Artiva to discontinue cell therapy after two patient deaths, cut workforce by 94%

Oct 27 — Artiva Biotherapeutics said on Tuesday it would halt the development ​of an experimental cell therapy for certain autoimmune conditions — its lead candidate — after two patient deaths, ‌sending its shares slumping 32%.

The company will slash its workforce by about ⁠94% and evaluate strategic alternatives, ​it said.

Here are more ⁠details:

• Artiva's therapy AlloNK was being tested as a ‌potential treatment for ‌autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis in a mid-stage ⁠trial

• The company said one ⁠of the patients in the trial experienced a fatal neurological event following treatment

• The investigator and an independent safety review assessed the event as likely related to complications caused by the chemotherapy drug fludarabine, the company ‌said

• A second patient in the ​trial experienced sudden death about two months after initiating treatment, which an investigator assessed as unrelated to AlloNK, Artiva added

• "Two patient deaths plus fading durability quickly transformed what looked like a promising and differentiated path forward into one that carried too much risk and ​uncertainty," said Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Josh Schimmer

• Schimmer said a ‌path forward with ‌AlloNK ⁠would have been a challenging one with an incredibly high cost of capital

• As of September 30, Artiva had about $319.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments

• As of ‌December 31, 2025, ​the company had 104 full-time employees, ‌according to its ⁠annual filing

(Reporting ​by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and ​Sriraj Kalluvila)

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