ibrx-20211231

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

For the transition period from to

Commission file number: 001-37507

_____________________________________

IMMUNITYBIO, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

3530 John Hopkins CourtSan Diego, California 92121

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 633-0300

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share IBRX The Nasdaq Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ̈Noþ

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ̈Noþ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yesþ No ̈

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yesþ No ̈

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer þ Accelerated filer ̈

Non-accelerated filer ̈ Smaller reporting company ̈

Emerging growth company ̈

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ̈

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared its audit report. þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ̈ No þ

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates, based on the closing price of shares of common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 30, 2021 was approximately $1,050.9 million.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of February 24, 2022 was 397,911,136 (excluding 163,800 shares held by a majority owned subsidiary of ours that are treated as treasury shares for accounting purposes).

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

As noted herein, the information called for by Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference to specified portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed in conjunction with the registrant’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is expected to be filed not later than 120 days after the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

IMMUNITYBIO, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021

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Page

PART I

Item 1. Business 1

Item 1A. Risk Factors 48

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 108

Item 2. Properties 108

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 109

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 109

PART II

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 132

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 133

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 193

Item 9B. Other Information 194

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 194

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 195

Item 11. Executive Compensation 195

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 195

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 196

-i-

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (Annual Report) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to:

•our ability to develop next-generation therapies and vaccines that complement, harness, and amplify the immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases;

•our ability to implement and support our SARS-CoV-2 (COVID‐19) vaccine and therapeutic programs;

•any impact of the coronavirus pandemic, or responses to the pandemic, on our business, clinical trials or personnel;

•our expectations regarding the potential benefits of our strategy and technology;

•our expectations regarding the operation of our product candidates and related benefits;

•our ability to utilize multiple modes to induce cell death;

•our beliefs regarding the benefits and perceived limitations of competing approaches, and the future of competing technologies and our industry;

•details regarding our strategic vision and planned product candidate pipeline, including that we eventually plan to advance vaccines and therapies for virally-induced infectious diseases;

•our beliefs regarding the success, cost and timing of our product candidate development activities and current and future clinical trials and studies, including study design and the enrollment of patients;

•our expectations regarding our ability to utilize the Phase 1/2 aNK and haNK® clinical trials data to support the development of our product candidates, including our haNK, taNK, t‐haNKTM, MSC, and M-ceNKTM product candidates;

•our expectations regarding the development, application, commercialization, marketing, prospects and use generally of our product candidates, including AnktivaTM, saRNA, hAd5 and yeast constructs, recombinant sub-unit proteins, endosomal delivery vector (EDVTM) constructs, toll-like receptor-activating adjuvants, and aldoxorubicin;

•the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings or other actions and related regulatory authority responses, including any planned investigational new drug (IND), Biologics License Application (BLA) or New Drug Application (NDA) filings including, without limitation, the anticipated timing of filing a BLA for bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) carcinoma in situ (CIS) or pursuit of accelerated regulatory approval pathways or orphan drug status and Breakthrough Therapy designations;

•our ability to implement an integrated discovery ecosystem and the operation of that planned ecosystem, including being able to regularly add neoepitopes and subsequently formulate new product candidates;

•the ability and willingness of strategic collaborators to share our vision and effectively work with us to achieve our goals;

•the ability and willingness of various third parties to engage in research and development activities involving our product candidates, and our ability to leverage those activities;

•our ability to attract additional third-party collaborators;

•our expectations regarding the ease of administration associated with our product candidates;

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•our expectations regarding patient compatibility associated with our product candidates;

•our beliefs regarding the potential markets for our product candidates and our ability to serve those markets;

•our expectations regarding the timing of enrollment and submission of our clinical trials, and protocols related to such trials;

•our ability to produce an antibody cytokine fusion protein, a DNA, RNA, or recombinant protein vaccine, a toll-like receptor-activating adjuvant, an NK-cell therapy, or a damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMP) inducer therapy;

•our beliefs regarding the potential manufacturing and distribution benefits associated with our product candidates, and our ability to scale up the production of our product candidates;

•our plans regarding our manufacturing facilities and our belief that our manufacturing is capable of being conducted in‐house;

•our belief in the potential of our antibody cytokine fusion proteins, DNA, RNA or recombinant protein vaccines, toll-like receptor-activating adjuvants, NK-cell therapy, or DAMP inducer platforms, and the fact that our business is based upon the success individually and collectively of these platforms;

•our belief regarding the magnitude or duration for additional clinical testing of our antibody cytokine fusion proteins, DNA, RNA or recombinant protein vaccines, toll-like receptor-activating adjuvants, NK-cell therapy, or DAMP inducers along with other product candidate families;

•even if we successfully develop and commercialize specific product candidates like our Anktiva or PD-L1 t‐haNK, our ability to develop and commercialize our other product candidates either alone or in combination with other therapeutic agents;

•the ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of any of our product candidates, and any related restrictions, limitations and/or warnings in the label of any approved product candidate;

•our ability to commercialize any approved products;

•the rate and degree of market acceptance of any approved products;

•our ability to attract and retain key personnel;

•the accuracy of our estimates regarding our future revenue, as well as our future operating expenses, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;

•our ability to obtain funding for our operations, including funding necessary to complete further development and any commercialization of our product candidates;

•our ability to obtain, maintain, protect and enforce intellectual property protection for our product candidates and technology and not infringe upon, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property of others;

•the terms and conditions of licenses granted to us and our ability to license additional intellectual property relating to our product candidates and technology;

•the impact on us, if any, if the contingent value rights (CVRs) held by former Altor BioScience Corporation (Altor) stockholders become due and payable in accordance with their terms;

•regulatory developments in the United States (U.S.) and foreign countries; and

•the timing of the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

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Forward-looking statements include statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report, and although we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted a thorough inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

This Annual Report also contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business, and the markets for certain diseases, including data regarding the estimated size of those markets, and the incidence and prevalence of certain medical conditions. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market, and other data from reports, research surveys, studies, and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data, and similar sources.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We discuss these risks in greater detail in Item1A. “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this Annual Report.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. You should read this Annual Report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

Anktiva, ceNK, Conkwest, GlobeImmune, GlobeImmune (logo), haNK, haNK (Chinese characters), ImmunityBio, NantKwest, NK-92, Outsmart your disease, taNK, Tarmogen, VesAnktiva, and VivaBioCell are trademarks or registered trademarks of ImmunityBio, Inc., its subsidiaries, or its affiliates.

This Annual Report contains references to our trademarks and trademarks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this Annual Report, including logos, artwork and other visual displays, may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us, by any other companies.

In this Annual Report, “ImmunityBio,” “the company,” “the combined company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to ImmunityBio, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

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Our Business

ImmunityBio, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation therapies and vaccines that complement, harness, and amplify the immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases. We strive to be a vertically-integrated immunotherapy company designing and manufacturing our products so they are more effective, accessible, more conveniently stored, and more easily administered to patients.

Our broad immunotherapy and cell therapy platforms are designed to attack cancer and infectious pathogens by activating both the innate immune system—natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages—and the adaptive immune system—B cells and T cells—in an orchestrated manner. The goal of this potentially best-in-class approach is to generate immunogenic cell death thereby eliminating rogue cells from the body whether they are cancerous or virally infected. Our ultimate goal is to employ this approach to establish an “immunological memory” that confers long-term benefit for the patient.

Our business is based on the foundation of multiple platforms that collectively act on the entire immune response with the goal of targeted, durable, coordinated, and safe immunity against disease. These platforms and their associated product candidates are designed to overcome the limitations of the current standards of care in oncology and infectious diseases, such as checkpoint inhibitors and antiretroviral therapies. We have established one of the most comprehensive portfolios of immunotherapy and vaccine platforms, which include:

We believe that our innovative approach to orchestrate and combine therapies for optimal immune system response will become a therapeutic foundation across multiple clinical indications. Although such designations may not lead to a faster development process or regulatory review and may not increase the likelihood that a product candidate will receive approval, Anktiva, our novel antibody cytokine fusion protein, has received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track designations in combination with BCG from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS. Based on the reported results of the trial, we have initiated discussions with the FDA to file a BLA for Anktiva (to be branded VesAnktivaTM for intravesical administration) plus BCG for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS. Additionally, we believe data from multiple clinical trials indicates Anktiva has broad potential to enhance the activity of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), including checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., Keytruda®), across a wide range of tumor types.

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Our platforms, which include 17 first-in-human therapeutic agents, are being studied in 26 actively recruiting clinical trials—17 of which are in Phase 2 or 3 development—across 13 indications in liquid and solid tumors, including bladder, pancreatic and lung cancers. These are among the most frequent and lethal cancer types for which there are high failure rates for existing standards of care or, in some cases, no available effective treatment. In infectious disease, our pipeline currently targets such pathogens as the novel strain of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We believe SARS-CoV-2 currently lacks a vaccine that provides long-term protection against the virus, particularly its variants, while HIV affects tens of millions of people globally and currently has no known cure.

We have established Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing capacity at scale with cutting-edge cell manufacturing expertise and ready-to-scale facilities, as well as extensive and seasoned research and development (R&D), clinical trial, and regulatory operations and development teams.

Our Strategy

We seek to become the leading global immunological therapeutics company by creating the next generation of immunotherapies to address serious unmet needs within oncology and infectious diseases. To achieve this goal, the key elements of our strategy include:

•advancing the approval and commercialization of our lead antibody cytokine fusion protein, Anktiva, as an integral component of immunotherapy combinations, including those with checkpoint inhibitors;

•continuously scrutinizing our clinical pipeline and assessing our strategic priorities to maximize opportunities for regulatory approval and to meet unmet medical needs;

•accelerating our immunotherapy platform and product candidates with registrational intent to address difficult-to-treat oncological and infectious disease indications;

•continuing to prospect, license, and acquire technologies to complement and strengthen our platforms and product candidates, both as single agent and combination therapies, in order to activate and coordinate the innate and adaptive immune system to generate cellular memory against multiple tumor types and infectious diseases;

•optimizing investment in our discovery, development, and manufacturing capabilities for our next-generation targeted antibody cytokine fusion proteins and vaccine candidates, as well as for cell therapies;

•advancing our formulations and delivery mechanisms to make our promising biotechnology product candidates available to the broadest population possible; and

•cultivating new and expanding existing collaborations for our multi-stage pipeline to efficiently scale globally.

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Our Next-Generation Platforms

1.Antibody Cytokine Fusion Proteins

Antibody cytokine fusion proteins such as Anktiva are a novel class of biopharmaceuticals that enhance the therapeutic potential of cytokines, and promote lymphocyte infiltration at a site of disease, improving immune response. Anktiva (N-803) is a novel interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist fusion protein consisting of high-affinity mutant IL-15N72D fused to the IL-15 receptor α sushi subunit and linked to the Fc portion of IgG1 Fc. The novel antibody cytokine fusion protein specifically increases the activity of two critical aspects of the immune system—NK cells and cytotoxic (tumor cell killing) CD8 T-cells—and exerts its effects via beta gamma, rather than alpha, T-cell receptor binding and avoids regulatory T-cell (T-reg) stimulation that might dampen the pro-immune effect. Anktiva has improved pharmacokinetic properties, longer persistence in lymphoid tissues and enhanced anti-tumor activity compared to native, non-complexed IL-15 in vivo. Multiple Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials in both liquid and solid tumors have been completed through the date of this Annual Report in over 700 patients. Although such designations may not lead to a faster development process or regulatory review and may not increase the likelihood that a product candidate will receive approval, Anktiva has been awarded both Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track designations by the FDA for the treatment of BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS as well as Fast Track designation for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC papillary and BCG-naïve NMIBC CIS. Based on patient data that was submitted with our application to obtain the Breakthrough Therapy designation in BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS, Anktiva achieved its primary endpoint of a complete response (CR) rate at any time in the ongoing registrational Phase 2/3 trial. We believe that other indications with registration potential include BCG unresponsive papillary bladder cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We have initiated discussions with the FDA to file a BLA for Anktiva (to be branded VesAnktivafor intravesical administration) plus BCG for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS.

In addition to Anktiva, we are developing bi-specific fusion proteins targeting CD20, PD-L1, IL-12, and TGF-ß to further enhance NK and T-cell activation directed to the infectious disease or tumor microenvironment, and to modulate the systemic and local immune response to accelerate immunogenic cell death. Prioritized product candidates in preclinical development include antibody cytokine fusion proteins N-820 (targeting CD20), N-809 (targeting PD-L1), N-812 (delivering IL-12 to necrotic tumor cells), and N-830 (delivering a TGF-ß Trap to necrotic tumor cells).

