In a strategic move announced alongside its fourth quarter earnings report, biotech company Nkarta revealed plans for a significant workforce reduction affecting approximately one-third of its employees. The restructuring, disclosed on March 26, 2025, will impact 53 positions and includes the departure of several senior executives.
The company’s initiative, which also implements a hiring freeze on certain positions, aims to extend its operational runway into 2029. Chief Executive Officer Paul Hastings emphasized that the
reorganization touches all organizational levels and focuses on maintaining clinical development momentum.
Among the leadership changes, Chief Strategy and Business Officer Alyssa Levin will depart effective March 31, according to regulatory filings. The company’s current president, Nadir Mahmood, has been appointed to assume her responsibilities as principal financial and accounting officer.
The restructuring comes as Nkarta adapts to challenging market conditions and evolves its therapeutic focus. The company, which had 157 full-time employees and approximately $381 million in cash reserves as of December 31, reported a net loss of roughly $109 million for 2024.
Originally launched with more than $100 million in private funding before its 2020 public offering, Nkarta developed donor-derived cell therapies using natural killer cells, an alternative to the immune cells utilized in established cancer treatments like Yescarta and Kymriah. The company initially positioned its therapies as a more convenient, ready-to-use option for treating leukemia and lymphoma.
However, facing difficulties in demonstrating comparable durability to personalized cell therapies and operating in a restrictive funding environment that affected many biotechs, Nkarta shifted its focus. The company redirected its research efforts toward autoimmune conditions last year, building on academic studies suggesting these therapies could potentially help normalize immune system function in diseases such as lupus.
Hastings acknowledged in a January interview that while their drug showed potential in oncology, the current market environment demands immediate success in early trials, limiting the opportunity for therapeutic optimization.
Nkarta has joined a competitive field of more than a dozen companies exploring similar therapeutic approaches for autoimmune conditions, using either cell therapies or antibody drugs. The company maintains that its treatment approach could offer an optimal solution, combining the effectiveness of personalized cell therapies with off-the-shelf convenience.
According to Chief Medical Officer David Shook, individualized cell therapies present practical challenges for autoimmune conditions. He also noted uncertainties surrounding T cell engagers, a popular antibody drug class being evaluated for autoimmune diseases, citing both efficacy questions and safety concerns that have limited their use in cancer treatment.
The company has yet to validate its approach through human clinical trials. Initial results from two studies evaluating NKX019, their experimental therapy for multiple autoimmune conditions, are anticipated later this year.