Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX) announced the appointment of Shawn Rose, M.D. Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development, effective June 23, 2025. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which develops engineered natural killer cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, selected Dr. Rose to replace David R. Shook, M.D., who is stepping down to pursue opportunities in oncology.
Strategic Leadership Transition
Dr. Rose joins Nkarta at what CEO Paul J. Hastings describes as "a critical threshold as we discover the power of our NK cell platform to treat autoimmune diseases." The appointment reflects the company's commitment to advancing its allogeneic NK cell platform under leadership with deep clinical expertise in rheumatology and immunology.
"He is an enterprise leader with a deep clinical background in rheumatology and immunology that's ideally suited to maximize the potential of our allogeneic NK cell platform," Hastings said. "Shawn's proven track record as an expert clinician gives me full confidence that he will hit the ground running on day one and meaningfully advance our work in the clinic."
Extensive Immunology Experience
Dr. Rose has dedicated his career to immunology translational medicine and advancing treatment options for autoimmune patients. Throughout his leadership roles, he has brought forward more than a dozen programs from discovery into clinical development and contributed to the development of multiple approved medicines, including Sotyktu, Stelara, and Tremfya.
Most recently, Dr. Rose served as Chief Development Officer, Immunology, at Vividion Therapeutics, where he worked to expand their portfolio by advancing previously undruggable targets in immunology. He also served as interim CMO and Head of Clinical Development at Magenta Therapeutics, focusing on cell-based therapeutic approaches for patients with cancer, genetic disorders, and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
His career includes multiple clinical and development leadership roles at Annexon Biosciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Rose completed his postdoctoral research training and clinical training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
"I am thrilled to join Nkarta to advance innovative cell therapies for patients," Dr. Rose said. "I strongly believe that Nkarta's allogeneic NK cell platform has the potential to be a transformational approach for patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disease."
NKX019 Platform Technology
Nkarta's lead candidate, NKX019, represents an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf immunotherapy that uses natural killer cells derived from peripheral blood of healthy adult donors. The therapy is engineered with a humanized CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor for enhanced cell targeting and incorporates a proprietary, membrane-bound form of interleukin-15 for greater persistence and activity without requiring exogenous cytokine support.
CD19 serves as a biomarker for normal B cells as well as those implicated in autoimmune disease and B cell-derived malignancies. The company is currently evaluating NKX019 across multiple autoimmune conditions, leveraging its cell expansion and cryopreservation platform combined with proprietary cell engineering technologies.
Transition and Acknowledgment
During the leadership transition, Dr. Rose will work alongside Dr. Shook, who will remain as a consultant through July 11. Hastings acknowledged Dr. Shook's contributions to the field, noting that he "was an early pioneer of NK cell therapy while working under Nkarta's scientific founder, Dario Campana, at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital."
"Dave has devoted much of his career to make important contributions to the advancement of natural killer cell therapy, leading our early clinical work in cancer and overseeing key aspects of our strategic shift into a new disease area with agility and flexibility," Hastings said.
The company continues building its pipeline of cell therapies engineered for deep therapeutic activity and intended for broad access in outpatient treatment settings, positioning itself at the forefront of allogeneic NK cell therapy development for autoimmune diseases.