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2.DNA, RNA, and Recombinant Protein Vaccine Technologies

We have developed and acquired rights to multiple vaccine delivery technologies for infectious diseases to target key viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and for oncology to deliver common tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), and neoepitopes (expressed only by cancer cells). These technologies can deliver DNA, self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), and subunit proteins to induce B and T cell memory due to the activation of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells along with antibody (humoral) responses. We believe a “mix-and-match” strategy (i.e., a heterologous approach combining different vaccine platforms) could provide maximal immune protection against current and future COVID-19 variants such as Delta and Omicron. Our key vaccine delivery technologies include:

a.Self-amplifying RNA

Synthetic RNA technology has quickly emerged for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines in part because it allows for rapid, scalable, and cell-free manufacturing as evidenced by the adoption of SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccines. We believe our saRNA technology (licensed from the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) both directly and, in the case of SARS-CoV-2, through our joint venture formed with Amyris, Inc. (Amyris) in December 2021) represents a significant improvement over existing RNA technologies. Our saRNA constructs include a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) formulation important for thermal stability and facilitating the substitution of genetic sequences and have demonstrated an ability to vaccinate with multi-valent strains.The self-replicating capability allows for increased potency bymaintaining auto-replicative activity derived from the RNA virus vector, while the self-amplifying capability may increase the duration and breadth of immunity. Preclinical studies in small animal and non-human primate (NHP) models have shown that the saRNA delivery vehicle results in potent humoral and cell-based immunogenicity. Phase 1 first-in-human trials of saRNA for COVID-19 are anticipated to begin in the first half of 2022.

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b.Second-generation adenovirus hAd5 vector

Adenovirus is a well-established viral vector and can be utilized as a vaccine to stimulate the immune system. Our human adenovirus serotype 5 (hAd5) technology has unique deletions in the early 1, (E1), early 2 (E2b) and early 3 (E3) regions (hAd5 [E1-, E2b-, E3-]), which allows it to be effective in the presence of pre-existing adenovirus immunity and lowers the risk of generating de novo vector-directed immunity. We have several hAd5 product candidates, which have been studied in multiple Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials as potential vaccines for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and certain cancers. Importantly, these product candidates have shown an ability to overcome previous adenovirus immunity in cancer patients and in preclinical models. The hAd5 technology has also been used with common TAAs to establish memory T cells in multiple clinical trials.Our SARS-CoV-2 candidate uses a combination of S-Fusion and N-ETSD, our novel constructs of COVID-19 S+N proteins, which has been shown to generate CD4+ and CD8+ T cell mediated immunity and neutralizing antibodies in Phase 1 trials. Our vaccine candidate is currently being studied in our SISONKE Boost Trial (COVID 4.010) in South Africa now in Phase 3.

c.Recombinant subunit proteins

Our yeast vaccine platforms have been studied in both oncology and infectious disease.The Tarmogen platform (licensed from our subsidiary GlobeImmune, Inc. (GlobeImmune)) has been administered to over 400 patients with cancer or infectious diseases in FDA-regulated clinical trials. This platform technology consists of a heat-killed, recombinant S cerevisiae yeast-based vaccine engineered to express immunogens such as TAAs, pathogen antigens, and tumor-specific neoepitopes. Immunization with this platform elicits CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses capable of eliminating tumor cells or pathogen-infected cells. Our recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) pichia-based antigen (licensed from the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), which was developed at the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development) with 3M-052/Alum adjuvants and related technology (licensed from IDRI and 3M Company (3M) and affiliates) has been shown to provide protection against SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 (and variants of concern), and animal coronaviruses. Phase 1 clinical trials of this subunit protein and 3M-052 adjuvants are anticipated to begin in the first half of 2022.

d.Bacterial-based endosomal delivery vectors

EDVs are a first-in-class, cyto-immunotherapy platform that utilizes antibody-targeted, bacterially-derived, 400 nm diameter non-living “nanocells” to release high concentrations of super-cytotoxic drugs, molecularly-targeted drugs, or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)/microRNAs (miRNAs) and can be engineered to activate iNKT cells (see below—Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT)). We signed a binding term sheet with EnGeneIC Pty Limited (EnGeneIC) to integrate their patented EDV to explore clinical development in the treatment of COVID-19 and pancreatic cancer.

3.Toll-Like Receptor Activating Adjuvants

Adjuvants are either synthetic or naturally occurring molecules that activate toll-like receptors (TLRs) thereby enhancing the humoral and cell-mediated immune response of vaccines. There are 10 human TLRs expressed either on the inside or outside of the immune cell and their function is to recognize foreign substances expressed by pathogens. Once activated, these TLRs stimulate danger signals to the immune cells initiating an immune response. We have licensed adjuvants and related technology from IDRI and 3M Company and its affiliates to incorporate with the vaccine delivery platforms described above and have access to multiple toll receptor activators, including TLR 4, TLR 7, and TLR 8. The 3M-052/Alum adjuvant formulation is in Phase 1 trials in the U.S. with an HIV antigen and has been well-tolerated and highly immunogenic. A Phase 1 clinical trial for SARS-CoV-2 of this 3M-052 adjuvant in combination with a subunit protein is anticipated to begin in the first half of 2022. We also plan to use these adjuvants in vaccines for the treatment of tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, and influenza.

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4.NK Cell Therapy

ImmunityBio has one of the most comprehensive clinical-stage natural killer cell platforms, which has demonstrated the ability to induce cell death in cancers and virally-infected cells through a variety of concurrent mechanisms including innate killing, antibody-mediated killing, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-directed killing, and a combination of both antibody-mediated and CAR-directed killing.

a.Off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cells

Natural killer cells (NK cells) are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte critical to the innate immune system. NK cells show spontaneous cytolytic activity against cells under stress such as tumor cells and virally-infected cells. After activation, NK cells also secrete several cytokines such as interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and chemokines that can modulate the function of other innate and adaptive immune cells. Cytotoxic cell lines (including our NK-92) have been established from patients with clonal NK-cell lymphoma. Those cells can be expanded in culture in the presence of cytokines (IL-2, IL-15). Our “off-the-shelf” NK cell platform has been molecularly engineered in a variety of ways to boost its killing capabilities against cancers and virally-infected cells. Unlike normal natural killer cells, our aNK cells do not express the key inhibitory receptors that diseased cells often exploit to turn off the killing function of NK cells and escape elimination.We have genetically engineered our aNK cell platform to overexpress high-affinity CD16 receptors that bind to antibodies. These antibody-targeted haNK cells are designed to directly bind to IgG1-type antibodies, such as avelumab, trastuzumab, cetuximab, and rituximab, with the intention of enhancing the cancer-killing efficacy of these antibodies by boosting the population of competent natural killer cells that can kill cancer cells through antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).

Our most advanced line of off-the-shelf product candidates is an innovative, bioengineered combination that incorporates all the features of our haNK platform together with a CAR (t-haNK). Product candidates under this platform have three modes of killing: innate, antibody-mediated, and CAR-directed killing. These product candidates also include one or more additional expression elements such as functional cytokines, chemokines and trafficking factors. These product candidates are intended to be combined with commercially available therapeutic antibodies to effectively target either two different epitopes of the same cancer-specific protein or two entirely different cancer specific proteins. Key trials studying our t-haNK product candidates have been initiated—PD-L1 t-haNK in Phase 1/2 trials in TNBC, and Phase 2 trials in pancreaticand GBM—and CD19 t-haNK has been cleared to commence Phase 1 testing in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. We believe we have a pipeline of other prominent CARs for t-haNK, including HER2 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which are advancing through clinical-enabling studies, among others, which will enable us to potentially address an even broader range of cancers as part of a chemotherapy-free combination regimen. In March 2021, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), our PD-L1 t-haNK was reported to be a potent cell therapy agent against myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and overcome T cell escape in multiple types of resistant tumors (Fabian et al 2020). In January 2022, we reported on the results of our metastatic pancreatic cancer trial using PD-L1 t-haNKin combination with Anktiva. These findings, which were reported at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Conference in January 2022, showed a median overall survival of 6.3 months in patients who had progressed after two prior lines of therapy, more than doubling historical survival. We plan to meet with the FDA in 2022 to discuss a potential path for the approval of combination therapies for pancreatic cancer.

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b.Autologous and allogenic memory-like cytokine-enhanced NK cells (M-ceNK)

Memory-like cytokine-enhanced NK cells are a unique set of lymphocytes that differentiate after a brief pre-activation with interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-15 and IL-18 and exhibit enhanced responses to cytokine re-stimulation that include enhanced IFN-γ production and cytotoxicity against leukemic cell lines. These cells have been isolated and characterized by their unique cell-surface marker profile and their highly desirable feature of immune-memory, marked by their pronounced anti-cancer activity for weeks to months in duration, which has made these cells a research focus for more than a decade.We have developed a unique ability to generate a portfolio of distinct M-ceNK cell products through the application of our proprietary GMP-in-a-Box bioreactors and cytokines and our proprietary methods and overall expertise in scale manufacturing of NK cell-based products. In May 2021, the FDA authorized the company to conduct a first-in-human trial to study the M-ceNK platform in solid tumors (QUILT 3.076). An initial clinical trial showed that healthy and patient-derived M-ceNK killed NK-resistant tumor cells.

c.Invariant natural killer T cells

iNKT cells are unique T cells that express an invariant aβ T-cell receptor (TCR) and a number of cell surface molecules in common with NK cells. Although they comprise less than 1% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), they are important immunoregulatory cells that can quickly produce large amounts of cytokines.iNKT cell-derived cytokines and chemokines recruit and activate dendritic cells and can modulate several other cell types, including B cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, NK cells, macrophages and neutrophils.iNKT cells recognize glycolipid antigens presented by the non-polymorphic major histocompatability complex (MHC) Class I-like molecule, CD1d in contrast to conventional T cells, which primarily recognize peptide antigens presented by MHC molecules. We entered into a binding term sheet with EnGeneIC to license EDV, which can be engineered to activate iNKT cells, to explore clinical development in the treatment of COVID-19 and pancreatic cancer. We plan on developing iNKT-cell vaccines, including for the prevention of COVID-19. EDV is now in Phase 3 clinical trials in Australia. Through the date of this Annual Report, the initial 2x109 EDV IM dose has shown little to no adverse events (AEs) with what we believe is promising antibody, memory B cell and T cell activity. In addition to expanding this trial in Australia and the U.S., we are exploring using the EDV technology in combination with our other vaccine constructs for select future trials.

5.Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns Inducers

DAMPs are released in response to cell stress and death, and elicit potent sterile inflammation. Recent evidence suggests that DAMPs may also have a key role in the development of cancer as well as in the host response to cytotoxic anti-tumor therapy. DAMPs may play a protective role by alerting the immune system to the existence of dying tumor cells, thereby triggering immunogenic tumor cell death. Albumin bound chemo modulators and tumor associated antigen regulators target delivery of the chemotherapy agent to the tumor microenvironment, activate tumor killing macrophages and/or enable a tumor suppressive microenvironment.

a.Aldoxorubicin

Aldoxorubicin is an albumin-associated anthracycline chemo modulator designed to target immune evasion in cancer. Aldoxorubicin has the same cytotoxic mechanism of action as doxorubicin, which is currently approved for use in 14 indications, including breast cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), but also has unique pharmacological properties resulting in lower cardiotoxicity as shown in Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials for soft tissue sarcoma previously conducted by CytRx Corporation (CytRx). CytRx out-licensed global development, manufacturing, and commercialization rights for aldoxorubicin to us in 2017. The investigative therapeutic is currently in a Phase 2 trial in pancreatic cancer in combination with Anktivaand PD-L1 t-haNK, and we plan to include it in a new randomized, multi-center, Phase 2 GBM trial (QUILT 3.078) currently being developed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combinations of Anktiva, aldoxorubicin, PD-L1 t-haNK, and bevacizumab.

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b.Nanatinostat

VRx-3996 (nanatinostat), an orally available histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, is being developed by Viracta. Nanatinostat is selective for specific isoforms of Class I HDACs, which is key to inducing viral genes that are epigenetically silenced in EBV-associated malignancies. In preclinical studies, nanatinostat has been shown to reactivate silenced transgenes in tumor cells thereby turning them into preferential targets for NK cell killing, while also serving to broadly stimulate a patient’s immune system, offering the potential for improved clinical responses in cancer patients. The activity of HDAC inhibitors are believed to be based on the upregulation of natural killer group 2D (NKG2D) ligand expression on cancer cells, which serve as “eat-me” signals for NK cells and can drive NK proliferation, activation and cancer cell killing. We entered into an agreement with Viracta under which we were granted exclusive worldwide rights in patents and know-how related to nanatinostat for use in combination with our platform of NK cell therapies.

