NantKwest & ImmunityBio Sign Collaboration Agreement for Joint Development, Manufacturing, Marketing, & Commercialization of ...
August 24 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Both companies agree to share equally in costs
relating to COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccine candidates globally;
global net profits to be shared 60%/40% in favor of the company
contributing the product
NantKwest, Inc. (Nasdaq: NK), a clinical-stage, natural killer
cell-based therapeutics company, and ImmunityBio, a privately held
immunotherapy company, today announced the signing of a definitive
agreement to jointly develop, manufacture, market, and
commercialize therapeutics and vaccines for combating the COVID-19
pandemic.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, the two companies
agree to share equally the costs incurred after August 21, 2020 of
development, manufacturing, marketing, and commercialization of the
products each is developing related to COVID-19. Should a product
be commercialized successfully, the companies have agreed to a
60-40 percentage split of net profits, with the larger share going
to the company that developed the product. The agreement also
details the structure of shared governance of the joint
collaboration.
The two product candidates currently in development under the
agreement are a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapeutic from
NantKwest, whose goal is to reduce the time a critically ill
patient spends on a ventilator; and a COVID-19 vaccine product from
ImmunityBio, which is anticipated to soon enter into a phase I
clinical trial.
“The severity and global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic demands
that researchers move rapidly and have the resources necessary to
develop ways to fight this deadly virus,” said Patrick Soon-Shiong,
Chairman and CEO of NantKwest and ImmunityBio. “The agreement
strengthens the efforts of both companies on behalf of patients,
while also ensuring each company will earn a fair share of the
returns of a successful product.”
About NantKwest
NantKwest (NASDAQ: NK) is an innovative, clinical-stage
immunotherapy company focused on harnessing the power of the innate
immune system to treat cancer and infectious diseases. NantKwest is
the leading producer of clinical dose forms of off-the-shelf
natural killer (NK) cell therapies. The activated NK cell platform
is designed to destroy cancer and virally-infected cells. The
safety of these optimized, activated NK cells—as well as their
activity against a broad range of cancers—has been tested in phase
I clinical trials in Canada and Europe, as well as in multiple
phase I and II clinical trials in the United States. By leveraging
an integrated and extensive genomics and transcriptomics discovery
and development engine, together with a pipeline of multiple,
clinical-stage, immuno-oncology programs, NantKwest’s goal is to
transform medicine by bringing novel NK cell-based therapies to
routine clinical care. NantKwest is a member of the NantWorks
ecosystem of companies. For more information, please visit
www.nantkwest.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning or
implying that NantKwest will be successful in improving the
treatment of cancer or other critical illnesses, including
COVID-19. Risks and uncertainties related to these endeavors
include, but are not limited to, obtaining FDA approval of
NantKwest’s NK cells and MSC as well as other therapeutics and
manufacturing challenges.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute
guarantees of future performance, and you are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
These and other risks regarding NantKwest’s business are
described in detail in its Securities and Exchange Commission
filings, including in NantKwest’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended June 30, 2020. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to
update these statements except as may be required by law.
About ImmunityBio
ImmunityBio, Inc. is a late-clinical-stage immunotherapy company
developing next-generation therapies that drive immunogenic
mechanisms for defeating cancers and infectious disease. The
company’s immunotherapy platform activates both the innate (natural
killer cell and macrophage) and adaptive (T cell) immune systems to
create long-term “immunological memory.” This novel approach is
designed to eliminate the need for high-dose chemotherapy, improve
upon the outcomes of current CAR T-cell therapies, and extend
beyond checkpoint inhibitors.
ImmunityBio’s platform is based on the foundation of three
separate modalities: antibody cytokine fusion proteins, synthetic
immunomodulators, and second-generation vaccine technologies.
ImmunityBio’s lead cytokine infusion protein, a novel
interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist complex (Anktiva™), has
received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designations from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BCG-unresponsive CIS
non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Other indications
currently at registration-stage trials include BCG-unresponsive
papillary bladder cancer, first and second line lung cancer,
triple-negative breast cancer, metastatic pancreatic cancer,
recurrent glioblastoma, and soft tissue sarcoma in combination with
the company’s synthetic immune modulator (Aldoxorubicin).
ImmunityBio is also developing therapies, including vaccines,
for the prevention and treatment of HIV, influenza, and the
coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 with its second-generation human adenovirus
(hAd5) vaccine platform.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning or
implying that ImmunityBio will be successful in improving the
treatment of various diseases, including, but not limited to the
novel coronavirus and cancer. Risks and uncertainties related to
this endeavor include, but are not limited to, the company’s
beliefs regarding the success, cost, and timing of its development
activities and clinical trials.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute
guarantees of future performance, and you are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and we
disclaim any obligation to update these statements except as may be
required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200824005209/en/
Media Contact: Jen Hodson Nant 562-397-3639
Jen@nant.com
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