A jury awarded Nektar Therapeutics $90 million in damages in its dispute with Eli Lilly over a fractured licensing deal involving rezpegaldesleukin (rezpeg). The brief states the jury found Lilly breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, though the amount was far below what Nektar sought. This outcome matters for biotech dealmaking because implied obligations around co-development and commercialization can become leverage points during partner transitions or strategic pivots. For sponsors, the decision also reinforces the importance of clear development responsibilities and termination or performance expectations in licensing agreements. From an industry perspective, the ruling is a reminder that legal risk remains a meaningful variable in M&A and partnership models—especially for platform biotechs that depend on complex collaboration structures to scale programs.