NKTX Nkarta Inc

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 9, 2023

Nkarta, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware	001-39370	47-4515206
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)
1150 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco, CA		94080
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (925) 407-1049

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share		NKTX		The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq Global Select Market)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒

 

 

 

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Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On November 9, 2023, Nkarta, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing the Company’s financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. A copy of the Company’s press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

The information in Item 2.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K (including Exhibit 99.1) shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be, or be deemed, incorporated by reference in any filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), unless the Company specifically states that the information is to be considered “filed” under the Exchange Act or incorporates it by reference into a filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

 

Exhibit Number		Description
99.1		Press Release dated November 9, 2023 entitled “Nkarta Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Corporate Highlights”
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

		Nkarta, Inc.
Date: November 9, 2023		By:	/s/ Alyssa Levin
			Alyssa Levin
			Chief Financial and Business Officer

 

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Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

Nkarta Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Corporate Highlights

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., November 9, 2023 -- Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.

“Earlier this month, we announced bold plans for the future of Nkarta. This includes the expansion of our NK cell therapy pipeline into autoimmune disease, key anticipated updates in 2024, and the extension of our projected cash runway into 2026,” said Paul J. Hastings, President and CEO of Nkarta. “Our pipeline now has three clinical-stage NK cell therapy programs, each increasing our opportunity for success. Our strategy for advancing these programs centers on stringent capital allocation, rapid execution, and business prioritization.”

Hastings continued, “As we maintain our commitment to developing novel cell therapies for patients with cancer, we are also strongly encouraged by the prospect of NK cell-based therapies for patients with autoimmune disease. Early outcomes have been profound for patients treated with CD19-directed cell therapy in recent academic studies. Our aim is to replicate these remarkable, potentially disease-modifying benefits using NKX019, while still

 

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leveraging the advantages of NK cells. In addition to offering superior off-the-shelf accessibility, we aim to build on the safety profile of NK cell biology, the potential advantages of NK cell kinetics, and reduced need for lymphodepletion. Patients with severe autoimmune diseases need safe and novel therapies, and we look forward to initiating dosing in the clinical trial of NKX019 in patients with refractory lupus nephritis in the first half of 2024.”

NKX019 in autoimmune disease

NKX101 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

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NKX019 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)

Other Corporate Highlights

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

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Financial Guidance

 

About NKX101
NKX101 is an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy candidate that uses natural killer (NK) cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy donors. It is engineered with 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. NKX101 is also engineered with a membrane-bound form of interleukin-15 (IL15) for greater persistence and activity without exogenous cytokine support.

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 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 and B cell-derived malignancies.

About Nkarta
Nkarta is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing the development of allogeneic, off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapies. By combining its cell expansion and cryopreservation platform with proprietary cell engineering technologies and CRISPR-based genome engineering capabilities, Nkarta is building a pipeline of future cell therapies engineered for deep therapeutic activity and intended for broad access in the outpatient treatment setting. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.nkartatx.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "intends," “plans,” “potential,” "projects,” “would” and "future" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Nkarta’s expectations regarding any or all of the following: Nkarta’s position, plans, strategies, and timelines for the continued and future clinical development and commercial potential of NK cell therapies, including NKX101 and NKX019; the therapeutic potential, accessibility, tolerability and safety profile of NK cell therapies, including NKX101 for the treatment of AML and NKX019 for the treatment of NHL and autoimmune diseases, such as LN; plans and timelines for the future availability and disclosure of NKX101 and NKX019 clinical data or other clinical updates; potential opportunities and strategies for NKX101 and NKX019, and Nkarta’s ability to evaluate and exploit such opportunities and strategies; and

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Nkarta’s expected cash runway. Interim clinical data for NKX101 and NKX019 included in this press release are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more data on existing patients become available.

Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: Nkarta’s limited operating history and historical losses; Nkarta’s lack of any products approved for sale and its ability to achieve profitability; the risk that the results of preclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials may not be predictive of future results; Nkarta’s ability to raise additional funding to complete the development and any commercialization of its product candidates; Nkarta’s dependence on the clinical success of its two lead product candidates, NKX101 and NKX019; that Nkarta may be delayed in initiating, enrolling or completing any clinical trials; competition from third parties that are developing products for similar uses; Nkarta’s ability to obtain, maintain and protect its intellectual property; Nkarta’s dependence on third parties in connection with manufacturing, clinical trials and pre-clinical studies; the complexity of the manufacturing process for CAR NK cell therapies; the availability of components and supplies necessary for the conduct of our clinical trials; and risks relating to the impact on our business of the COVID-19 pandemic or similar public health crises.

These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Nkarta’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section of Nkarta’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on August 10, 2023, and Nkarta’s other documents subsequently filed with or furnished to the SEC. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Except to the extent required by law, Nkarta undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

 

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Nkarta, Inc.

Condensed Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

 

 

		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2023				2022				2023				2022
Operating expenses
Research and development		$	22,194			$	23,435			$	73,451			$	64,053
General and administrative			7,100				6,827				27,014				19,919
Total operating expenses			29,294				30,262				100,465				83,972
Loss from operations			(29,294	)			(30,262	)			(100,465	)			(83,972	)
Other income, net:
Interest income			3,616				1,900				10,651				2,698
Other income, net			33				17				67				19
Total other income, net			3,649				1,917				10,718				2,717
Net loss		$	(25,645	)		$	(28,345	)		$	(89,747	)		$	(81,255	)
Net loss per share, basic and diluted		$	(0.52	)		$	(0.58	)		$	(1.83	)		$	(1.94	)
Weighted average shares used to compute    net loss per share, basic and diluted			49,062,799				48,630,328				48,985,373				41,878,716

 

Nkarta, Inc.

Condensed Balance Sheets

(in thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

 

		September 30, 2023				December 31, 2022
Assets
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments		$	278,356			$	354,886
Property and equipment, net			77,687				61,908
Operating lease right-of-use assets			40,519				45,749
Other assets			9,302				10,395
Total assets		$	405,864			$	472,938
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities		$	19,583			$	17,797
Operating lease liabilities			89,465				82,934
Total liabilities			109,048				100,731
Stockholders’ equity			296,816				372,207
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity		$	405,864			$	472,938

 

 

Nkarta Media/Investor Contact:

Greg Mann

Nkarta, Inc.

gmann@nkartatx.com

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v3.23.3

Document and Entity Information	Nov. 09, 2023
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 09, 2023
Entity Registrant Name	Nkarta, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001787400
Entity Emerging Growth Company	true
Entity Ex Transition Period	true
Entity File Number	001-39370
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	47-4515206
Entity Address, Address Line One	1150 Veterans Boulevard
Entity Address, City or Town	South San Francisco
Entity Address, State or Province	CA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	94080
City Area Code	925
Local Phone Number	407-1049
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share
Trading Symbol	NKTX
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ

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