Our Pipeline

Oncology

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1.Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer(QUILT 3.032) (QUILT 2.005)

In the U.S., bladder cancer is the fourth most commonly-diagnosed solid malignancy in men and twelfth in women. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 81,180 new cases and 17,100 deaths from bladder cancer in 2022. There is an urgent, unmet need to treat NMIBC and avoid radical cystectomy of the bladder in an attempt to control the disease. Although such designations may not lead to a faster development process or regulatory review and may not increase the likelihood that a product candidate will receive approval, Anktiva has been awarded both Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track designations by the FDA for the treatment of BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS as well as Fast Track designation for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC papillary and BCG-naïve NMIBC CIS. In our QUILT 3.032 trial, the company reported that the primary end points were met for both BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS and papillary in October 2021 with a complete remission rate of 72% and a 12-month disease-free rate of 57%, respectively. Seminal patents covering intravesical administration of BCG and Anktiva were issued (US 11,173,191 B2 and US 9,925,247 B2) providing term coverage until 2035.

BCG-Unresponsive CIS (QUILT 3.032)

In our Phase 2/3 open-label multi-center trial of BCG-unresponsive high grade NMIBC CIS patients, the patients are receiving BCG plus Anktiva weekly for six consecutive weeks during induction. The patients also receive additional treatment including three weekly maintenance instillations every three months for up to 12 months and then at month 18. Patients with no disease or low-grade Ta disease at months 24, 30, and 36 are eligible for continued BCG plus Anktiva (Cohort A) or Anktiva alone (Cohort C) treatment (3 weekly instillations), at the principal investigators’ discretion. The primary endpoint of the BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS trial is a CR rate at any time equal to or greater than 30% and the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval must be greater than or equal to 20% for success. Complete response, or the disappearance of measurable disease in response to treatment, is evaluated at three months or six months following initial administration of Anktiva plus BCG (and every three months thereafter until 24 months). This endpoint would be achieved once at least 24 of the 80 patients in the trial achieve complete response.

All patients enrolled in Cohort A have been treated with the recommended number of full-strength doses of BCG on study during our trial. We have enrolled patients who have received a lower dosage of BCG therapy before enrollment in our trial as a result of BCG shortages. The mean and median number of prior BCG doses in Cohort A is 16.6 and 12.0, respectively, which are consistent with the FDA definition of BCG-unresponsive CIS. The FDA allowed our modification of the study design to allow enrollment of such patients, and definition of these patients may require further discussions with the FDA upon review. A published meta-analysis (Zeng 2015) of six relevant randomized controlled trials and two quasi-randomized controlled trials in NMIBC concluded that low-dose BCG instillation significantly reduces the incidence of overall side effects, especially severe and systemic symptoms in patients with NMIBC, while the oncological control efficacy of low-dose BCG is not inferior to standard-dose BCG. There can be no assurance that the FDA will agree with this conclusion.

A data cutoff occurred in January 2022, which provided a median follow-up in Cohort A in excess of 24 months. Data presented at the ASCO® Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in February 2022 showed a complete response in 59 of 83 patients 71% CR rate (95% CI: 60.1, 80.5) and a median duration of CR of 24.1 months. In those patients who responded to the investigational therapeutic, the probability of avoiding both progression of bladder cancer and cystectomy at 24 months exceeded 90%. The combination of Anktiva and BCG had a well-tolerated profile with 0% treatment-related serious adverse events (SAEs), 0% immune-related AEs, and 100% bladder cancer-specific overall survival at 24 months. Low-grade treatment related AEs include dysuria, hematuria, and pollakiuria (all 16%), urgency (14%), and bladder spasm (8%), all other AEs were seen at 6% or less. No immune-related SAEs have been observed. We continue to engage in discussions with the FDA, and we anticipate filing a BLA for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC CIS in the first quarter of 2022.

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BCG-Unresponsive Papillary (QUILT 3.032)

In our Phase 2, open-label multi-center trial of BCG-unresponsive high grade NMIBC papillary patients (Cohort B), the patients are receiving BCG plus Anktiva weekly for six consecutive weeks during induction. The patients also receive additional treatment including three weekly maintenance instillations every three months for up to 12 months and then every nine months for up to 24 months. The primary endpoint of the trial is a 12-month disease free rate greater than or equal to 30% and the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval must be greater than or equal to 20% for success. To meet the primary endpoint, 24 out of 80 patients must be disease free at 12 months.

Data presented at the ASCO® Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in February 2022 showed a 12-month disease-free rate of 57% (95% CI: 44, 68) in the papillary Cohort B, in which 73 of 77 patients (95%) have not progressed to radical cystectomy after a median duration of follow-up of 20.7 months, and a 99% bladder cancer-specific survival through the January 2022 data cutoff.

BCG-Naïve(QUILT 2.005)

As discussed above, Anktiva has been awarded Fast Track designation by the FDA for the treatment of BCG-naïve NMIBC CIS. We are currently enrolling patients in our Phase 2b blinded, randomized, two-cohort, open-label, multi-center trial of intravesical Anktiva plus BCG versus BCG alone, in BCG naïve patients with high-grade NMIBC CIS (Cohort A) and NMIBC papillary (Cohort B). Planned enrollment for Cohort A (CIS) and Cohort B (papillary) is 366 patients and 230 patients, respectively.

2.Lung Cancer (Lung-MAP) (QUILT 2.023)

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the U.S. In 2022, it is estimated that 236,740 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. and 130,180 deaths will be attributed to the disease. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for about 80% to 85% of all lung cancers diagnoses and there are very few successful treatment options for these patients once the cancer spreads beyond the lungs. The development of checkpoint inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been revolutionary, doubling the median overall survival in some settings; however, patient response may be short lived, due to late response and/or progression after achieving an initial response. As with bladder cancer, Anktiva enhances the proliferation and activation of NK and T cells critical for targeting and killing lung cancer cells. There is therefore a strong rationale to evaluate Anktiva in addition to an anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor for patients with NSCLC who have relapsed after achieving an initial response to PD-1 or PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Analysis of the pooled data from a Phase 1/2 trial conducted from January 2016 to June 2017 in 23 patients, and a subsequent investigator-initiated Phase 2 trial conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina, yielded confirmation of activity of the combination of checkpoint inhibitors and Anktiva in relapsed NSCLC. In 15 patients with PD-L1 greater than 50%, the overall response rate was 38% and the median overall survival rate was 17.1 months. These preliminary findings were favorable relative to the historical response rate seen in this patient population in the first-line setting with checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

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On the basis of these findings, we initiated a single-arm Phase 2b multi-cohort basket trial (QUILT 3.055) of Anktiva and checkpoint inhibitor combinations in patients who have previously received treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors per an FDA-approved indication. Patients enrolled in this trial were eligible if actively progressing on checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Upon enrollment, patients continued on the same checkpoint inhibitor but with the addition of Anktiva. Despite progressing on checkpoint inhibitor therapy upon entry into the trial, the majority of patients reverted to stable disease and demonstrated durability of stable disease, some extending as long as nine months. Data presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting in 2021 showed that despite the patients’ prior progression on checkpoint inhibitor therapy alone, upon entry into the trial the majority of patients experienced clinical benefit either as stable disease (49%) or a partial response (9%). Among 133 cancer patients enrolled in QUILT 3.055, the common Anktiva attributed grade 1 and 2 AEs included: injection site reaction (71%), chills (34%), fatigue (27%), pyrexia (24%), flu-like illness (13%), and decreased appetite (10%). A total of 18 grade 3 and 4 AEs attributed to Anktiva have been reported among 16 patients (12%) in the trial as of February 2021. All reported grade 3 and 4 AEs occurred at a frequency of 5% or less; two patients reported increased alanine amino transferase, increased aspartate amino transferase or increased blood alkaline phosphatase, anemia, injection-site reaction or injection-site pain. All other occurrences of grade 3 or 4 AEs that the clinical trial site investigators reported as suspected as being due to Anktiva include: decreased lymphocyte count; weight loss; influenza-like illness; injection site pruritus; cellulitis; injection-site cellulitis; sepsis; deep vein thrombosis; hypovolemic shock; colitis; diarrhea; delirium; respiratory failure; and maculopapular rash.

In October 2021, we announced that Anktiva had been chosen by Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP), a public-private partnership—which includes the NCI, the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Cooperative Groups (SWOG, ECOG-ACRIN, Alliance, and NRG), Friends of Cancer Research, and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH)—to study Anktiva in the Lung-MAP trial. The trial with Anktiva in combination with Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) will include up to 478 second-line patients with tumors that are not targetable with a drug, which accounts for the majority of NSCLC cases. In the fourth quarter of 2021, approval was received from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) overseeing the Lung-MAP study to proceed with the trial—one of the NCI’s largest lung cancer clinical trials with more than 700 sites. Enrollment has begun for this trial.

We are enrolling patients in a randomized Phase 3 trial (QUILT 2.023) to evaluate Anktiva plus checkpoint inhibitor combinations versus other checkpoint inhibitor combinations in the first line setting for NSCLC. Patients will be treated as described below:

•Immunotherapy for either squamous or non-squamous NSCLC with PD-L1 TPS >1% (Cohort A). Combination of Anktiva with Keytruda® versus Keytruda as the standard of care control arm in this randomized trial.

•Chemoimmunotherapy for squamous NSCLC (Cohort B). Combination of Anktiva with Carboplatin, Abraxane® and Keytruda versus Carboplatin, Abraxane / paclitaxel and Keytruda as the standard of care control arm in this randomized trial.

•Chemoimmunotherapy for non-squamous NSCLC (Cohort C). Combination of Anktiva with Cisplatin / Carboplatin, Keytruda and Pemetrexed versus Cisplatin / Carboplatin, Keytruda and Pemetrexed as the standard of care control arm in this randomized trial.

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3.Pancreatic Cancer (QUILT 88)

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, in the U.S. pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women and has one of the highest mortality rates of all major cancers, taking nearly 50,000 lives every year, with a five-year survival rate for late-stage cases of only 3%. Exploratory Phase 1b/2 trials in patients with second-line or greater metastatic pancreatic cancer in which Anktiva and aldoxorubicin were combined with off-the-shelf NK (haNK) cells, other agents, and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) showed encouraging results in patients with advanced disease. The primary endpoints of the Phase 1b and 2 portions of the trial were safety and objective response rate, respectively. In aggregate, 82% of patients (14/17) with advanced pancreatic cancer achieved disease control following combination therapy including Anktiva and aldoxorubicin. There were no Anktiva-related grade 3 or 4 AEs reported.

On the basis of these exploratory trials, together with the preclinical findings that PD-L1 t-haNK is as active as haNK + anti-PD-L1 mAbs, we initiated a first- through third-line pancreatic cancer clinical trial (QUILT 88) that uses PD-L1 t-haNK as described below.

•First-line advanced pancreatic cancer (Cohort A). Combination of Anktiva with aldoxorubicin and low-dose chemotherapy plus SBRT with or without PD-L1 t-haNK versus gemcitabine/Abraxane® as the standard of care control arm in this randomized trial.

•Second-line advanced pancreatic cancer (Cohort B). Combination of Anktiva with aldoxorubicin and low-dose chemotherapy plus SBRT + PD-L1 t-haNK versus 5FU/Onivyde® as the standard of care control arm in this randomized trial.

•Third-line and beyond (Cohort C). Combination of Anktiva with aldoxorubicin and low-dose chemotherapy plus SBRT + PD-L1 t-haNK in a single arm cohort of this trial with a primary endpoint of overall survival.

On October 13, 2021, we announced that the trial’s Cohort C was fully enrolled. In January 2022 at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium, we reported that 27% of third-line or greater patients (17/63) remain on study and that the median overall survival in this highly advanced group of patients (who failed two to six prior lines of treatment) is 5.8 months (95% CI: 3.9, 6.9 months) exceeding the approximately three-month historical median overall survival. Of the 63 patients, 30 (48%) had progressed after two prior lines of therapy. Median overall survival in this group was 6.3 months (95% CI: 5.0, 9.8 months), more than doubling the historical overall survival. (Survival of three months as reported by Manax et al ASCO GI 2019). In Cohort C, four patients (7%) experienced treatment-related SAEs that included peripheral edema, pyrexia, anemia and atrial flutter. No treatment-related deaths were reported.

Based on the strength of earlier data and the significant unmet medical need, we submitted an amendment to the FDA to increase enrollment in Cohort C and plan to meet with the FDA in 2022 to discuss a potential path for the approval of combination therapies for pancreatic cancer.

4.Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (QUILT 3.058)

According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, globally more than 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 and 685,000 died from it. Triple-negative breast cancer is especially aggressive and accounts for 10-15% of breast cancers according to the American Cancer Society. In a prior exploratory Phase 1b/2 trial (QUILT 3.067), which included nine heavily pre-treated metastatic TNBC patients, we treated them with a combination immunotherapy that included Anktiva and aldoxorubicin, haNK cell therapy, along with several other immunotherapy agents. The primary endpoints of the Phase 1b and 2 portions of the trial were safety and objective response rate, respectively. The exploratory Phase 1b/2 trial in nine patients with advanced TNBC showed a disease control rate of 89% with a complete or partial response of 67% (6/9), including two patients (22%) with a complete response to the combination therapy. The median progression-free survival was 14.3 months with median overall survival of 20.2 months as of December 2020. Eight of the nine patients had primarily chemotherapy-related neutropenia or anemia, but all cases were low grade. A total of 27 grade 3 AEs were reported by 9 patients (100%) and included disease progression, pyrexia, mastitis, pneumonia, nausea, cholecystitis, and pain in extremity. However, none of these SEAs were attributed to Anktiva. There were three grade 3 haNK-related AEs with fever and fatigue, but no patient withdrew due to an SAE or experienced cytokine release syndrome.

