Good Day BIO: Nkarta's 'natural killers' are killing blood cancer

It’s been a good week for biotech trials. Nkarta Therapeutics, led by BIO’s Chair, announced positive data in two trials of its natural killer cell therapies targeting advanced blood cancer, and gene edited mosquitoes “behaved as planned” in the first trial in the Florida Keys. (632 words, 3 minutes, 9 seconds)

Nkarta’s ‘natural killers’ are killing blood cancer

Nkarta Therapeutics (BIO member!) announced positive preliminary data in two phase 1 clinical trials of its natural killer cell therapies to treat patients with advanced blood cancer—a breakthrough for patients and innovation.

In trial #1: 3 of 5 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) “achieved complete response with full hematologic recovery”—in other words, complete remission, according to Nkarta. 

“There is currently no standard of care for these patients,” said Nkarta.

In trial #2: 3 of 6 patients with B-cell lymphomas “showed a complete response,” said Nkarta’s statement.

Wait, what are natural killer cells? Simply put, they’re the “‘first responders’ that are on the scene before the T cells are summoned,” to fight cancer and viral-infected cells, explains Verywell Health. They can be found in the white blood cells.

There are a lot of benefits—including an “exceptional safety profile without the side effects associated with CAR T cell therapies,” said Paul Hastings, President and CEO of Nkarta and Chairman of BIO.

What they’re saying: “These encouraging data across multiple indications further validate Nkarta’s best-in-class NK cell platform, as we seek to transform cancer treatment by bringing together the safety advantages of NK cells with an off-the-shelf modality designed to make the benefits of cell therapy accessible in a community setting,” continued Hastings.

Read our coverage.

More Health Care News:

Gilead: Veklury® (Remdesivir) is first and only approved treatment for pediatric patients under 12 years of age with COVID-19
“The expanded indication for Veklury for the treatment of children is a testament to the safety, tolerability and efficacy profile of this therapy, which has remained the foundational antiviral for COVID-19 treatment,” said Merdad Parsey, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of BIO member Gilead Sciences.

The first trial of GE mosquitoes was a success. So, what’s next?

“Researchers have completed the first open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States”—and the mosquitoes “behaved as planned,” reports Nature. Here’s why it matters.

The background: UK biotech company Oxitec genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to carry a gene lethal to female offspring, thereby limiting reproduction capacity. The company released nearly 5 million of them in the Florida Keys last year.

Why these mosquitoes? The Aedes aegypti mosquito can carry diseases including chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever, and is responsible for virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans in the Florida Keys.

So, how'd it go? “[M]ales that hatched from the eggs typically travelled within a one-hectare area around the release box—the same range over which wild A. aegypti fly. The engineered mosquitoes, which don’t bite, mated with the wild population,” explains Nature.

“[A]ll females that inherited the lethal gene died before reaching adulthood,” continues the report. “Furthermore, the team found that the lethal gene persisted in the wild population for two to three months, or about three generations of mosquito offspring, and then disappeared.”

What’s next? The results are promising, though more research is needed to see if they can suppress the wild population. Oxitec is planning additional trials in Florida and California.

The context: Dengue has increased 30-fold over the past half century, driven by warming climates and the resulting increase in mosquito populations. Biotech can help us solve these issues in innovative ways—if animal biotech regulations keep up with the science.

President Biden’s Tuesday: The White House will host a press briefing with COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, who gave an upbeat assessment of the future course of the pandemic on CNN Sunday. “The White House is making a push…for more COVID patients to get treated with Pfizer's Paxlovid as hundreds of people in the U.S. continue to die from the coronavirus every day,” reports NBC News.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on FDA User Fee Agreements, with testimony from FDA center directors; watch for analysis in an upcoming edition of Good Day BIO.