Nkarta's Stock Climbs 28% After FDA Approves Drug Application

By Adam L. Cataldo

Nkarta's shares rallied after the company said its investigational new drug application for NKX019, a treatment for lupus nephritis, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The stock climbed 28% to $1.89 in late morning trading Tuesday. The stock hit a 52-week low of $1.28 earlier this month, and the shares are down 69% this year.

The company said its multi-center, open label, dose escalation clinical trial will assess the safety and clinical activity of NKX019 in patients with refractory lupus nephritis.

Nkarta, a biopharmaceutical company based in South San Francisco, Calif., said it is a developer of engineered natural killer cell therapies.

Lupus nephritis is a form of systemic lupus erythematosus, and is developed by about 40% of the estimated 200,000 people in the U.S. diagnosed with the disease. Of that group, 30% will develop end stage kidney disease, which can be fatal unless they receive dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Write to Adam Cataldo at [e-mail].

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-17-23 1145ET