Artiva Biotherapeutics announced that the FDA has cleared the company’s investigational new drug application for the novel off-the-shelf natural killer cell therapy AlloNK in combination with rituximab for the treatment of active lupus nephritis. The natural killer cell therapy—a non–genetically modified, cord blood–derived, allogenic, cryopreserved treatment—works by strengthening antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and has demonstrated positive results in recent trials analyzing its safety and efficacy in patients with relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. As a result, the researchers concluded that the combination therapy may effectively drive deep B-cell depletion and induce long-lasting responses in patients with lupus nephritis.