Nkarta Shifts Focus to Autoimmune Disease, Announces Significant Restructuring

Nkarta, a South San Francisco-based biotech company, has announced a major restructuring plan as it continues its pivot from oncology to autoimmune disease research. The company will lay off a third of its workforce, including half of its executive leadership team, in an effort to extend its cash runway and focus resources on its lead CAR NK (chimeric antigen receptor natural killer) candidate.

Restructuring and Layoffs

Nkarta's restructuring plan will result in the elimination of 53 positions, representing 34% of the company's workforce. The layoffs will impact "every level of the organization," according to CEO Paul Hastings. Among the departures is Chief Financial and Business Officer Alyssa Levin, as the company reduces its executive leadership team by over 50%.

The restructuring is expected to cost Nkarta between $5.5 million and $6.5 million in severance and related expenses. Despite these costs, the company aims to extend its cash runway by over a year, into 2029. Nkarta entered 2025 with $380.5 million in cash on hand.

Focus on Autoimmune Disease

Nkarta's strategic shift towards autoimmune diseases began in 2023 and was reaffirmed in 2024 when the company halted work on its allogeneic CD19-directed CAR NK candidate, NKX019, in lymphoma. The company has since launched two trials of NKX019 in autoimmune conditions:

1. A trial in lupus nephritis
2. A trial in systemic sclerosis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, and ANCA-associated vasculitis

Additionally, an investigator-sponsored trial in systemic lupus erythematosus has begun, and another in myasthenia gravis has been cleared to start. Results from these trials are expected in the second half of 2025.

Industry Trends and Future Outlook

Nkarta's pivot to autoimmune diseases follows a growing trend among cell therapy biotechs. Recent data has suggested that CD19-focused treatments may be particularly effective against lupus. The company's focus on CAR NK cell therapy in autoimmune diseases represents a potentially groundbreaking approach in this field.

William Blair analysts described the layoffs as "unfortunate" but "necessary," expressing anticipation for initial clinical data from the Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 trials in the second half of 2025. These results are expected to be major catalysts for the company, potentially providing early proof-of-concept for the CAR-NK cell approach in autoimmune diseases.