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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

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.

Joel Russel
Joel Russel
Joel Russell joined the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2006 as a reporter. He transferred to sister publication San Fernando Valley Business Journal in 2012 as managing editor. Since he assumed the position of editor in 2015, the Business Journal has been recognized four times as the best small-circulation tabloid business publication in the country by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Previously, he worked as senior editor at Hispanic Business magazine and editor of Business Mexico.

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