Artiva to present AlloNK autoimmune data across 34 patients at ACR 2026
Artiva Biotherapeutics has confirmed one oral and two poster presentations at ACR Convergence 2026, covering updated clinical data from its AlloNK programme across three B-cell-driven autoimmune diseases. The conference runs 6 to 11 November at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, with Artiva's key oral presentation scheduled for the afternoon of Monday 9 November.
The oral session will feature data from at least 20 patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 11 with Sjögren disease, and at least five with systemic sclerosis, all with a minimum six months of follow-up. A separate poster will characterise the B-cell depletion profile observed across a pooled cohort of 60 patients, and a third poster will present a US registry analysis of treatment failure rates in RA patients who have not responded adequately to two or more classes of biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.
The AlloNK programme
AlloNK, also known as AB-101, is an allogeneic, off-the-shelf NK cell therapy that is not genetically modified. It is designed to be administered in an outpatient setting in combination with rituximab, an anti-CD20 antibody, to achieve deep B-cell depletion. Artiva positions this as a potentially simpler alternative to autologous CAR-T approaches in autoimmune disease, noting comparable depth of B-cell depletion without the manufacturing complexity and hospitalisation burden typically associated with CAR-T therapies. The company holds FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for AlloNK in refractory RA, which could expedite regulatory review if a biologics licence application is eventually filed.
Artiva is initiating its Phase 3 registrational trial in refractory RA during the second half of 2026. The ACR data will feed directly into that programme: the company said its 9 November investor webcast will include an in-depth analysis of data from at least ten Phase 2a patients who would meet the Phase 3 eligibility criteria, giving early visibility on the likely characteristics of that registrational dataset.
Market context
The autoimmune B-cell depletion space is drawing considerable attention following the clinical validation of CAR-T approaches in lupus and related conditions by academic centres and, more recently, companies including Kyverna Therapeutics and Cabaletta Bio. Artiva's differentiation argument rests on the off-the-shelf, outpatient profile of AlloNK, which it says is suited to community rheumatology practice rather than specialist transplant centres. That distinction will matter commercially if the Phase 3 trial succeeds, since access and reimbursement in RA are heavily shaped by the cost and setting of administration.
The registry analysis poster adds context that is relevant to investors tracking the commercial opportunity: if response rates among biologic-refractory RA patients are as low as the registry data suggest, the addressable patient population with few remaining options is substantial. That framing is consistent with Artiva's registrational strategy, though readers should note the analysis was presented by a named academic author rather than independently commissioned.
Chief Medical Officer Subhashis Banerjee will present the safety and B-cell depletion poster on 10 November, and Guillermo Valenzuela of Integral Rheumatology and Immunology Specialists will deliver the oral session. Artiva has not provided topline numerical results ahead of the conference presentations.