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Based on this encouraging data, in June 2021 we announced we had received FDA authorization to conduct a Phase 1b/2 open-label study to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of Anktiva and PD-L1 t-haNK cells in combination with standard chemotherapy and Trodelvy® (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) in patients with advanced TNBC. The study consists of two phases and will enroll up to 79 patients. The Phase 1b portion of the study has 2 parts: Part 1 involves dose escalation using a 3+3 design, and Part 2 involves the expansion of the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of sacituzumab govitecan-hziy plus chemoimmunotherapy. The Phase 2 portion of the study is based on a Simon’s two-stage optimal design. In Phases 1b and 2, all patients receive sacituzumab govitecan-hziy plus chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy: cyclophosphamide, Anktiva, and PD-L1 t-haNK on a 3-week schedule. The dose of sacituzumab govitecan-hziy is dependent on dose level cohort for Phase 1b and will be set at the RP2D for Phase 2. The doses of cyclophosphamide, Anktiva, and PD‐L1 t-haNK will remain the same in all dose level cohorts and phases. This trial is open and currently enrolling patients.

5.Glioblastoma Mulitforme (QUILT 3.078)

According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, GBM is the most common malignant brain and other tumors accounting for approximately 48% of all primary brain tumors with a low survival rate of approximately 40% in the first year after diagnosis and only 17% in the second year. A single arm Phase 2 trial was completed in 2016 that assessed the preliminary efficacy and safety of aldoxorubicin administered to recurrent GBM patients who progressed after first-line therapy. The primary endpoint of the trial was objective response rate. Out of 28 patients, investigator assessment of best overall tumor response reported three patients with a partial response, seven patients with progressive disease, and 11 patients with stable disease. Treatment-related grade 3 or 4 AEs included: neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, febrile neutropenia, and lymphopenia.

A new randomized, multi-center, Phase 2 trial is currently being developed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combinations of Anktiva, aldoxorubicin, PD-L1 t-haNK and bevacizumab in this indication. A pilot phase will evaluate different combinations of triplets and the quadruplet, and a winner will be selected for the randomized portion versus bevacizumab monotherapy as the current standard of care for relapsed/refractory (r/r) GBM. We plan to begin enrollment of this trial in 2022.

6.Human Papillomavirus-Associated Tumors (Cervical and Head & Neck)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year about 19,400 women and 12,100 men experience cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. According to the NCI, head and neck cancers account for nearly 4% of all cancers in the U.S. It was estimated that more than 68,000 men and women in the U.S. would be diagnosed with head and neck cancers in 2021. IBRX-042 leverages our hAd5-based vaccine platform to target tumors caused by HPV infection, which includes most types of cervical cancer and some types of head/neck cancers. Our second-generation hAd5 vector includes enhancements with the E1, E2b, E3 regions of the hAd5 deleted (E1-, E2b-, E3-), decreasing the risk for vector-directed immune responses that may reduce efficacy, while maintaining high target antigen production. The platform has previously been used to generate vaccines against tumor-associated antigens such as MUC1 and Brachyury. In IBRX-042, hAd5 encodes HPV-16 E6 and E7 tumor-associated proteins (oncotarget antigens). E6 and E7 play a role in early infection and, importantly, transformation of cells into rapidly-dividing tumor cells. Specifically, E6 promotes degradation of p53—a factor that typically prevents excess cell division—indirectly activates telomerase, and disrupts the function of the cellular phosphatase tumor suppressor PTPN13. E7 inactivates pRb (which plays a role similar to the p53) and activates Mi2b and is also implicated in transformation. Together, these oncogenic alterations drive rapid cellular proliferation, suppress or downregulate key tumor suppressor proteins, and lead to cellular immortality. In addition, E6 and E7 expression is required to maintain a malignant transformed phenotype. IBRX-042 has demonstrated the ability to induce immune responses against HPV16 antigens that induced significant anti-tumor effects in vivo in HPV+ mouse models. To support clinical studies, we have successfully completed the GMP production of GMP IBRX-042.

We are planning a Phase 1/2 open-label trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous (SC) IBRX-042 vaccination combined with Anktiva (to enhance immune responses) and PD-L1 t-haNK cells in patients with HPV-associated tumors. We intend to add Anktiva to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination followed by PD-L1 t-haNK. We plan to begin enrollment of this trial in 2022.

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7.Solid Tumor (QUILT 3.076)

An initial clinical trial showed that healthy and patient-derived M-ceNK cells killed NK-resistant tumor cells. We initiated a Phase 1 study of cryopreserved M-ceNK cells in combination with Anktiva to evaluate safety in subjects with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors. The study will compare the quantity and quality of the M-ceNK cells collected and manufactured from newly diagnosed patients who have not received prior treatment to the M-ceNK cells collected and manufactured from patients who have received at least two prior treatments for their cancer. The study consists of two cohorts and there will be 10 participants in each cohort. Cohort 1 includes participants with newly diagnosed high-risk solid tumors who have not received prior treatment; and Cohort 2 includes participants with r/r solid tumors who have progressive disease after receiving at least two prior therapies. Participants will be enrolled in the two cohorts simultaneously. Participants in Cohort 1 will participate in apheresis collection of lymphocytes (part A) and will not receive any investigational therapy in this study. Participants in Cohort 2 will undergo an apheresis collection of lymphocytes (part A) prior to receiving approximately four weeks of disease-specific therapy per their oncologists’ recommendations.

8.Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

According to the American Cancer Society, in 2022 it is estimated that 80,470 new cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) will be diagnosed in the U.S., and 20,250 deaths will be attributed to the disease. A Phase 1 trial evaluating Anktiva in combination with rituximab, an anti-CD20 mAb therapy, in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (iNHL), who had relapsed or were refractory after two lines of therapy, was published in the American Association for Cancer Research journal, Clinical Cancer Research, in 2021. The combination regimen of Anktiva and Rituxan® was well tolerated with a single reported grade 4 AE and no reported grade 5 AEs. For patients with anti-CD20 mAb sensitive disease, the ORR in the SQ cohort was 78% (7 of 9) with 7 of 7 (100%) responses in the SQ cohorts were complete remissions (CRs).

Most B-cell malignancies express high levels of CD19, including the majority of NHLs, such as diffuse large B Cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), and mantle cell lymphoma. In addition, many leukemias express high levels of CD19, including B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and hairy cell leukemia. As such, two CD19‐directed CAR-T cell therapeutics are FDA-approved for use in a variety of indications including NHL and ALL. Like T cells, NK cells can be genetically modified to express CARs that recognize tumor‐associated cell-surface antigens and mediate specific recognition and lysis of cancer cells. A number of aNK cell lines that express CARs have been developed and importantly, aNK cells engineered with CARs targeting CD19 and CD20 have shown to be effective against in vitro/in vivo models of lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma (Boissel 2013, Muller 2008, Romanski 2016). Derived from aNK, the haNK cell line is engineered to express the high-affinity variant of the Fcγ receptor (FcγRIIIa/CD16a 158V) as well as endoplasmic reticulum-retained IL-2, and has demonstrated enhanced ADCC-mediated antitumor activity (Jochems 2016). The CD19 t-haNK cell line combines the engineered enhancements of haNK cells with the expression of a CAR targeting CD19, and thus has potential to demonstrate robust ADCC antitumor activity against cancerous B cells and provide clinical benefit to patients with r/r NHL. We are currently developing an open-label, Phase 1 trial of CD19 t-haNK as a single agent and in combination with Anktiva and rituximab in patients with r/r NHL.

In addition to the studies listed above, we are pursuing several other both company-sponsored and investigator-initiated studies of our product candidates including in colon cancer (hAd5 CEA), Kaposi’s sarcoma (aldoxorubicin), and head and neck cancer (Anktiva, hAd5 CEA, MUC1, and Brachyury) among others.

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Infectious Diseases

COVID-19 Programs

In order to address the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic, several key findings have emerged through intense research activity since the virus was first identified. We believe these findings include the need for second-generation COVID-19 vaccines with cross-reactive memory B and T cells in the face of antigenic drift and a heterologous prime/boost approach without cold chain limitations. Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 were developed with exceptional speed and initially showed a high degree of efficacy against the wild-type virus, with RNA vaccines showing the highest degree of efficacy and a sound safety profile. However, in the time since their authorization, we believe that a number of important limitations have been recognized. First, these vaccines have required boosting for increased efficacy. Second, their availability in the low income global community has been limited. Third, they have shown reduced efficacy against emergent variants of concern (VOC). Fourth, they exhibit heat-sensitivity and require a cold chain that may be infeasible in many low-resource settings. Researchers aim to address these limitations and have recently made several relevant advances. For example, second-generation COVID-19 vaccines with DNA and RNA delivery platforms that are heat-stable, potent and broadly protective against multiple VOC have been developed and are in clinical trials. Additionally, vaccines which stimulate the innate immune system through the TLR system invoke strong and broad humoral and cellular responses. We believe that T cell immunity plays a central role in the control of SARS-CoV-2 and its importance may have been relatively underestimated thus far. Our COVID-19 vaccine product candidates are designed to provide second-generation T cell as well as antibody-based protection.

a.Spike in Combination with Nucleocapsid

Since the inception of the pandemic, we have hypothesized that antibody-based vaccines, specifically those that target the S protein alone, would prove insufficient over an extended time period to prevent transmission and infectivity due to their inability to overcome viral evolution in the face of a rapidly mutating S protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In fact, what has been observed over the past year is that anti-S antibody levels and immune protection against COVID-19 subsides following vaccination with currently available S targeting vaccines, requiring booster shots at approximately six months. Compounding the limitations of an S-only approach is the spike protein is under intense immune pressure from vaccine-induced antibodies, which drives the evolution of vaccine escape variants. Internal proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as the N protein, are more highly conserved and less subject to mutation and thus may be more appropriate targets to maintain vaccine efficacy in the face of this viral evolution.

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From the onset, we believed strongly that an immune response generating a combination of antibodies, T cells, and memory B cells is critical to prevent infection, reduce viral load, prevent transmission, provide durable protection and ultimately overcome this pandemic. Therefore, we focused our efforts on developing vaccine candidates with an S-Fusion + N-ETSD that express both an optimized viral spike (S) protein (S-Fusion) and a nucleocapsid protein with an Enhanced T-cell Stimulation Domain (N-ETSD) that directs N to the endo/lysosomal subcellular compartment to enhance MHC Class II responses. In order to reduce viral load, T cells are necessary to kill virally-infected cells in the nasal and lung passages and thereby prevent transmission even from highly transmissible variants. We performed a non-human primate COVID virus challenge study in September 2020 (supported by BARDA and published in September 2021 in Frontiers in Immunology entitled, “Dual-Antigen COVID-19 Vaccine Subcutaneous Prime Delivery with Oral Boosts Protects NHP Against SARS-CoV-2 Challenge”) confirming that our second-generation adenovirus hAd5 S+N vaccine accomplished the goal of reducing viral load to non-detectable levels following a COVID-19 virus challenge.

On the basis of these findings, a program was designed to pursue this strategy of driving T cell and antibody protection, and to develop a second-generation vaccine with broad depth of antigenic coverage. The initial study, which began in March 2020, showed that hAd5 S+N vaccination as a single prime alone induced a 10-fold increase in mean T cell responses in Phase 1 participants that were sustained against spike variants.

b.Heterologous Prime Boost

Moreover, since initiating the initial homologous prime boost trial in the U.S., it has become apparent that a “mix-and-match” strategy (i.e., a heterologous approach combining different vaccine platforms) could potentially provide maximal immune protection against current and future variants such as Delta and Omicron. For example a “Prime” with an RNA vaccine leads to strong antibody response while a “Boost” with a DNA or an EDV/adjuvant vaccine could convey strong cellular immune responses. On this basis we have acquired the rights to multiple platforms and initiated a consortium that includes 3M, Amyris, BCM, EnGeneIC and IDRI to develop, manufacture and scale second-generation vaccines that combine different advanced DNA, RNA, protein constructs, and adjuvants. We have adopted a long-term approach to addressing COVID-19 and future pandemics and believe these mix-and-match components are critical to providing accessible, broad, and durable protection. Importantly we believe that the technologies behind these heterologous approaches are not burdened by the limitations of first-generation RNA cold-chain requirements.

