On August 10, 2026 Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat autoimmune diseases, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.

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"Expanding access to NKX019 in the communities where autoimmune patients already receive care is central to how we’re advancing this program," said Paul J. Hastings, Chief Executive Officer of Nkarta. "This quarter, we continued to enroll patients across all indications in Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 at the 4 billion cell dose level. Following our recent agreement with the FDA on outpatient dosing, we have begun administrating NKX019 through our expanding network of community-based sites, with re-dosing available, if needed, to patients in both trials. We look forward to presenting our initial clinical dataset from Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 at a medical conference in 2026."

NKX019 Clinical Program Progress and Upcoming Milestones

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Enrollment continues across Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2, our multi-center, open-label, dose-escalation clinical trials evaluating NKX019 in multiple autoimmune diseases.
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Outpatient dosing is underway within our network of community-based sites, broadening patient access beyond those who can travel to academic medical centers.
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Patients are being dosed at 4 billion cells per dose x 3 doses (12 billion cells total) across all indications in Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2.
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Initial clinical data from Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 are planned for presentation at a medical conference in 2026.

Second Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights

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Nkarta had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments in marketable securities of $243.2 million as of June 30, 2026.
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Research and development (R&D) expenses were $29.0 million for the second quarter of 2026. Non-cash stock-based compensation expense included in R&D expense was $0.7 million for the second quarter of 2026.
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General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $14.1 million for the second quarter of 2026. Non-cash stock-based compensation expense included in G&A expense was $1.1 million for the second quarter of 2026.
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Net loss was $40.4 million, or $0.54 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026. This net loss includes non-cash charges of $11.8 million that consisted primarily of share-based compensation of $1.9 million, depreciation of $2.7 million, and impairment of right-of-use assets, leasehold improvements and other equipment of $8.0 million.

Financial Guidance

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Nkarta expects its current cash and cash equivalents to fund its current operating plan into 2029.

About the Ntrust℠ Clinical Trials in Autoimmune Disease

Ntrust-1 (NCT06557265) and Ntrust-2 (NCT06733935) are multi-center, open label, dose escalation clinical trials in patients with autoimmune disease receiving lymphodepletion followed by CD19-targeted CAR-NK cell therapy. Both trials will assess the safety of NKX019 in people living with autoimmune diseases as well as its potential to achieve durable remission via a "reset" of the immune system through the elimination of pathogenic B cells.

The Ntrust trials are enrolling up to 12 patients per dose level per disease indication across systemic sclerosis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, ANCA-associated vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus nephritis, and primary membranous nephropathy. Additional participants may be enrolled if needed to refine patient populations for further study.

In both studies, patients now receive a three-dose cycle of NKX019 on Days 0, 3, and 7 following lymphodepletion with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide or cyclophosphamide alone, if they have significant cytopenia at baseline. Leveraging the engineering of NKX019, no patients in either trial will receive supplemental cytokines or antibody-based therapeutics. This approach is designed to evaluate the single-agent activity of NKX019 and facilitate a more rapid path to regulatory approval. Patients in both trials may also receive additional cycles, if needed, to restore response or enable a deeper response.

About NKX019

NKX019 is an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf immunotherapy candidate that uses natural killer (NK) cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy adult donors. It is engineered with a humanized CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) for enhanced cell targeting and a proprietary, membrane-bound form of interleukin-15 (IL-15) for greater persistence and activity without exogenous cytokine support. CD19 is a biomarker for normal B cells as well as those implicated in autoimmune disease. Nkarta is evaluating NKX019 in multiple autoimmune conditions.

(Press release, Nkarta, AUG 10, 2026, View Source [SID1234669903])