ImmunityBio Signs Exclusive U.S. Agreement with Japan BCG Laboratory for the Tokyo Strain of BCG to Enhance BCG Supply in the United States

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a commercial-stage immunotherapy company, today announced an exclusive U.S. Development and Supply Agreement with Japan BCG Laboratory ("JBL"), the Tokyo-based developer and manufacturer of the Tokyo strain of BCG (Tokyo-172 BCG). The agreement provides ImmunityBio exclusive U.S. rights to develop, import, and commercialize intravesical Tokyo-172 BCG.

JBL's Tokyo strain of BCG is supported by the February 2026 positive Phase III readout of SWOG S1602, a randomized Phase III study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which demonstrated non-inferiority of the Tokyo strain of BCG to TICE BCG in BCG-naïve high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The pre-specified non-inferiority margin was a hazard ratio of 1.34 (hazard ratio 0.82; 95.8% CI 0.63–1.08). The Tokyo strain of BCG is investigational in the United States and has not been approved by the FDA.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong will discuss the JBL agreement and provide updates on ImmunityBio’s efforts to expand BCG access and advance research in the BCG-naïve setting during his presentation, “The Role of IL-15 in the Urological Setting,” at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting on May 16, 2026 at 1:30 EDT. The presentation will also highlight the role of IL-15 in urological oncology, including mechanisms driving T cell and natural killer (NK) cell activation, current clinical evidence, and emerging combination approaches in bladder and prostate cancer. A livestream of the presentation will be available through the 2026 AUA Annual Meeting website.

“For more than 70 years, Japan BCG Laboratory has been dedicated to the development and manufacture of high-quality BCG products,” said Seiichi Inoue, President of Japan BCG Laboratory. “We are pleased to partner with ImmunityBio to bring the Tokyo strain of BCG to patients in the United States, and we look forward to supporting ImmunityBio in its engagement with the FDA.”

ImmunityBio plans to engage with the FDA to pursue U.S. approval of the Tokyo strain of BCG and will lead all regulatory submissions, clinical development, and commercialization in the United States as the sole BLA applicant. Upon any approval, ImmunityBio will be the sole Marketing Authorization Holder. The Tokyo strain of BCG has been used in Japan for almost 30 years for the treatment of high-risk NMIBC.

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