. Typically, the plaintiff or plaintiffs with the largest losses are appointed lead plaintiff.

In order to identify your potential exposure to the alleged fraud during the time in question, you may wish to perform an analysis of your transactions in Nektar common stock using court approved loss calculation methods.

Recently Filed Cases

Listed below are recently filed securities class action cases being monitored by us, along with the class period and the deadline to file a motion to be appointed as the Lead Plaintiff in the action.  Please contact us if you would like an LK report for any of these cases:

About Us

Levi & Korsinsky is a leading securities litigation firm with a hard-earned reputation for protecting investors’ rights and recovering losses arising from fraud, mismanagement and corporate abuse.  With thirty attorneys and offices in New York, Connecticut, California and Washington D.C., the firm is able to litigate cases in various jurisdictions in the U.S., England, and in other international jurisdictions.

Levi & Korsinsky provides portfolio monitoring services for high-net worth investors and institutional clients.  Our firm also assists investors in evaluating whether to opt-out of large securities class actions to pursue individual claims.

For additional information about this case or our institutional services, please contact us.