Nkarta is charting a course for its allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer cell (NK) therapy in autoimmune lupus nephritis after receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test NKX019. The cell therapy specialist becomes the second to get FDA go-ahead for an NK product in a chronic autoimmune disease, following Artiva Biotherapeutics’ AlloNK. In August 2023 that cord-blood-derived therapy was approved for testing in combination with rituximab, also in lupus nephritis.