Atara Biotherapeutics Shares Rise on FDA Approval

Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. rose nearly 19 percent Friday after the company announced approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct Phase 3 clinical studies on its experimental drug tabelecleucel. Atara is headquartered in South San Francisco but its research and development operation is in Westlake Village. The company researches treatments in T-cell immunotherapy. The FDA authorization gives Atara permission to conduct late-stage studies on tabelecleucel as a treatment for Epstein-Barr virus. The company plans to start the trials soon. “We expect tabelecleucel to be the first off-the-shelf T-cell immunotherapy to begin Phase 3 clinical development in the U.S.,” Dr. Isaac Ciechanover, chief executive, said in a statement. “Receiving clearance to initiate these studies is a significant milestone for Atara.” Shares of Atara (ATRA) closed Friday up $2.85, or 18.7 percent, to $18.10 on the Nasdaq.