On Oct. 27, 2020, Nektar Therapeutics announced that it has received FDA clearance for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its investigational IL-2 pathway agent, bempegaldesleukin (BEMPEG, NKTR-214), to be evaluated in a Phase 1b clinical study in adult patients who have been diagnosed with mild COVID-19 infection.

Enrollment in the Phase 1b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was planned to start in early November.