1.hAd5 S+N Platform Prime & Boost—U.S. (COVID 4.001 and 4.005) and South Africa COVID (4.007)

In October 2020, the FDA authorized a Phase 1 trial of our dual construct Spike+Nucleocapsid (hAd5 S+N) COVID-19 vaccine, designed to drive both T cell and antibody immunity. We undertook a rigorous development strategy to explore multiple methods of administration (oral, intranasal, subcutaneous, and combinations of each) to determine the best site of delivery to achieve maximum antibody, T cell and mucosal immunity. In February 2021, this trial was expanded to South Africa (the ProVIVA-SA1 Trial). Through the date of this Annual Report, 114 participants have enrolled in the U.S. and South African Phase 1 trials. Data acquisition and analysis from both trials is ongoing. Preliminary analysis has shown that subcutaneous dosing of hAd5 S+N provides strong T-cell responses to both Spike and Nucleocapsid antigens with no SAEs reported through the date of this Annual Report. These trials formed the basis of the Universal T Cell Boost Trial (SISONKE Boost Trial) activated in South Africa in July 2021.

2.SISONKE Boost Trial—South Africa (COVID 4.010)

In July 2021 we announced authorization from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to proceed with our SISONKE T-Cell Universal Boost trial in South Africa. This Phase 1/2/3 trial was the first DNA/DNA heterologous mix-and-match trial of Ad26 and hAd5 and was designed to study the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of ImmunityBio’s T-Cell COVID-19 vaccine as a boost in participants who had already received a spike-only antibody-based vaccine. The trial is designed to explore whether the T cell-based vaccine could prevent breakthrough infections from the Delta variant in health care workers who are already vaccinated. The goal of the hAd5 S+N vaccine is to potentially provide increased protection and long-term immunity against the multiple variants and multiple waves affecting South Africa and other countries. The SISONKE Universal Boost Phase 2 trial is fully enrolled with 60 participants with no SAEs reported through the date of this report. The Phase 3 trial is now open and enrollment began in January 2022.

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3.THEMBA saRNA Vaccine Boost—South Africa (COVID 4.015) and U.S. (COVID 4.016)

The THEMBA trials are the first studies of our saRNA with next-generation NLCs. In South Africa, we initiated the filing of a Phase 1/2 trial assessing the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of saRNA-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 as boost vaccines in participants that have been previously vaccinated against or previously infected with COVID-19, which is under regulatory review at the SAHPRA awaiting authorization to begin. In the U.S., we submitted a similar Phase 1/2 trial design for FDA review in the first quarter of 2022. The Phase 1 trial, for up to 60 previously vaccinated/infected participants will be enrolled as 6 separate cohorts to receive a single vaccine boost consisting of different doses of either saRNA encoding the Spike protein (AAHI-SC2 vaccine) or saRNA encoding the Spike and nucleocapsid proteins (AAHI-SC3 vaccine) delivered by NLC. The Phase 2 trial, of up to 120 previously vaccinated/infected additional participants, will be enrolled with a randomized 1:1:1:1 design to receive Janssen, Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines (control arm), the AAHI-SC2 vaccine (experimental arm 1), or the AHHI-SC3 (experimental arms 2 and 3).

4.PULA Trial RBD Subunit Protein with TLR Adjuvant Boost—Botswana (COVID 4.014)

We plan on submitting a Phase 1/2/3 trial assessing the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of a yeast-based COVID-19 vaccine with a TLR activating adjuvant to the Botswana Medical Research Authority (BOMRA) to be called PULA. In November 2021, we announced we had licensed a recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine (RBD Subunit) candidate from BCM. Protein-based vaccines have long been used to confer immunity against hepatitis B and HPV, as immune responses often target proteins that are part of viruses and bacteria. This recombinant protein vaccine technology is proven and well-established. Production of these vaccines can be easily scaled up in low-resource countries. We are combining this subunit protein with a 3M-052/Alum adjuvant and related technology licensed from IDRI and 3M Company and its affiliates in this PULA trial.

HIV

In June 2021, we announced the opening of a Phase 1 “HIV Cure Study” in patients on therapy and a Phase 2 study in acutely infected patients. Both studies have opened and are actively enrolling participants.

1.HIV Cure Study

Sponsored by the NIAID and AIDS Clinical Trials Group, the “HIV Cure Study” will evaluate whether Anktiva alone or together with broadly neutralizing antibodies can control HIV following interruption of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The Phase 1 open-label, randomized trial will enroll 46 people living with HIV whose virus has been suppressed by ART for approximately two years, including at least 30% cisgender women or transgender men.

2.Thai Red Cross and the US Military HIV Research Program

An additional Phase 2 trial, enrolling 15 patients, has been initiated with the Thai Red Cross and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program. The trial is designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and immunostimulatory effects of administering Anktiva during acute HIV infection. Anktiva will be administered subcutaneously at weeks zero, three and six (for a total of three doses) and will be initiated together with antiretroviral therapy in order to determine if the immunostimulatory effects of Anktiva will reduce the amount of HIV present during acute infection. The trial duration for individual participants will be approximately 12 weeks. It is hypothesized that Anktiva initiated with anti-retroviral therapy during acute HIV infection will not result in complications or additional toxicities compared with anti-retroviral therapy alone, and may result in a reduced viral load in these patients by inhibiting early establishment of HIV reservoirs in infected individuals.

3.NIAID University of Minnesota Trial

An ongoing Phase 1b, non-randomized, open label clinical trial sponsored by the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is investigating the effect of Anktiva on B cell follicles in antiretroviral treated HIV disease. This trial includes 10 HIV-infected adults on effective antiretroviral therapy who will receive Anktiva to intensively investigate the immunological effects of treatment. The hypothesis is that in HIV infected humans treated with Anktiva,CD8 T cells will migrate to and increase in number in B cell follicles that will result in a reduction in the frequency of cells with an inducible HIV provirus. The trial is fully enrolled, and there are currently 2 active patients on study as of this date of this report.

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Our Large-Scale GMP Biologic Manufacturing Capabilities

ImmunityBio has adopted a strategic position to be vertically integrated and develop its products according to the FDA’s GMP standards for large-scale manufacturing, even during Phase 2 clinical trial development. Biological upstream and downstream manufacturing capabilities, with its attendant know-how and regulatory compliance for approval, have long lead times. We have adopted an approach for preparedness to provide our vaccine, immunotherapy and cell therapy products at a global scale. As such, we have established our own plants and have access to facilities on a global basis.

Our ability to create an efficient manufacturing process and supply chain will be important in enabling us to develop novel therapies. Our strategy is to anticipate the needs of our early-stage research and development initiatives for preclinical and eventual clinical product candidates with a focus on rapid capability to produce at scale fusion proteins, hAd5, saRNA, subunit protein, EDV, and NK cell products. In addition, our pipeline for development of synthetic small molecules and immunomodulatory peptides uses innovative technology to derive new therapies. We believe members of our management team, many of whom have experience in both nanoparticle commercialization and large-scale injectable drug production, are capable of constructing the processes and commissioning the facilities necessary to meet our development and commercialization goals. For well-known processes, we currently work, and plan to continue working, with established contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to produce drug substance and drug products. In addition, we plan to further enhance our in-house manufacturing capabilities for drug substances, drug products, and labeling and packaging.

Overview of our Manufacturing Model

Our manufacturing capabilities include advanced technology facilities to produce and test various drug substances and drug products. Our experienced operations and quality team focuses on internal manufacturing and testing with a constant endeavor to create robust, high quality, efficient and consistent supply that meets target product profiles. Our Phase 1 manufacturing process is designed to seamlessly scale-up through all phases of clinical development to commercial manufacturing to drive successful commercialization.

Commercial cGMP Production

For our Anktiva product candidate, we have contracted with a multi-national biologics manufacturer with multiple cGMP-compliant facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia for our current clinical trials and future commercial sales, if approved. The facilities have robust process development and validation and quality oversight with high-capacity production suites operating multiple 2,000-20,000L production bioreactors.

Clinical Trial GMP Antibody and Fusion Protein Production

We are establishing a cGMP-compliant multi-platform facility in California, which includes a large space for the production of antibodies and fusion proteins (including Anktiva) to treat cancers and infectious diseases. This facility will include fully integrated biologic upstream and downstream production suites and a quality assurance/quality control release laboratory for high-capacity antibody and fusion protein production.

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Clinical Trial GMP saRNA, Adenovirus, and Yeast Production

We have established other cGMP-compliant facilities for saRNA, adenovirus, and yeast production in multiple sites in California and a site in Colorado for oncology and infectious diseases. One of our sites in California is dedicated to adenovirus product candidates for the production of vaccine candidates to treat infectious diseases. These facilities generally have fully-integrated biologic upstream and downstream production suites and quality assurance/quality control release laboratories for high capacity, continuous, or personalized just-in-time vaccine production.

Clinical Trial GMP NK Cell Therapy Production

We have established other cGMP-compliant facilities for NK cell therapy product production in multiple sites in California for oncology. One of our sites in California is dedicated to our off-the-shelf product candidates (including PD-L1 t‐haNK), while another is primarily focused on our M-ceNK product candidates, including a training lab for our second-generation offerings.

cGMP ISO Class 5 Manufacturing Facility

On February 14, 2022, we acquired a leasehold interest in approximately 409,000 rentable square feet of cGMP ISO Class 5 pharmaceutical manufacturing space in western New York (the Dunkirk Facility). This facility provides us with a state-of-the-art biotech production center that substantially expands and diversifies our existing manufacturing capacity in the U.S. and will be used across all of our key platforms. See Note 13, Subsequent Events, of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” that appears in Part II, Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report for additional information.

Manufacture of Platform Product Candidates

ImmunityBio’s diverse product candidate portfolio and pipeline requires a broad knowledge of various manufacturing and quality assurance methods. We have invested heavily in the processes, systems and technology to build an extensive range of manufacturing programs spanning various levels of development from IND-enablement through BLA preparation of our first commercial product.

We believe our plan to selectively use CMOs for certain of our assets at various stages, coupled with internal development, will give us assurance that any products will have backup manufacturing options.

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Competition

We face potential competition from many different sources, including major and specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic research institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with current therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future. We believe that the key competitive factors affecting the success of any of our product candidates will include efficacy, safety profile, convenience, cost, market access, level of promotional activity devoted to them, competitive intensity, and intellectual property protection.

We have focused our efforts on oncological and infectious disease indications that are difficult to treat and with large unmet needs, and we believe our platform will be broadly applicable across multiple tumor types and infections. Based on the breadth and depth of our platforms, we believe our competitors will range from large pharmaceutical companies to emerging novel biotechnology companies.

Oncology

•Antibody Cytokine Fusion Proteins. This platform primarily competes with large pharmaceutical companies marketing checkpoint inhibitors. However, the potential exists for some of these large pharmaceutical companies to seek collaboration for combination of Anktiva with their marketed checkpoint inhibitor. This platform will also compete with immunotherapy fusion protein companies developing similar approaches, including Nektar Therapeutics, Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., Novartis International AG (Novartis), F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Roche), Sanofi, S.A. (Sanofi), and in the context of NMIBC, FerGene, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck), and Sesen Bio, Inc.

•DNA, RNA, Recombinant Protein Vaccine Technologies. This platform and the associated product candidates will likely compete with other cancer vaccines. Other potential cancer vaccine competitors include Achilles Therapeutics, Roche, BioNTech SE (BioNTech), Merck, Genocea Biosciences, Inc., Geneos Therapeutics, Inc., Hangzhou Neoantigen Therapeutics, Inc., and Gritstone Bio, Inc. There is currently one approved dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine, which is marketed by Dendron Pharmaceuticals, LLC for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Competitor companies focused on dendritic cell-based approaches include Argos Therapeutics, Inc., Merck, Immune Design, Inc., Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Precigen Corporation, Inc., Medigene AG, and Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Northwest).

•Toll-Like Receptor Activating Adjuvants. This platform competes with companies offering other TLR agonist-based approaches, including Dynavax Technologies Corporation, Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Panacela Labs LLC, Primmune Therapeutics, Inc., and Statera BioPharma, Inc.

•NK Cell Therapy. This platform’s product candidates (haNK, taNK, t‐haNK and M-ceNK) face competition from several companies focused on NK cell-based approaches, including Catamaran Bio Inc., Celularity, Inc. (Celularity), Century Therapeutics, Inc., Fate Therapeutics, Inc., Gamida Cell, Ltd., INmune Bio Inc., Nkarta Therapeutics, Inc., NKGen Biotech, Inc., Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc./Merck, Sanofi, Shoreline Biosciences, Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda). In addition, our NK cell product candidates compete with other cell and molecule-based immunotherapy approaches using or targeting natural killer cells, NKT cells, T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. There are currently four approved T cell-based treatments marketed by Novartis, Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead)/Kite Pharma (two marketed products), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS). Additional companies focused on CAR‐T-related treatment approaches include Allogene Therapeutics, Inc., BMS, Novartis, Pfizer, Inc. (Pfizer), Cellectis SA, Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., Celularity, Takeda, and Gilead. Competitor companies focused on other T cell-based approaches include Adaptimmune Ltd., Adicet Bio, Inc., Autolus Therapeutics, plc, GlaxoSmithKline plc. (GSK), Precision Biosciences, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen), Beam Therapeutics Inc., BioNTech, Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc., Senti Biosciences, Inc., and TCR2 Therapeutics Inc.

