ImmunityBio Appoints Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Former World Bank President and Global Health Leader, as Vice Chairman

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antiretroviral medicines medical

Antiretroviral medicines are drugs that block steps in the life cycle of retroviruses—most commonly HIV—so the virus cannot copy itself and spread in the body. They are usually given in combinations to keep viral levels low and prevent disease progression. These medicines matter to investors because their approval, patent status, pricing, and uptake drive revenue for drug makers, influence healthcare costs and insurance spending, and affect the market for related diagnostics and services; think of them as the brakes that control a runaway engine.

il-15 receptor agonist medical

An IL-15 receptor agonist is a drug or biologic that turns on the same cell-surface switch used by the immune-signaling protein interleukin-15, boosting the activity and number of immune cells that seek and destroy infected or abnormal cells. For investors, these agents matter because they can improve the effectiveness of cancer and infectious disease treatments but also carry safety and regulatory risks that strongly affect clinical trial outcomes and commercial prospects.

allogeneic medical

Allogeneic describes a process or material involving different individuals of the same species, such as cells, tissues, or organs donated from one person to another. It is important to investors because products or treatments based on allogeneic sources can enable scalable, off-the-shelf solutions, potentially reducing costs and increasing accessibility in healthcare and biotech industries.

autologous medical

Autologous describes a medical product or treatment made from a patient’s own cells or tissues rather than from a donor. For investors, autologous approaches matter because they can lower the risk of immune rejection and improve effectiveness, but they often require individualized manufacturing, complex logistics, and higher per-patient costs—factors that affect scalability, pricing, and regulatory hurdles in healthcare businesses.

immunogenic cell death medical

Immunogenic cell death is a form of cell death that not only kills diseased cells (such as cancer cells) but also releases signals that alert and activate the immune system to recognize and attack remaining disease. For investors, therapies that trigger this response can increase the chance of durable, long-lasting treatment effects—like sounding an alarm that recruits security guards—making such drugs potentially more valuable and differentiable in the market.

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Dr. Kim will advise on international partnerships and global access initiatives through the newly formed Office of the Executive Chairman

CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a commercial-stage immunotherapy company, today announced that Dr. Jim Yong Kim has joined the company as Vice Chairman. Dr. Kim will serve in a newly created Office of the Executive Chairman, where he will focus on strengthening the company's international and global relationships. He will report to Executive Chairman and Founder Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.

The Office of the Executive Chairman will bring together senior leaders to support Dr. Soon-Shiong on strategy, partnerships, and initiatives intended to advance ImmunityBio’s scientific and clinical programs globally. In his role, Dr. Kim will focus on relationships with governments, health ministries, multilateral institutions, and global health partners, with the goal of supporting access to the company’s immunotherapy platform, clinical programs, and approved therapies where authorized in markets outside the United States.

Dr. Kim brings decades of leadership at the intersection of medicine, public health, development, and global finance. He served as the twelfth president of the World Bank Group from 2012 to 2019, where he set the institution's goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to lift up the poorest 40 percent of people in developing countries. During his tenure, the World Bank launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, one of the first financial instruments built to move money quickly to stop outbreaks before they spread.

In 1987, Dr. Kim co-founded Partners In Health with Dr. Paul Farmer and others, and helped build treatment programs for drug resistant tuberculosis, HIV, and AIDS in some of the poorest communities in Haiti, Peru, and beyond. From 2003 to 2005, he led the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department, where he directed the "3 by 5" initiative, the first global target for AIDS treatment, which expanded access to antiretroviral medicines across the developing world. He has also served as president of Dartmouth College and held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. A physician and anthropologist, he is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People. He currently serves as Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor at Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of Blackrock, where he supports the work of the emerging markets team. He also serves as the Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda.

“Dr. Kim has spent his life working to bring care to people and communities that too often face the greatest barriers to access,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder, Executive Chairman, and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of ImmunityBio. “Our mission is to harness the power of the immune system to address some of the world’s most challenging diseases. Dr. Kim’s experience across global health, development finance, governments, and multilateral institutions will be invaluable as we work to build the partnerships that can help advance our science, support clinical development, and expand access to our approved therapies around the world.”

“I have spent my career focused on ensuring that scientific and medical advances reach the people who need them most,” said Dr. Jim Yong Kim. “ImmunityBio is pursuing an ambitious vision grounded in immunology, innovation, and global impact that has the potential to improve countless lives. I am excited to work with Dr. Soon-Shiong and the team to build partnerships across governments, health system, and international institutions that can help accelerate research, broaden access and bring the benefits of these advances to patients around the world.”

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on innovating, developing, and commercializing next-generation immunotherapies designed to activate the patient’s immune system and deliver durable protection against cancer and infectious diseases. Our approach harnesses both the adaptive and innate immune systems with the goal of restoring immune function and generating lasting immunological memory in patients. At the core of our strategy is the Cancer BioShield^™ platform, which is designed to stimulate critical lymphocytes, including natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic T cells, and memory T cells via our proprietary IL-15 receptor agonist, ANKTIVA^® (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept). Our Cancer BioShield platform is anchored by this antibody-cytokine fusion protein and is complemented by a portfolio that includes adenovirus-vectored vaccines, allogeneic (off-the-shelf) and autologous NK-cell therapies, and additional immunomodulators intended to promote immunogenic cell death and support durable immune responses while potentially reducing reliance on high-dose chemo-radiation therapy. For more information, visit ImmunityBio.com and connect with us on X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the clinical development, therapeutic potential, safety, efficacy, and regulatory pathway of ANKTIVA; the anticipated clinical benefits of ANKTIVA and its potential to address some of the world’s most challenging diseases, Dr. Kim’s ability to help the Company advance its science, support clinical development, and expand access to its approved therapies around the world as well as to build partnerships across governments, health system, and international institutions that can help accelerate research and broaden to patients around the world.

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections, as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management, and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to clinical trial design, enrollment, timing, interim analyses, and final data outcomes; the possibility that interim results may not be predictive of final trial results; regulatory risks, including the timing and outcome of interactions with the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and the risk that a BLA may not be submitted when anticipated or, if submitted, may not be approved or may require additional data or studies; risks related to safety signals or adverse events that may arise during continued evaluation; the Company’s ability to manufacture sufficient quantities of ANKTIVA and recombinant BCG to support clinical development and potential commercialization; risks associated with product supply, including ongoing BCG shortages; competitive developments; changes in standard-of-care treatment; market acceptance; reimbursement; and intellectual property protection.

More details about these and other risks that may impact ImmunityBio’s business are described under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 23, 2026, as well as its Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 4, 2026 and in subsequent filings made by ImmunityBio with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. ImmunityBio cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. ImmunityBio does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement or other information in this press release, except to the extent required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260810282049/en/

Investors
Hemanth Ramaprakash, PhD, MBA
ImmunityBio, Inc.
+1 858-746-9289
Hemanth.Ramaprakash@ImmunityBio.com

Media
Sarah Singleton
ImmunityBio, Inc.
+1 415-290-8045
Sarah.Singleton@ImmunityBio.com

Source: ImmunityBio, Inc.