On November 10, 2021 Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX), a biopharmaceutical company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 (Press release, Nkarta, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595085]).

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"We are on track to achieve key data milestones for our two co-lead programs in 2022 with the recently announced dosing of patients in our clinical trial of NKX019 and further progress in our first-in-human clinical trial of NKX101," said Paul J. Hastings, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nkarta. "We continue to be excited about the early advancements we are making in our collaboration with CRISPR Therapeutics on CD70 engineered CAR NK cell and NK plus T cell candidates, and we look forward to sharing updates on potential clinical applications of multiple platform enhancements during the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) annual meeting."

RECENT UPDATES

NKX101

In October 2021, Nkarta updated guidance to the first half of 2022 for when it expects to announce initial clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of NKX101 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
NKX019

In October 2021, Nkarta announced the dosing of the first patients in the Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating NKX019 in CD19+ advanced B cell malignancies. Initial data are expected in 2022.
Manufacturing

Nkarta is producing the clinical supply of NKX019 at its recently commissioned in-house cGMP clinical manufacturing facility in South San Francisco, California.
Nkarta entered a lease agreement to establish a new 88,000 square foot combined manufacturing facility and company headquarters. Once operational, the manufacturing facility will increase Nkarta’s manufacturing footprint with capacity to produce materials for potential pivotal trials and commercial launch of Nkarta’s engineered NK cell therapy products.
Pipeline and Platform

Nkarta is announcing updates on multiple platform and pipeline enhancements at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 36TH Annual Meeting and Pre-Conference Program (SITC 2021) November 10 – 13, 2021. Preclinical data on CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering and CD70 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting are being jointly presented with CRISPR Therapeutics. In addition, Nkarta will be presenting data on donor selection in next generation NK cell development programs and novel methods for scaling the expansion of engineered NK cells.
THIRD QUARTER 2021 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Cash and Cash Equivalents: As of September 30, 2021, Nkarta had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments of $259.8 million.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $16.6 million for the third quarter of 2021. Non-cash share-based compensation expense included in R&D expense was $1.7 million for the third quarter of 2021.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $5.8 million for the third quarter of 2021. Non-cash share-based compensation expense included in G&A expense was $2.0 million for the third quarter of 2021.

Net Loss. Net loss was $22.4 million, or $0.68 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2021.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

Nkarta expects its current cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan into at least the second half of 2023.
About NKX101
NKX101 is an investigational, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy that uses natural killer (NK) cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy donors and engineered with membrane-bound IL-15 and a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting NKG2D ligands on tumor cells. NKG2D, a key activating receptor found on naturally occurring NK cells, induces a cell-killing immune response through the detection of stress ligands that are widely expressed on cancer cells. By engineering NKX101 with the proprietary NKG2D-based CAR, the ability of NK cells to recognize and kill tumor cells in pre-clinical models is increased significantly compared to non-engineered NK cells. The addition of membrane-bound interleukin-15 (IL-15), a proprietary version of a cytokine for activating NK cell growth, has been shown in pre-clinical models to enhance the proliferation, persistence and sustained activity of NK cells. To learn more about the NKX101 clinical trial in adults with AML or MDS, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

About NKX019
NKX019 is an investigational, allogeneic, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy that uses natural killer (NK) cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy adult donors. It is engineered with a humanized CD19-directed CAR for enhanced tumor cell targeting and a proprietary, membrane-bound form of IL-15 for greater persistence and activity without exogenous cytokine support. CD19 is a biomarker for normal and malignant B cells, and it is a validated target for B cell cancer therapies. To learn more about the clinical trial of NKX019 in advanced B cell malignancies, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.