Dec. 5 Quick Takes: Nkarta reports 70% complete response
Plus: Verve falls on clinical hold and updates from J&J, Affinia, TherapeuticsMD, Biogen and more
Data from additional patients in the Phase I study of CAR NK cell therapy NKX019 from Nkarta Inc. (NASDAQ:NKTX) suggest the allogeneic platform can lead to high response rates, but whether redosing will address durability concerns remains unanswered. The company reported that seven of the 10 large B cell lymphoma patients treated with a dose of at least 1 billion NK cells expressing a CD19-targeted CAR achieved a complete response, but three of the five patients who reached eight months of follow up progressed shortly after. The company is planning retreatment for the three patients with a 1.5 billion cell dose.
A week after Horizon Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:HZNP) disclosed that it has had “highly preliminary” discussions about the possibility of a sale to Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NASDAQ:SNY), or an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), J&J has said it has no plans to make an offer for the company. ...