Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX), a biopharmaceutical company developing
engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies, today announced
changes to its leadership team. Nadir Mahmood, Ph.D., will join
Nkarta as President this month, sharing executive leadership
responsibilities with Paul J. Hastings, who continues in his role
as Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Nkarta has broadened the
role of David R. Shook, M.D., to Chief Medical Officer, Head of
Research & Development. Drs. Mahmood and Shook will both report
to Mr. Hastings.
"This new leadership structure enables Nkarta to meet this
transformative moment for cell therapy as we embark on
groundbreaking clinical trials and expand our footprint in multiple
autoimmune disease settings. These executive changes are expected
to significantly enhance our ability to accelerate the development
and ultimate commercialization of pioneering NK cell therapies for
patients that need them," said Paul J. Hastings, CEO of Nkarta. "I
am thrilled to have Nadir, a trusted thought partner of many years,
join Nkarta. His expertise will be invaluable as we continue to
drive innovation and growth."
Nadir Mahmood, Ph.D., was previously the Chief Executive Officer
of Rezo Therapeutics, a private-stage drug-discovery company. Prior
to joining Rezo, he served as Chief Financial and Business Officer
at Nkarta, where he played a direct role in corporate strategy,
including the company’s private and public financings as well as
the formation of its in-house manufacturing capabilities. In this
newly created role of President, Dr. Mahmood will be responsible
for driving the strategic focus, operational excellence and overall
business and technical success at Nkarta. He will lead
cross-functional activities to guide company-wide strategic
alignment and value creation across pipeline programs, technical
and business operations and lifecycle planning.
"We’re at the starting point of a potentially disruptive
opportunity for CAR NK cell therapy in autoimmune disease,” said
Dr. Mahmood, incoming President of Nkarta. “With Nkarta’s
differentiated technology, pioneering clinical programs and strong
balance sheet, I believe the company is well positioned for success
in this emerging therapeutic area. I’m incredibly excited to work
with the exceptional team at Nkarta and help advance innovative and
accessible therapies that can make a meaningful impact on the lives
of patients.”
Earlier in his career, Dr. Mahmood led corporate development at
Second Genome, where he was responsible for establishing the
company’s strategy and partnerships. Previously, he was a staff
scientist at Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, where he oversaw
preclinical research for the company’s lead molecule, Kybella®. Dr.
Mahmood has also worked in equity research at Goldman Sachs and
consulted for early-stage companies in the life sciences and clean
energy sectors. He earned a B.S. in biochemistry from the
University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in cell regulation from
the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and completed
postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute in La
Jolla, CA.
In addition to Dr. Mahmood’s appointment, David R. Shook, M.D.,
has been promoted to Chief Medical Officer, Head of Research and
Development to reflect his newly-designated oversight of the
R&D organization – in addition to his prior responsibilities
leading the clinical development, regulatory and translational
science functions. James Trager, Ph.D., Nkarta’s former Chief
Scientific Officer, recently transitioned to a special advisory
role for the company due to personal family and health reasons.
“James’ work has greatly contributed to the advancement of our
science and mission. We are extremely grateful for his many
contributions during his tenure, and we are fortunate to have the
opportunity to continue to call him an advisor and friend," said
Mr. Hastings. “David, an experienced physician-scientist in the
field of cell therapy, has contributed significant expertise and
leadership in the field of NK cell biology, and with James’
transition, we will look to him to advance Nkarta’s innovative
research while continuing to drive our overall development
initiatives.”
Nkarta recently initiated Ntrust-1, a multi-center clinical
trial of NKX019 in lupus nephritis. Additionally, the company
recently announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
cleared Nkarta's second Investigational New Drug (IND) application
for NKX019 in autoimmune disease, paving the way for Ntrust-2, a
multi-center clinical trial evaluating NKX019 for the treatment of
systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma), idiopathic inflammatory
myopathy (IIM, myositis) and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV).
The company expects to announce preliminary data from the
Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 clinical trials data in 2025.
About NKX019NKX019 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 and B cell-derived
malignancies.
About NkartaNkarta is a clinical-stage
biotechnology company advancing the development of allogeneic,
off-the-shelf, on-demand 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 plans, strategies and timelines (including initiation of
further clinical trials) for the continued and future clinical
development and commercial potential of NKX019 for the treatment of
autoimmune disease, including lupus, systemic sclerosis, myositis
and vasculitis; the therapeutic potential, accessibility,
tolerability, advantages, and safety profile of NK cell therapies,
including NKX019, for the treatment of autoimmune disease,
including lupus, systemic sclerosis, myositis and vasculitis; the
potential impact of Nkarta’s new executive appointments and
leadership structure; Nkarta’s ability to advance and accelerate
the development and future commercialization of NKX019 as a
treatment for autoimmune disease; and Nkarta’s plans and timelines
for the future availability and disclosure of clinical data from
Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 or other updates regarding the clinical
trials.
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 NKX019; that Nkarta may be
delayed in initiating, enrolling or completing its 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; and the complexity of the manufacturing process for CAR NK
cell therapies.
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 March 31, 2024, filed
with the SEC on May 9, 2024, 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.
Nkarta Media/Investor Contact:Greg MannNkarta,
Inc.gmann@nkartatx.com
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