ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX) announced that Dr. Jim Yong Kim has joined the company as vice chairman, according to a company press release. He will serve within a newly created Office of the Executive Chairman and report to founder and Executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.

In his role, Dr. Kim will focus on building relationships with governments, health ministries, multilateral institutions, and global health partners to support access to the company's immunotherapy platform and approved therapies in markets outside the United States.

Dr. Kim served as the twelfth president of the World Bank Group from 2012 to 2019. In 1987, he co-founded Partners In Health with Dr. Paul Farmer, and from 2003 to 2005 he led the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department, directing the "3 by 5" initiative to expand access to antiretroviral medicines. He has also served as president of Dartmouth College and held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He currently serves as vice chairman and senior advisor at Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and as chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda.

"Dr. Kim has spent his life working to bring care to people and communities that too often face the greatest barriers to access," said Dr. Soon-Shiong. "Dr. Kim's experience across global health, development finance, governments, and multilateral institutions will be invaluable as we work to build the partnerships that can help advance our science, support clinical development, and expand access to our approved therapies around the world."

"I have spent my career focused on ensuring that scientific and medical advances reach the people who need them most," said Dr. Kim. "I am excited to work with Dr. Soon-Shiong and the team to build partnerships across governments, health systems, and international institutions that can help accelerate research, broaden access and bring the benefits of these advances to patients around the world."