– USA, CA – ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, today announced the appointment of health innovation expert and executive Dr. Linda Maxwell, M.D., MBA, to its Board as an independent director.
The company also appointed CEO Richard Adcock to the board; he was named CEO of NantKwest in October and remains the CEO of the company after the merger of NantKwest with ImmunityBio in March. Both appointments are effective March 29, 2021.
The nine-member ImmunityBio board is led by Founder and Executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. The board includes two other recently appointed outside members, former CIA director John Brennan and retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, along with current board members Michael Blaszyk, Cheryl Cohen, Christobel Selecky, and Barry Simon, M.D.
“Linda’s background as a physician and surgeon combined with her extensive global healthcare industry and business experience will enable us to build on ImmunityBio’s strong foundation and help us take the company to the next level,” said Executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. “As a company working to bring novel therapeutic approaches to treating cancer and other serious conditions, we will benefit greatly from Linda’s insights on innovation.”
The company also announced that two current directors—Fred Driscoll and John D. Thomas—will conclude their service on the board effective with the new appointments.
“We are grateful to Fred and John for their many years of service and the value they brought to our shareholders and employees,” added Soon-Shiong. “During their tenure, we have expanded our pipeline and grown our portfolio of immunotherapy agents. Their contributions during that time were important to establishing this strong foundation and baseline for the growth we anticipate.”
About Dr. Linda Maxwell
Dr. Maxwell is a medical educator, surgeon, and health technology entrepreneur, and innovator. She has guided a wide variety of startup companies through clinical development capitalization and commercialization as Founder and Executive Director of the Biomedical Zone, Canada’s first and only hospital-embedded, physician-led business incubator for emerging health technology companies. Dr. Maxwell also managed a life sciences tech transfer portfolio at the University of Oxford and the UK National Health Service, executing patent strategy, spin-out company formation, and early-stage capital raising. She has also served as a healthcare innovation expert in various Canadian federal, provincial, and local government entities, as a member of the Department Audit Committee and the Public Health Agency of Canada, as an advisor to the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Space Agency.
She serves as an independent member of the Board of Directors of United Therapeutics, Inc.
“I’m honored to join the ImmunityBio board at such an important time of growth and opportunity for the company,” Linda said. “I’m impressed with both the science and the leadership that I believe will take the company on an upward trajectory as it makes innovative contributions to medicine.”
Dr. Maxwell earned an A.B. with honors from Harvard University, an M.D. from Yale University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Oxford.
About ImmunityBio
ImmunityBio is a leading, late-clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing next-generation therapies that drive immunogenic mechanisms for defeating cancers and infectious diseases. The company’s immunotherapy platform activates both the innate and adaptive immune systems to create long-term “immunological memory.”
ImmunityBio has a comprehensive immunotherapy pipeline with more than 40 clinical trials—of which 25 are at Phase II and III stage of development—across 19 indications in solid and liquid cancers and infectious diseases. Currently, 17 first-in-human immunotherapy agents are in clinical testing, and, to date, over 1,800 patients have been studied with our antibody cytokine fusion proteins, albumin chemo immunomodulators, Adeno and yeast vaccines, and our off-the-shelf natural killer cell products. Anktiva (ImmunityBio’s lead cytokine infusion protein) is a novel interleukin-15 superagonist complex and has received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for BCG-unresponsive CIS non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
The company’s platforms are based on the foundation of four separate modalities: Antibody cytokine fusion proteins, synthetic immunomodulators, second-generation human adenovirus and yeast vaccine technologies, and state-of-the-art, off-the-shelf natural killer cells, including autologous and allogenic cytokine-enhanced memory NK cells. ImmunityBio is currently developing a dual construct COVID-19 vaccine candidate using its hAd5 platform.
ImmunityBio is a leading producer of cryopreserved and clinical dose forms of off-the-shelf natural killer cell therapies. The company has established GMP manufacturing capacity at scale with cutting-edge cell manufacturing expertise and ready-to-scale facilities, as well as extensive and seasoned R&D, clinical trial, and regulatory operations and development teams.
For more information: https://immunitybio.com/
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