Nkarta to Present Initial Autoimmune Clinical Data at ACR Convergence 2026
News related to:Nkarta, Inc · 2 min read
Nkarta, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, will present initial clinical data for its investigational CAR-NK cell therapy NKX019 at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
The company has been selected to give two oral presentations and one poster presentation at the conference. The oral presentations will highlight the safety and clinical activity of NKX019 in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy and across all autoimmune indications, while the poster will showcase clinical activity in systemic sclerosis.
"These three presentations represent an important milestone for Nkarta as we share our first overview of NKX019's safety profile and clinical activity in patients with devastating autoimmune conditions," said Nkarta CEO Paul J. Hastings.
The first oral presentation, titled "Preliminary Safety, PK/PD, and Clinical Activity of NKX019, an Allogeneic, CD19-Targeted, CAR NK-Cell Therapy, in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy: Results From an Ongoing, Phase 1/2, Open-Label, Multicenter, Dose-Escalation/Optimization, Basket Study," will be presented by Dr. Guillermo J. Valenzuela, President and Principal Investigator of Integral Rheumatology and Immunology Specialists, on Sunday, November 8th, at 1:15 pm Eastern Time.
The second oral presentation, "Overall, Immune-Mediated, and Hematologic Safety Outcomes Following Fludarabine/Cyclophosphamide Lymphodepletion and NKX019, an Allogeneic CD19-Targeted CAR NK-Cell Therapy, in B-Cell-Mediated Autoimmune Diseases," will also be given by Dr. Valenzuela on Wednesday, November 11th, at 10:15 am Eastern Time.
The third presentation, a poster titled "Preliminary Safety, PK/PD, and Clinical Activity of NKX019, an Allogeneic, CD19-Targeted, CAR NK-Cell Therapy, in Systemic Sclerosis: Results From an Ongoing, Phase 1/2, Open-Label, Multicenter, Dose-Escalation/Optimization, Basket Study," will be presented by Dr. Dinesh Khanna, MBBS, MSc, Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of Rheumatology and Director of the University of Michigan Scleroderma Program, on Monday, November 9th, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Eastern Time.
Nkarta's Ntrust℠ clinical trials, which are enrolling patients with autoimmune diseases, are being conducted to assess the safety and potential of NKX019 in people living with conditions such as myositis and scleroderma. The trials involve a three-dose cycle of NKX019 following lymphodepletion with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide or cyclophosphamide alone, if patients have significant cytopenia at baseline.
The company's CEO, Paul J. Hastings, expressed optimism about the potential of NKX019 to expand patient access to cell therapy. "The tolerability of NKX019 and early efficacy we’re seeing in our leading indications, myositis and scleroderma, combined with its off-the-shelf availability and ability to be dosed on an outpatient basis, hold the potential to dramatically expand patient access to cell therapy," he said.
Nkarta's NKX019 is an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf immunotherapy candidate 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.
The presentations will provide a comprehensive overview of the safety and clinical activity of NKX019, potentially paving the way for future regulatory approval and clinical application.