•DAMP Inducers. This platform competes with companies offering various chemotherapeutic agents, including Abraxane®, doxorubicin and paclitaxel/Taxol, as well as an antibody drug conjugate produced by Immunomedics, Inc. (acquired by Gilead).

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Other potential immunotherapy competitors in oncology include Affimed GmbH, AgenTus Therapeutics, Inc., Appia Bio, Inc., Codiak Biosciences, Compass Therapeutics, Inc., Glycostem Therapeutics BV, Kuur Therapeutics Limited, GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd., Lyell Immunopharma, Inc., and GT Biopharma, Inc.

Infectious Diseases

Currently, our infectious disease product candidates are primarily focused on SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. Competitor companies focused on COVID-19 vaccines (adenovirus, mRNA, and other approaches) include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen, Merck, Moderna Therapeutics, Inc., Novavax, Inc., Pfizer/BioNTech, and Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. In addition, a very large number of companies, government agencies and academic centers around the world are developing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. In the HIV space, we have product candidates that use Anktiva that will likely compete with companies who have approved therapeutics for HIV, including Abbott Laboratories Inc., BMS, Gilead, and GSK.

Intellectual Property

We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary technology, inventions, and improvements that are commercially important to our business, including seeking, maintaining, and defending patent rights, whether developed internally or licensed from third parties. Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position by, among other methods, filing patent applications in the U.S. and in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. related to our proprietary technology, inventions, improvements, and product candidates that are important to the development and implementation of our business. We also rely on trade secrets and know-how relating to our proprietary technology and product candidates, continuing innovation, and in-licensing opportunities to develop, strengthen, and maintain our proprietary position in the field of cancer therapeutics and immunotherapy. We expect to rely on data exclusivity, market exclusivity, patent term adjustment and patent term extensions when available, as well as on regulatory protection afforded through orphan drug designations. Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for our product candidates, technology, inventions, and improvements; to preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets; to maintain our licenses to use intellectual property owned by third parties; to defend and enforce our proprietary rights, including our patents; and to operate without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the valid and enforceable patents and other proprietary rights of third parties.

We have developed, acquired, and in-licensed patents and patent applications across platforms as previously described for: (1) activated NK and T cells; (2) memory T cell activation; and (3) activated tumoricidal macrophages. With respect to activated NK and T cells, we have developed Anktiva, an N72D variant IL-15 complexed to a dimeric IL-15Ra/Fc fusion protein; with respect to memory T cell activation, we have developed adenoviral and yeast immunotherapies expressing tumor antigens such as CEA, MUC1, and Brachyury, and in-licensed saRNA technologies; and with respect to activated tumoricidal macrophages, we have in-licensed intellectual property licensed to aldoxorubicin, a tumor-targeted doxorubicin conjugate, from CytRx.

We own patents and patent applications related to the development and commercialization of Anktiva. As of December 31, 2021, our owned patent portfolio directed to Anktiva, methods of use of Anktiva, and combinations with additional therapeutics consists of approximately 13 issued U.S. patents and 5 pending U.S. patent applications, as well as approximately 43 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S., including Europe, China, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to Anktiva, methods of use of Anktiva and combinations with additional therapeutics are expected to expire from 2028 to 2035. Excluding any applicable extensions, the issued foreign patents are expected to expire from 2028 to 2035. If patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2037 to 2039.

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For example, these patents and patent applications include claims directed to:

•Anktiva compositions of matter;

•uses of Anktiva in methods of treating cancers;

•uses of Anktiva in treating HIV; and

•combination treatments using Anktiva and additional therapeutics.

We own and in-license from Institute for Cancer Research patents and patent applications related to the development and commercialization of cell-based therapies. As of December 31, 2021, our patent portfolio directed to NK, haNK, and t-haNK cell lines, methods of use of these cells, and combinations with additional therapeutics consists of approximately 15 issued U.S. patents and 26 pending U.S. patent applications, as well as approximately 32 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S., including Europe, China, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to these cell therapies, methods of use, and combinations with additional therapeutics are expected to expire from 2025 to 2040. Excluding any applicable extensions, the issued foreign patents are expected to expire from 2025 to 2038. If patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2025 to 2040. For example, these patents and patent applications include claims directed to:

•NK cells;

•haNK cells;

•EGFR t-haNK cells;

•CD19 t-haNK cells;

•HER2 t-haNK cells; and

•PD-L1 t-haNK cells.

We own and in-license patents and patent applications related to development and commercialization of our preclinical assets N-820 and N-809. As of December 31, 2021, our owned patent portfolio directed to N-820 and N-809 and methods of use of N-820 and N-809 consists of approximately 5 issued U.S. patents and approximately 3 pending U.S. patent applications, as well as approximately 46 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to N-820 and N-809 are expected to expire from 2028 to 2031. If patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2031 to 2037. For example, these patents and patent applications include claims directed to fusions of checkpoint inhibitor and TAA antibodies and binding molecules with IL-15/IL15Ra/Fc fusion proteins complexes.

We exclusively in-license patents and patent applications from CytRx related to the development and commercialization of aldoxorubicin. As of December 31, 2021, our licensed patent portfolio directed to aldoxorubicin and methods of use of aldoxorubicin consists of approximately 3 issued U.S. patents, as well as approximately 20 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S., including Europe, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to aldoxorubicin are expected to expire from 2033 to 2034. Excluding any applicable extensions, the issued foreign patents are expected to expire from 2033 to 2034. For example, these patents and this patent application include claims directed to:

•Aldoxorubicin formulations; and

•Aldoxorubicin formulations for use in treating cancer.

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We exclusively own, and co-own with and in-license from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), patents and patent applications related to the development and commercialization of adenovirus-based cancer immunotherapies. As of December 31, 2021, our patent portfolio directed to adenovirus and methods of use of adenovirus in treating or preventing cancer consists of approximately 16 issued U.S. patents and approximately 9 pending U.S. patent applications, as well as approximately 58 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to adenovirus-based cancer immunotherapies are expected to expire from 2024 to 2038. If patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2028 to 2039. For example, these patents and patent applications include claims directed to:

•Adenovirus vectors and virus particles comprising TAAs; and

•uses of adenovirus vectors and virus particles in methods of treating cancers.

We own, co-own with HHS and in-license from the University of Colorado, patents and patent applications related to the development and commercialization of yeast-based cancer immunotherapies. As of December 31, 2021, our patent portfolio directed to yeast-based cancer immunotherapies and methods of use of yeast-based cancer immunotherapies in treating or preventing cancer consists of approximately 20 issued U.S. patents and approximately 5 pending U.S. patent applications, as well as approximately 134 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to yeast-based cancer immunotherapies are expected to expire from 2023 to 2038. If any patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2030 to 2034. For example, these patents and patent applications include claims directed to:

•yeast and yeast vehicles expressing TAAs and neoepitopes; and

•uses of yeast and yeast vehicles expressing TAAs and neoepitopes in methods of treating cancers.

We own 4 U.S. non-provisional patent applications and 2 patent cooperation treaty (PCT) applications directed to therapeutics for COVID-19. Some of these patent applications are directed to the use of our adenovirus and yeast technologies for a COVID-19 vaccine. If any patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire in 2040 and 2041.

We in-license patents and patent applications from IDRI related to the development and commercialization of adjuvant formulations and saRNA based vaccines. As of December 31, 2021, our licensed patent portfolio directed to adjuvant formulations and saRNA vaccine platforms consists of approximately 9 issued U.S. patents and approximately 3 pending U.S. patent applications, as well as approximately 28 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed adjuvant formulations and saRNA-based vaccines are expected to expire from 2027 to 2038. If any patents issue from our pending U.S. patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2027 to 2038. The validity of one of our in-licensed issued European patents (EP Patent No. 2068918) is being challenged in an opposition proceeding. This patent is directed to vaccine compositions comprising certain lipid adjuvants. We believe IDRI has meritorious defenses against the opposition.

We own patents and patent applications related to the development and commercialization of GMP-in-a-Box. As of December 31, 2021, our patent portfolio directed to GMP-in-a-Box consists of approximately 6 issued U.S. patents and approximately 4 pending U.S. patent applications as well as approximately 59 patents issued in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. Excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, the issued U.S. patents directed to GMP-in-a-Box are expected to expire between 2030 and 2037. If patents issue from our pending patent applications, excluding any patent term adjustment and patent term extension, such patents will be expected to expire from 2030 to 2039. For example, these patents and patent applications include claims directed to methods, bioreactors, and apparatuses for monitoring and culturing cells.

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The term of individual patents extend for varying periods of time, depending upon the date of filing of the patent application, the date of patent issuance, and the legal term of patents in the countries in which they are obtained. Generally, patents issued for applications filed in the U.S. are effective for 20 years from the earliest effective filing date of a non-provisional patent application. The patent term may be adjusted to compensate for delayed patent issuance, when such delays are caused by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or successful appeals against USPTO actions. There is no statutory limit on this patent term adjustment, which is generally the length of any such delays caused by the USPTO. In addition, in certain instances, a patent term can be extended to recapture a portion of the term effectively lost as a result of the FDA regulatory review period. The restoration period cannot be longer than five years, the total patent term, including the restoration period, must not exceed 14 years following FDA approval, only one patent applicable to an approved drug may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. While we plan to seek such patent term adjustments and extensions where applicable, there is no guarantee that the USPTO and/or FDA will agree with our assessment of whether such adjustments or extensions should be granted, and if granted, the length of such adjustments or extensions. The duration of patents outside of the U.S. varies in accordance with provisions of applicable local law, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. However, the actual protection afforded by a patent varies on a product-by-product and country-to-country basis and depends upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory-related extensions, the availability of legal remedies in a particular country, and the validity and enforceability of the patent.

The patent positions of companies like ours are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy regarding the scope of claims allowable in patents in the field of immunotherapy has emerged in the U.S. The patent situation outside of the U.S. is even more uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or their interpretation in the U.S. and other countries may diminish our ability to protect our inventions and enforce our intellectual property rights, and more generally could affect the value of our intellectual property. In particular, our ability to stop third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing products that infringe our intellectual property will depend in part on our success in obtaining and enforcing patent claims that cover our technology, inventions, and improvements. With respect to both licensed and owned intellectual property, we cannot be sure that patents will be granted with respect to any current pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications filed in the future, nor can we be sure that any existing patents or any patents that may be granted in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our product candidates and the methods used to manufacture those product candidates. Moreover, even our issued patents do not guarantee us the right to practice our technology in relation to the commercialization of our product candidates. The area of patent and other intellectual property rights in biotechnology is an evolving one with many risks and uncertainties, and third parties may have blocking patents that could be used to prevent us from commercializing our product candidates and practicing our technology. Our issued patents and those that may issue in the future may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing related products or limit the length of the term of patent protection that we may have for our product candidates. In addition, the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar technology. Furthermore, our competitors may independently develop similar technologies. For these reasons, we may have competition for our product candidates. Moreover, because of the extensive time required for development, testing and regulatory review of a potential product candidate, it is possible that, before any particular product candidate can be commercialized, any related patent may expire or remain in force for only a short period following commercialization, thereby reducing any advantage of the patent.

Our registered trademark portfolio currently contains approximately 9 registered trademarks in the U.S., approximately 25 registered trademarks in foreign jurisdictions, approximately 7 pending trademark applications in the U.S., and approximately 11 pending trademark applications in foreign jurisdictions. We may also rely, in some circumstances, on trade secrets to protect our technology. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We seek to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with those who have access to our confidential information, including our employees, contractors, consultants, collaborators, and advisors. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our proprietary technology and processes by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. Although we have confidence in these individuals, organizations, and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or may be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our employees, contractors, consultants, collaborators, or advisors use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. For risks related to our proprietary technology, inventions, improvements and products, see Part I, Item 1A., “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Intellectual Property” and Item 3., “Legal Proceedings” of this Annual Report.

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Collaboration and License Agreements

We anticipate that strategic collaborations will continue to be an integral part of our operations, providing opportunities to leverage our partners’ expertise and capabilities to gain access to new technologies and further expand the potential of our technologies and product candidates across relevant platforms. We believe we are well positioned to become a leader in immunotherapy due to our broad and vertically-integrated platforms and through complementary strategic partnerships. Agreements shown below have been arranged in alphabetical order.

