ImmunityBio, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, KFSHRC, and KAIMRC Sign Strategic Memorandum of Understanding to Launch Cancer BioShield Platform in the Middle East

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a leading immunotherapy company, today announced the signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA), King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC), and King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC). This multi-party collaboration will introduce the FDA-approved Cancer BioShield platform to Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East, paving the way for a new era of immune-restorative therapies for cancer patients.

The announcement was made during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum 2025 in Riyadh, held alongside the state visit of U.S. President Donald Trump. The forum convened senior government officials, Fortune 500 executives, and global innovators to strengthen strategic ties and accelerate investments in sectors such as biotechnology, healthcare, clean energy, and AI.

The BioShield platform, powered by Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept)—the world’s first FDA-approved IL-15 superagonist to proliferate NK and T cells (lymphocytes)—represents a paradigm shift in cancer care. Unlike conventional treatments including chemotherapy and radiation that kill and suppress natural killer immune cells and thus paradoxically catalyze further spread, the BioShield protects and activates the immune system’s natural killer cells and T cells to restore immune function and prolong life. For the first time in medicine, physicians can address the long-overlooked impact of lymphopenia (loss of NK and T cells), induced by current standards of care of chemotherapy, radiation, or by the cancer itself. The BioShield is the first therapy in history to specifically address the protection and restoration of lymphocytes, represented by NK, CD8, and CD4 T cells—the most important cells in the body needed to fight cancer and infection. Treating lymphopenia is an answer to premature death from life threatening diseases such as cancer and sepsis and, potentially, to aging and longevity in health.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder, Executive Chairman and Global Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of ImmunityBio stated:
“We are honored to work with KAIMRC, KFSHRC, and MISA to bring this transformative technology to the region. The BioShield platform changes the way we think about treating cancer—not by destroying the immune system but by restoring and activating it. The root cause of early mortality is the collapse of the immune system—lymphopenia is the disease, and cancer is a symptom. Together, by considering this a paradigm change, we can build a regional center of excellence for next-generation immunotherapies in which we activate the body’s natural defenses.”