NantKwest to Host 3rd Annual Investor/Analyst Day Highlighting a Record Number of 15 INDs Authorized in 2017 Covering 12 Tumor Types with First In-Human Clinical Data of Safety and Early Signs of Clinical Activity of the NANT Cancer Vaccine

CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NantKwest (NASDAQ: NK), a pioneering, next generation, clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on harnessing the unique power of the human immune system using natural killer (NK) cells to treat cancer, announced today that the company will be hosting an Investor/Analyst Day on Tuesday, January 9th in San Francisco, California.

NantKwest will be sharing with analysts and investors a review of the company’s activities in 2017 and provide a detailed overview for 2018. The record number of 15 INDs authorized in 2017 (aNK, haNK, Cryopreserved haNK and taNK) will be announced, detailing the multiple tumor types to be studied with combination chemo-radiation therapy and activators of adaptive immune system through adenovirus, yeast and super agonist IL-15 platforms. In addition, details will be presented regarding authorization in Europe to treat patients with glioblastoma and authorization by the FDA to initiate high-affinity natural killer (haNK) cell trials in cancer patients with HIV.

First in-human clinical data will be revealed including safety and early signs of clinical activity in patients receiving freshly cultured haNK, cryopreserved haNK and combinations of NK cells (aNK and haNK) with adenovirus, yeast, and super agonist IL-15 platforms. These studies form the basis for multiple Phase II and registration trials anticipated to be initiated in 2018.

At this event, senior management of NantKwest will provide a review of its ongoing R&D program, as well as provide an in-depth clinical trial roadmap for the company’s clinical programs for 2018 and the current status of the GMP manufacturing plants.

A webcast of the event will begin at 7:00 PM PT on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 and is expected to conclude at 9:00 PT. A link to the live webcast can be accessed by visiting the Investors page of the company’s website. In addition, a replay of the event will be posted on the website after the event and will be available for 30 days following the event.

About NantKwest

NantKwest (Nasdaq:NK) is a pioneering, next generation, clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on harnessing the unique power of our immune system using natural killer (NK) cells to treat cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases. NK cells are the body’s first line of defense due to the innate ability of NK cells to rapidly identify and destroy cells under stress, such as cancer or virally-infected cells.

NantKwest’s unique NK cell-based platform, with the capacity to grow active killer cells as a biological cancer therapy, has been designed to induce cell death against cancer or infected cells by three different modes of action: (1) Direct killing using activated NK cells (aNK) that release toxic granules directly into the cell through cell to cell contact, (2) Antibody-mediated killing using haNKs, which are NK cells engineered to incorporate a high affinity receptor that binds to an administered antibody, enhancing the cancer cell killing effect of that antibody, and (3) Targeted activated killing using taNKs, which are NK cells engineered to incorporate chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to target tumor-specific antigens found on the surface of cancer cells.

Our aNK, haNK and taNK platform addresses certain limitations of T cell therapies including the reduction of risk of serious “cytokine storms” reported after T cell therapy. As an “off-the-shelf” therapy, NantKwest’s NK cells do not rely on a patient’s own often compromised immune system. In Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with late stage cancer, NantKwest’s NK cells have been successfully administered as an outpatient infusion therapy without any reported severe side effects, even at doses of 10 billion cells.

By leveraging an integrated and extensive genomics and transcriptomics discovery and development engine, together with a pipeline of multiple, clinical-stage, immuno-oncology programs that include a Phase 2 trial for a rare form of melanoma and the planned initiation of a clinical trial of NK cells targeted to breast cancer, we believe NantKwest is uniquely positioned to be the premier immunotherapy company and transform medicine by delivering living drugs in a bag and bringing novel NK cell-based therapies to routine clinical care. For more information, please visit www.nantkwest.com.

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