Full Press Release Details
Nkarta Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., August 20, 2020 -- Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020, and highlighted recent corporate accomplishments.
"Nkarta made outstanding progress in the second quarter of 2020 as we pursue our goal of advancing engineered natural killer cells as the next foundation in anti-cancer cell therapy," said Paul J. Hastings, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nkarta. "With the success of our recently completed initial public offering and the resultant strengthening of our balance sheet, acceptance of our first IND by the FDA for NKX101, construction of our clinical manufacturing facility, and meaningful strides in our pipeline of allogeneic NK cell therapy candidates, we are off to a momentous start as a public company. We are grateful to our employees and collaborators who have supported this high level of execution in the midst of the difficult challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic."
Anticipated Near-term Clinical Milestones
Second Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights
Nkarta is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing the development of allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies for cancer. By combining its cell expansion and cryopreservation platform with proprietary cell engineering technologies, Nkarta is building a pipeline of cell therapy candidates generated by efficient manufacturing processes, and engineered to enhance tumor targeting and improve persistence for sustained activity in the body. 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 statements concerning: Nkarta's expectations regarding its growth, strategy, progress and timing of its preclinical studies and clinical trials for NKX101 and NKX019, including its regulatory plans; [the potential impact of COVID-19 on Nkarta's ongoing and planned preclinical studies, clinical trials, business and operations;] Nkarta's plans to participate at upcoming conferences; and Nkarta's expected cash runway. 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 ability to raise additional funding to complete the development and any commercialization of its product candidates; Nkarta's dependence on the success of its co-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; and risks relating to the impact on our business of the COVID-19 pandemic or similar public health crises.
These and other risks are described more fully in Nkarta's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020, filed with the SEC on August 20, 2020, and our 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.
Condensed Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
| Collaboration revenue | $ | - | $ | 2 | $ | - | $ | 115 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses | ||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 7,862 | 3,621 | 15,122 | 5,915 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 2,494 | 1,052 | 4,642 | 1,992 | ||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 10,356 | 4,673 | 19,764 | 7,907 | ||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (10,356 | ) | (4,671 | ) | (19,764 | ) | (7,792 | ) | ||||||||
| Other expense, net: | ||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of preferred stock purchase right liability | (40,741 | ) | - | (40,163 | ) | - | ||||||||||
| Interest and income (expense), net | 31 | (167 | ) | 156 | (129 | ) | ||||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (40,710 | ) | (167 | ) | (40,007 | ) | (129 | ) | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (51,066 | ) | $ | (4,838 | ) | $ | (59,771 | ) | $ | (7,921 | ) | ||||
| Net loss per share, basic and diluted | $ | (30.06 | ) | $ | (3.39 | ) | $ | (36.13 | ) | $ | (5.79 | ) | ||||
| Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share, basic and diluted | 1,698,560 | 1,426,984 | 1,654,304 | 1,367,686 |
Condensed Balance Sheets
| June 30, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | |||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments | $ | 21,646 | $ | 36,991 | ||||
| Property and equipment, net | 7,751 | 3,080 | ||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 9,017 | 7,144 | ||||||
| Other assets | 5,202 | 1,197 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 43,616 | $ | 48,412 | ||||
| Liabilities and stockholders' deficit | ||||||||
| Preferred stock purchase right liability | $ | 41,641 | $ | 1,478 | ||||
| Liability to related parties | 10,245 | - | ||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 9,348 | 7,296 | ||||||
| Other liabilities | 6,456 | 5,306 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 67,690 | 14,080 | ||||||
| Convertible preferred stock | 59,815 | 59,815 | ||||||
| Stockholders' deficit | (83,889 | ) | (25,483 | ) | ||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit | $ | 43,616 | $ | 48,412 |
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