NantKwest Names Richard Adcock Chief Executive Officer
October 26 2020 - 4:15PM
Business Wire
Experienced Six Sigma healthcare executive
bolsters leadership team at key juncture; will work closely with
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong who will serve as Executive Chairman
NantKwest, Inc. (NASDAQ: NK), a clinical-stage, natural killer
cell-based therapeutics company, today appointed healthcare
industry veteran with proven operational skills Richard Adcock as
its Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Adcock brings
extensive leadership experience to NantKwest as the company
advances rapidly in the development of natural killer cell-based
immunotherapies for cancer and serious infectious diseases. Rich
will assume the role of CEO from Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who will
become Executive Chairman of the Board. Dr. Soon-Shiong remains the
largest shareholder in NantKwest.
“I’m excited to have Rich, with his extensive experience and
unwavering commitment to innovation and operations, at the helm of
NantKwest at a crucial time for the company and for the entire
healthcare industry,” said Dr. Soon-Shiong. “Not only is Rich
uniquely qualified to take on this role, but having worked with him
for several years, I am confident that he is the right leader to
advance NantKwest and its mission. As established leaders in the
natural killer cell therapy space, we will leverage Rich’s unique
combination of engineering and operational skills, as well as his
understanding of the complex needs of health systems in cell
therapy, to propel us forward. I intend to work closely with him
and continue to maintain an active role in achieving NantKwest’s
mission to harness the power of natural killer cells and the human
immune system to transform the treatment of cancers and serious
infectious diseases.”
“I am thrilled to be joining Dr. Soon-Shiong and the NantKwest
team on the quest to cure cancer and infectious diseases using
natural killer cell therapy,” said Richard Adcock. “I look forward
to using my experience in healthcare research and delivery to help
accelerate NantKwest’s growth.”
Adcock was most recently CEO of Verity Health Systems, a
California-based nonprofit healthcare system that he steered
through a successful restructuring event. Prior to joining Verity
Health, Adcock served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Innovation Officer for Sanford Health, the largest rural nonprofit
healthcare system in the U.S. with more than 382 locations and
28,000 employees. While at Sanford, he was responsible for leading
the healthcare company’s growth and innovation, in addition to
direct operational oversight of related entities including Sanford
Research, Sanford Health Plan, Sanford Foundation and Sanford
Frontiers. During his time at Sanford he learned firsthand how
essential it is to keep the patient at the center of all healthcare
decisions, this was even more important as Sanford Health brought
forth many new exciting treatments, therapies and medical devices
from their own research efforts. Earlier in his career, Adcock was
director of engineering and a Six Sigma Master Black Belt for GE
Medical Systems. He began his career in the medical field as
co-owner and vice president of research and development at medical
equipment supplier Micro Medical Systems.
As Executive Chairman, Soon-Shiong will continue to play a key,
active role in NantKwest’s business and in the development of the
company’s long-term business strategy.
About NantKwest
NantKwest (NASDAQ: NK) is an innovative, clinical-stage,
immunotherapy company focused on harnessing the power of the innate
immune system to treat cancer and infectious diseases. NantKwest is
the leading producer of clinical dose forms of off-the-shelf
natural killer (NK) cell therapies. The activated NK cell platform
is designed to destroy cancer and virally-infected cells. The
safety of these optimized, activated NK cells—as well as their
activity against a broad range of cancers—has been tested in phase
I clinical trials in Canada and Europe, as well as in multiple
phase I and II clinical trials in the United States. By leveraging
an integrated and extensive genomics and transcriptomics discovery
and development engine, together with a pipeline of multiple,
clinical-stage, immuno-oncology programs, NantKwest’s goal is to
transform medicine by bringing novel NK cell-based therapies to
routine clinical care. NantKwest is a member of the NantWorks
ecosystem of companies. For more information, please visit
www.nantkwest.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning or
implying that NantKwest will be successful in improving the
treatment of cancer or other critical illnesses, including
COVID-19. Risks and uncertainties related to these endeavors
include, but are not limited to, obtaining FDA approval of
NantKwest’s NK cells and MSC as well as other therapeutics and
manufacturing challenges.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute
guarantees of future performance, and you are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
These and other risks regarding NantKwest’s business are
described in detail in its Securities and Exchange Commission
filings, including in NantKwest’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended June 30, 2020. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to
update these statements except as may be required by law.
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Jen Hodson NANT 562-397-3639 Jen@nant.com
NantKwest (NASDAQ:NK)
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