Kodiak Sciences shares surge after eye drug succeeds in late-stage study

Kodiak Sciences

26/03/2026 12:09

March 26 (Reuters) - Shares of drug developer Kodiak Sciences KOD.O jumped 52% before the bell on Thursday after its experimental drug met the main goal in a late-stage study in patients with diabetes-related eye damage.

Kodiak, valued at $1.39 billion as of Wednesday's close, was testing the drug, Zenkuda, to treat diabetic retinopathy - an eye complication of diabetes characterized by damaged retinal blood vessels that can lead to leakage, bleeding, and potential vision loss.

In the trial, 62.5% of patients who received Zenkuda achieved at least a two-step improvement on a standard retinopathy severity scale at 48 weeks, compared with 3.3% of those on a sham treatment, the company said.

Patients on the drug also saw an 85% reduction in risk of developing sight-threatening complications such as progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy - a type of vision-threatening complication, according to the company.

Kodiak said Zenkuda was well tolerated, with the study reporting no cases of vision-threatening conditions such as inflammation of blood vessels or the eye.

Zenkuda is designed as a long-acting drug to block a protein linked to harmful blood-vessel growth in the retina.

The drug showed consistent efficacy among patients regardless of whether they were taking GLP-1 medications, the company added.

Kodiak said the results support an application for approval with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and that it plans to accelerate the submission.

 (Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

 ((siddhi.mahatole@thomsonreuters.com;))