Artiva Pulls the Plug on AlloNK, Lays Off 94% After Two Trial Deaths
- Artiva is abandoning AlloNK, its donor-derived NK cell therapy for autoimmune disease, and cutting about 94% of staff while it explores a merger, asset sale, licensing or liquidation.
- Two trial participants died: one case of leukoencephalopathy attributed to fludarabine conditioning, and one sudden death of unknown cause judged unrelated to treatment.
- The FDA-requested Phase 2a pause and a halted Phase 3 followed; response durability also fell short of the company's bar. Cash stood at $319.1 million.
💡 Points
A 94% staff cut with $319.1 million still in cash says this was a verdict on AlloNK, not a funding squeeze. A fludarabine-linked death and response durability below the company's own bar hit safety and efficacy together, leaving little room to iterate. With the pipeline gone, the open review, from merger to liquidation, now turns on what residual value the cash and platform hold.
Artiva to wind down after two patient deaths in autoimmune cell therapy trials ↗