The following description of certain of our collaboration and license agreements is not a comprehensive listing of all such agreements to which we are a party, and the inclusion of a description of any collaboration or license agreement is not an indication that we consider such agreement(s) to be material to our business and operations as a whole, which is a dynamic and evolving analysis and may change over time.

Collaboration Agreements

Amyris Joint Venture

In December 2021, Immunity Bio and Amyris entered into a 50:50 joint venture arrangement and formed a new limited liability company to conduct the business of the joint venture, to accelerate the commercialization of a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine utilizing IDRI’s RNA vaccine platform to which Amyris holds a license. As part of the limited liability agreement, Amyris contributed, in part, rights to its license agreement with IDRI for the IDRI RNA platform for the field of COVID-19, and ImmunityBio contributed, in part, priority access to its manufacturing capacity for the joint venture product.

National Cancer Institute

The company and its subsidiaries began their relationship with HHS, as represented by the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2015. Pursuant to the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), the NCI provides scientific staff and other support necessary to conduct research and related activities as described in the CRADA. During the term of the initial and amended CRADAs, we collaborated with the NCI on the preclinical and clinical development of an adenovirus technology expressing tumor-associated antigens for cancer immunotherapy, the preclinical and clinical development of our proprietary yeast-based Tarmogens expressing tumor-associated antigens, and the proprietary adenovirus technology expressing tumor-associated antigens for cancer immunotherapy.

In 2021, the CRADA was amended and the research plan was modified to include the preclinical and clinical development of ImmunityBio’s proprietary adenovirus platform expressing tumor-associated antigens; proprietary yeast platform expressing tumor-associated antigens; proprietary agent Anktiva and derivatives, agent N-808 and derivatives, and/or TxM product candidates; proprietary recombinant NK cells and mAbs; proprietary RNA vaccines and adjuvants; and other proprietary agents owned or controlled by ImmunityBio for cancer immunotherapy. The term of the CRADA was extended through May 2026. Under this agreement, we have agreed to pay NCI funding totaling $1.3 million per year, payable in semi-annual installments from 2022 through 2025.

License Agreements

CytRx Corporation

In 2017, we entered into an exclusive license agreement with CytRx pursuant to which we obtained a royalty-bearing, exclusive, worldwide license, with the right to sublicense, CytRx’s applicable intellectual property to research, develop and commercialize aldoxorubicin for all indications. Under the terms of the license agreement, CytRx is entitled to receive milestone payments of up to $345.7 million related to regulatory approvals and commercial milestones for aldoxorubicin. In addition, CytRx will receive increasing low double-digit percentage royalties on net sales of aldoxorubicin for the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas and mid-to-high single-digit percentage royalties on net sales of aldoxorubicin for all other indications. We may terminate the agreement in its entirety at any time upon twelve (12) months written notice to CytRx. Upon termination of the agreement, any licenses granted to us under the agreement are terminated, and we must cease the development, manufacture, and commercialization of aldoxorubicin.

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EnGeneIC Licensing Agreement

During the fourth quarter of 2021, we signed a binding term sheet with EnGeneIC for an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize their patented EDV nanocell technology as a single agent in certain cancer fields and with respect to the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and in combination with our COVID-19 vaccine and anti-cancer drugs in a more broadly defined field of use. The companies have agreed to a 50:50 split of the net profit from worldwide sales of EDV-based products, and we have agreed to pay certain periodic license fees.

GlobeImmune, Inc.

In 2020, we entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with GlobeImmune, a consolidated entity of the company, pursuant to which we obtained worldwide, exclusive licenses under certain patents, know-how, and other intellectual property to use, research, develop and commercialize products with GlobeImmune’s COVID-19 vaccine program, other Tarmogen-based programs, and neoepitopes programs in exchange for a license fee for the first two years of the agreement totaling $1.2 million, up to $345.0 million in milestone payments related to the successful completion of clinical and regulatory milestones and up to $240.0 million in total milestone payments based on licensed product net sales milestones, and a royalty on net sales of licensed products, on a product-by-product basis ranging in percentage from the mid-single digits to the mid-teens. We may terminate this agreement, in whole or on a licensed-product-by-licensed-product and/or country-by-country basis, at any time upon sixty (60) days written notice to GlobeImmune.

Infectious Disease Research Institute

In May 2021, we entered into two license agreements with the IDRI pursuant to which we received a license to certain patents and know-how relating to IDRI’s (i) adjuvant formulations for the treatment, prevention and/or diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 (the IDRI Adjuvant Formulation License Agreement) and (ii) RNA vaccine platform as further described below (the IDRI RNA License Agreement). Under both agreements, we were obligated to pay one-time, non-creditable, non-refundable upfront cash payments totaling $2.0 million. In addition, under the IDRI Adjuvant Formulation License Agreement we owe IDRI milestone payments to a total of up to $2.5 million based on the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones for the first licensed product and royalties on annual net sales of licensed products on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis of a low-single digit percentage, subject to certain royalty-reduction provisions.

In September 2021, we amended and restated the IDRI RNA License Agreement, pursuant to which IDRI granted us an exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license to IDRI’s rights to an RNA vaccine platform for the development and commercialization of certain therapeutic, diagnostic or prophylactic products for the prevention, treatment or diagnosis of any indication, other than those subject to pre-existing third-party license grants, including, without limitation, SARS-CoV-2. Pursuant to the terms of the amended and restated IDRI RNA License Agreement, we were required to make an additional one-time, non-creditable, non-refundable, upfront payment to IDRI of $1.5 million. The company is also required to pay license maintenance fees to IDRI as follows: $3.0 million in 2022 and $5.5 million annually from 2023 through 2030. The company may terminate the restated agreement without cause by paying IDRI a $10.0 million one-time early termination fee. In addition, the milestone payments to IDRI based on the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones for the first licensed product were amended to a total of up to $4.0 million. We are required to pay royalties on annual net sales of licensed products on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis of a low- to mid-single digit percentage.

In connection with the license agreements, in May 2021 we also entered into a sponsored research agreement (SRA) with IDRI pursuant to which we will fund continued research of at least $2.0 million per year, payable in four equal quarterly installments each year until May 2024, or such year of earlier termination.

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Sanford Health

In 2017, and as amended in November 2021, we entered into a license agreement with Sanford pursuant to which we obtained a worldwide, exclusive license under Sanford’s applicable patent and know-how rights to use, make, have made, sell, offer to sell, export and import products for all uses and applications of polynucleotides encoding mutant E16 antigen (mutant HPV16 E6 antigen + mutant HPV16 E7 antigen) and the encoded mutant E16 antigen, in exchange for consideration that includes the amount equal to the patent prosecution costs incurred by Sanford for the prosecution of the licensed patent rights, milestone payments payable upon the achievement of certain contractual and regulatory milestones of up to $2.0 million, a low single-digit percentage royalty on net sales of the resulting licensed products, and a low to high-teen percentage share of non-royalty sublicensing revenue. Our obligation to pay royalties continues, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis, until the date on which such licensed product is no longer covered by a valid claim of a patent licensed pursuant to the agreement in such country. We must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize the licensed products. Sanford is responsible for the prosecution and maintenance of the patents licensed pursuant to the agreement. We are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and make available the licensed products, which include achieving certain regulatory objectives within certain specific time periods. We have the first right to enforce the patents licensed pursuant to the agreement, subject to Sanford’s ability to exercise such right if we fail to do so. We may terminate this agreement at any time upon 60 days’ written notice to Sanford. Sanford may terminate the agreement in the event of an uncured material breach by us.

Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd.

In 2014, Altor entered into a license, development and commercialization agreement with Beike, which agreement was amended and restated in 2017, pursuant to which Altor granted to Beike an exclusive license under certain of its intellectual property rights in order to use, research, develop and commercialize products based on Anktiva in China for human therapeutic uses, in exchange for consideration that includes up to $195.5 million in total milestone payments based on the successful completion of regulatory and sales milestones for each resulting product, and a royalty on net sales of licensed products, on a product-by-product basis ranging in percentage from the mid-single digits to the mid-teens. Beike’s obligation to pay royalties continues, on a licensed product-by-licensed product basis, until the later of (i) the date on which such licensed product is no longer covered by a valid claim of a patent licensed pursuant to the agreement in China and (ii) ten years after the first commercial sale of such licensed product in China. Altor has the sole right to prosecute and maintain the patents licensed pursuant to the agreement. Altor has the first right to enforce the patents licensed pursuant to the agreement, subject to Beike’s ability to exercise such right if Altor fails to do so. Altor and Beike each have the right to terminate the agreement in the event of a material breach by the other party.

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

In 2015, we and Sorrento established NANTibody as a stand-alone biotechnology company with $100.0 million in initial joint funding. We own 60% of the equity interests and Sorrento owns 40% of the equity interests in NANTibody, which focuses on accelerating the development of multiple therapeutic product candidates that are being developed as standalone treatments as well as in combination with other therapies as part of an immune-oncology treatment regimen.

In 2015, we entered into an exclusive license agreement with Sorrento pursuant to which we obtained an exclusive license under certain patent rights and antibody materials, including antibody sequences and complementary DNA (cDNA) and clones and a non-exclusive license under certain know-how, in each case to use, research and develop certain antibodies and anti-body drug conjugates (ADCs) including for neoepitopes, which are epitopes resulting from mutations specific to an individual’s cancer cells, and to commercialize the resulting licensed products, in exchange for consideration that included an upfront cash payment of $10 million, equity consideration with a valuation of $100 million, and mid-single digit percentage royalties on net sales of the resulting licensed products. Our obligation to pay royalties continues, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis, until the later of (i) the date on which such licensed product is no longer covered by a valid claim of a patent licensed pursuant to the agreement in such country and (ii) ten years after the first commercial sale of such licensed product in such country. In addition, the agreement provides us with the right to negotiate an exclusive license from Sorrento for two CAR-T/NK cell products to be mutually determined on terms substantially similar to the terms of the license agreement.

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We must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize the licensed products. Subject, as applicable, to the licenses granted by Sorrento to us, each party shall own all inventions and other developments it creates or develops in the course of activities conducted pursuant to the agreement. Sorrento has the first right to prosecute, maintain, defend and enforce the patents licensed pursuant to the agreement, subject to our ability to exercise such rights if Sorrento fails to do so. We may terminate the agreement, in our sole discretion, in whole or on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, at any time upon 60 days’ prior written notice to Sorrento. In addition, either party may terminate the agreement in the event of a material breach by the other party.

In 2015, NANTibody entered into an exclusive license agreement with Sorrento pursuant to which NANTibody obtained a royalty-free exclusive license under certain patent rights and materials, including antibody sequences and cDNA, and clones and a non-exclusive license under certain know-how, in each case related to up to 75 immuno-oncology antibodies, immune-check point antibodies, bi-specific antibodies and/or ADCs from Sorrento’s G-MAB library to be mutually identified by the parties (21 of which were already identified at the time of signing the agreement), to use, research, develop and commercialize the resulting licensed products. NANTibody must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize the licensed products. Subject, as applicable, to the licenses granted by Sorrento to NANTibody, each party shall own all inventions and other developments it creates or develops in the course of activities conducted pursuant to the agreement. Sorrento has the first right to prosecute, maintain and defend the patents licensed pursuant to the agreement, subject to NANTibody’s ability to exercise such rights if Sorrento fails to do so. NANTibody has the first right to enforce antibody-specific patents and Sorrento has the first right to enforce the other patents licensed pursuant to the agreement. NANTibody may terminate the agreement, in its sole discretion, in whole or on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, at any time upon 90 days’ prior written notice to Sorrento. In addition, either party may terminate the agreement in the event of a material breach by the other party.

In 2019, we filed cross-claims against Sorrento in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, alleging that Sorrento breached the exclusive license agreement with us; these claims are now being pursued in arbitration. In January 2020 and April 2020, Sorrento sent letters purporting to terminate the exclusive license agreement with us and the exclusive license agreement with NANTibody. We believe we have cured any perceived breaches during the 90-day contractual cure period provided under the agreements. Sorrento filed counterclaims against the company and NANTibody in the arbitration and requested leave to file a dispositive motion. The hearings in the NANTibody arbitration commenced in April 2021 and concluded in early August 2021. After post-hearing briefing was concluded, the parties were notified on November 30, 2021 that the arbitrator in the NANTibody arbitration had passed away. A substitute arbitrator was appointed on February 25, 2022, and the parties will work with the substitute arbitrator to conclude the proceedings. For more information, see Note 7, Commitments and Contingencies—Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. Litigation, of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” that appears in Part II, Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report.

Viracta Therapeutics, Inc.

In 2017, we entered into an agreement with Viracta under which we were granted exclusive worldwide rights to Viracta’s Phase 2 drug candidate, nanatinostat, for use in combination with our platform of NK cell therapies. In consideration for the license, we are obligated to pay Viracta mid-single digit percentage royalties on net sales of licensed products for therapeutic use and milestone payments ranging from $10.0 million to $25.0 million up to an aggregate maximum of $100.0 million for various regulatory approvals and cumulative net sales levels. We may terminate the agreement, at our sole discretion, in whole or on a product-by-product and/or country-by-country basis, at any time upon 90 days’ prior written notice. In addition, either party may terminate the agreement in the event of a material breach or for bankruptcy of the other party.

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Government Regulation

In the U.S., the FDA regulates biopharmaceuticals under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Biopharmaceuticals also are subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or post-market may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include, among other actions, the FDA’s refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, untitled or warning letters, product recalls or market withdrawals, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement and civil or criminal penalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us. Failure to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements subjects a manufacturer to possible legal or regulatory action, including warning letters, the seizure or recall of products, injunctions, consent decrees placing significant restrictions on or suspending manufacturing operations and civil and criminal penalties. Contract manufacturers often encounter difficulties involving production yields, quality control and quality assurance, as well as shortages of qualified personnel. Any of these actions or events could have a material impact on the availability of our product candidates.

The FDA and other regulatory authorities at federal, state, and local levels, as well as in foreign countries, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, import, export, safety, effectiveness, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, record keeping, approval, advertising, promotion, marketing, post-approval monitoring, and post-approval reporting of biologics such as those we are developing. We, along with third-party contractors, will be required to navigate the various preclinical, clinical and commercial approval requirements of the governing regulatory agencies of the countries in which we wish to conduct studies or seek approval or licensure of our product candidates. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local, and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.

The process required by the FDA before biopharmaceutical product candidates may be marketed in the U.S. generally involves the following:

•completion of preclinical laboratory tests and animal studies performed in accordance with the FDA’s GLP requirements;

•submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before clinical trials may begin and must be updated annually or when significant changes are made;

•approval by an independent IRB or ethics committee for each clinical site before the clinical trial is begun;

•performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials to establish the safety, purity and potency of the proposed biologic product candidate for its intended purpose;

•preparation of and submission to the FDA of a BLA or NDA, after completion of all required clinical trials;

•a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of a BLA/NDA to file the application for review;

•satisfactory completion of an FDA Advisory Committee review, if applicable;

•satisfactory completion of an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the proposed product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP and to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the product candidates’ continued safety, quality, purity and potency or efficacy, and of selected clinical investigational sites to assess compliance with GCP requirements;

•FDA review and approval of the BLA or NDA to permit commercial marketing of the product for particular indications for use in the U.S.; and

•compliance with any post-approval requirements, including the potential requirement to implement a REMS, and the potential requirement to conduct post-approval studies.

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The testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and we cannot be certain that any approvals for our product candidates will be granted on a timely basis, if at all. Prior to beginning the first clinical trial with a product candidate, we must submit an IND to the FDA. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an IND product to humans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and the protocol(s) for clinical trials. The IND also includes results of animal and in vitro studies assessing the toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, and pharmacodynamic characteristics of the product; chemistry, manufacturing, and controls information; and any available human data or literature to support the use of the investigational product. An IND must become effective before human clinical trials may begin. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA, within the 30-day time period, raises safety concerns or questions about the proposed clinical trial. In such a case, the IND may be placed on clinical hold and the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns or questions before the clinical trial can begin. Submission of an IND therefore may or may not result in FDA authorization to begin a clinical trial.

When a clinical trial using genetically engineered cells is conducted at, or sponsored by, institutions receiving NIH funding for wild-type DNA research, prior to the submission of an IND to the FDA, a protocol and related documentation is submitted to and the study is registered with the NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities (OBA) pursuant to the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules (NIH Guidelines). Compliance with the NIH Guidelines is mandatory for investigators at institutions receiving NIH funds for research involving wild-type DNA, and many companies and other institutions not otherwise subject to the NIH Guidelines voluntarily follow them. The NIH is responsible for convening the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC), a federal advisory committee that discusses protocols that raise novel or particularly important scientific, safety, or ethical considerations at one of its quarterly public meetings. The OBA will notify the FDA of the RAC’s decision regarding the necessity for full public review of a protocol. RAC proceedings and reports are posted to the OBA web site and may be accessed by the public. If the FDA allows the IND to proceed, but the RAC decides that full public review of the protocol is warranted, the FDA will request at the completion of its IND review that sponsors delay initiation of the protocol until after completion of the RAC review process.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational product to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators in accordance with GCP requirement, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A separate submission to the existing IND must be made for each successive clinical trial conducted during product development and for any subsequent protocol amendments. Furthermore, an independent IRB, for each site proposing to conduct the clinical trial, must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial and its informed consent form before the clinical trial begins at that site and must monitor the study until completed. Regulatory authorities, the IRB or the sponsor may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk or that the trial is unlikely to meet its stated objectives. Some studies also include oversight by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board, which provides authorization for whether or not a study may move forward at designated check points based on access to certain data from the study and may halt the clinical trial if it determines that there is an unacceptable safety risk for subjects or other grounds, such as no demonstration of efficacy. There are also requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical trials and clinical trial results to public registries.

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For purposes of BLA or NDA approval, human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap.

•Phase 1. The investigational product is initially introduced into healthy human subjects and tested for safety. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, the initial human testing is often conducted in patients.

•Phase 2. The investigational product is evaluated in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy or potency of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance, optimal dosage and dosing schedule.

•Phase 3. Clinical trials are undertaken to further evaluate dosage, clinical efficacy or potency, and safety in an expanded patient population at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to establish the overall risk to benefit ratio of the product and provide an adequate basis for product labeling.

•Phase 4. In some cases, the FDA may require, or companies may voluntarily pursue, additional clinical trials after a product is approved to gain more information about the product. These so-called Phase 4 trials may be made a condition to approval of the BLA or NDA.

Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing may not be completed successfully within a specified period, if at all, and there can be no assurance that the data collected will support FDA approval or licensure of the product. Concurrent with clinical trials, companies may complete additional animal studies and develop additional information about the biological characteristics of the product candidate and must finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. To help reduce the risk of the introduction of adventitious agents with use of biological products, the Public Health Service Act emphasizes the importance of manufacturing control for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final product, or for biologics, the safety, purity and potency. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.

We may be required to develop and implement additional clinical trial policies and procedures designed to help protect subjects from the COVID-19 virus. For example, in March 2020, the FDA issued a guidance, which FDA subsequently updated, on conducting clinical trials during the pandemic, which describes a number of considerations for sponsors of clinical trials impacted by the pandemic, including the requirement to include in the clinical trial report contingency measures implemented to manage the trial, and any disruption of the trial as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; a list of all subjects affected by the COVID-19-pandemic related study disruption by unique subject identifier and by investigational site and a description of how the individual’s participation was altered; and analyses and corresponding discussions that address the impact of implemented contingency measures (e.g., participant discontinuation from investigational product and/or study, alternative procedures used to collect critical safety and/or efficacy data) on the safety and efficacy results reported for the trial. In June 2020, FDA also published a guidance on Good Manufacturing Practice considerations for responding to COVID-19 infection in employees in drug and biological products manufacturing. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.

BLA/NDA Submission and Review by the FDA

Assuming successful completion of all required testing in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, the results of product development, nonclinical studies and clinical trials are submitted to the FDA as part of a BLA for a biologic product candidate or an NDA for a small molecule product candidate requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. The BLA/NDA must include all relevant data available from pertinent preclinical and clinical trials, including negative or ambiguous results, as well as positive findings, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacturing, controls and proposed labeling, among other things. Data can come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and effectiveness of a use of the product or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. The submission of a BLA/NDA requires payment of a substantial user fee to the FDA, and the sponsor of an approved BLA/NDA is subject to annual product and establishment user fees. These fees typically increase annually. A waiver of user fees may be obtained under certain limited circumstances.

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Within 60 days following submission of the application, the FDA reviews a BLA/NDA to determine if it is substantially complete before the agency accepts it for filing. The FDA may refuse to file any BLA or NDA that it deems incomplete or not properly reviewable at the time of submission and may request additional information. In this event, the BLA/NDA must be resubmitted with the additional information. Once a BLA/NDA has been filed, the FDA’s goal is to review the application within ten months after it accepts the application for filing, or, if the application relates to an unmet medical need in a serious or life-threatening indication, six months after the FDA accepts the application for filing. The review process is often significantly extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification. The FDA reviews a BLA/NDA to determine, among other things, whether a product is safe and effective, or safe, pure and potent for the proposed indication(s) and the facility in which it is manufactured, processed, packed or held meets standards designed to assure the product’s continued safety, purity and potency or efficacy. The FDA may convene an advisory committee to provide clinical insight on application review questions. Before approving a BLA/NDA, the FDA will typically inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities comply with cGMP requirements and are adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. If applicable, FDA regulations also require tissue establishments to register and list their human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products with the FDA and to evaluate donors through screening and testing. Additionally, before approving a BLA/NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP. If the FDA determines that the application, manufacturing process or manufacturing facilities are not acceptable, it will outline the deficiencies in the submission and often will request additional testing or information. Notwithstanding the submission of any requested additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval.

The testing and approval process require substantial time, effort and financial resources, and each may take several years to complete. The FDA may not grant approval on a timely basis, or at all, and we may encounter difficulties or unanticipated costs in our efforts to secure necessary governmental approvals, which could delay or preclude us from marketing our product candidates. After the FDA evaluates a BLA/NDA and conducts inspections of manufacturing facilities where the investigational product and/or its drug substance will be produced, the FDA may issue an approval letter or a complete response letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A complete response letter indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete, and the application is not ready for approval. A complete response letter may request additional information or clarification. The FDA may delay or refuse approval of a BLA/NDA if applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied, require additional testing or information and/or require post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor safety or efficacy of a product.

If regulatory approval of a product is granted, such approval may entail limitations on the indicated uses for which such product may be marketed. For example, the FDA may approve the BLA/NDA with a REMS plan to mitigate risks, which could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or other restrictions to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. The FDA also may condition approval on, among other things, changes to proposed labeling or the development of adequate controls and specifications. Once approved, the FDA may withdraw the product approval if compliance with pre- and post-marketing regulatory standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the marketplace. The FDA may require one or more Phase 4 post-market trials and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization and may limit further marketing of the product based on the results of these post-marketing studies. In addition, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our product candidates under development.

A sponsor may seek approval of its product candidate under programs designed to accelerate the FDA’s review and approval of new drugs and biological products that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs and biological products are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. For a Fast Track product, the FDA may consider sections of the BLA/NDA for review on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted if relevant criteria are met. A Fast Track-designated product candidate may also qualify for priority review. Priority review is granted when there is evidence that the proposed product would be a significant improvement in the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of a serious condition. If criteria are not met for priority review, the application is subject to the standard FDA review period. Priority review designation does not change the scientific/medical standard for approval or the quality of evidence necessary to support approval.

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Under the accelerated approval program, the FDA may approve a BLA/NDA on the basis of either a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity, or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. Post-marketing studies or completion of ongoing studies after marketing approval are generally required to verify the product’s clinical benefit in relationship to the surrogate endpoint or ultimate outcome in relationship to the clinical benefit.

In addition, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 (FDASIA) established Breakthrough Therapy designation. A sponsor may seek FDA designation of its product candidate as a Breakthrough Therapy if the product candidate is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the therapy may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. Sponsors may request the FDA to designate a Breakthrough Therapy at the time of, or any time after, the submission of an IND, but ideally before an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA. If the FDA designates a Breakthrough Therapy, it may take actions appropriate to expedite the development and review of the application, which may include holding meetings with the sponsor and the review team throughout the development of the therapy; providing timely advice to, and interactive communication with, the sponsor regarding the development of the product candidate to ensure that the development program to gather the nonclinical and clinical data necessary for approval is as efficient as practicable; involving senior managers and experienced review staff, as appropriate, in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary review; assigning a cross-disciplinary project lead for the FDA review team to facilitate an efficient review of the development program and to serve as a scientific liaison between the review team and the sponsor; and considering alternative clinical trial designs when scientifically appropriate, which may result in smaller or more efficient clinical trials that require less time to complete and may minimize the number of patients exposed to a potentially less efficacious treatment. Breakthrough Therapy designation also allows the sponsor to file sections of the BLA/NDA for review on a rolling basis. We may seek designation as a Breakthrough Therapy for some or all of our product candidates.

Breakthrough Therapy and/or Fast Track designations and priority review do not change the standards for approval. The receipt of such designations may not lead to a faster development process or regulatory review and may not increase the likelihood that a product candidate will receive approval.

IBRX US Equity

IBRX · 10-K · period ended 2021-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

IBRX US Equity☆

IBRX · 10-K · period ended 2021-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

IBRX US Equity