On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, NantWorks and ImmunityBio convened the USA–Saudi Biotech Alliance Inaugural Summit in San Francisco, bringing together senior leaders from the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to advance Immunotherapy 2.0. Held alongside the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the summit centered on a shared objective: accelerating next-generation approaches to cancer and infectious disease while strengthening long-term global health resilience.
Co-chaired by Her Royal Highness Dr. Haya bint Khaled Al Saud, His Excellency Dr. Bandar Alknawy, and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the gathering united stakeholders across government, life sciences, artificial intelligence, finance, and advanced biomanufacturing. The program emphasized not only scientific ambition, but also the governance and infrastructure needed to translate innovation into clinical impact.
Importantly, the summit moved beyond high-level dialogue toward execution. Discussions focused on practical pathways to scale: modernizing AI-enabled manufacturing, aligning regulatory and approval frameworks, and accelerating the responsible, global deployment of first-in-class therapies.
Saudi Arabia’s National Biotechnology Drive Puts Targets, Talent, and Partnerships at the Center H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy framed Saudi Arabia’s national biotechnology direction as a shared roadmap for institutions, built to clarify requirements, align stakeholders, and keep progress tied to clear strategic targets.
“show that we have a target to reach throughout the strategy.”
He described the document as a practical tool for coordination, designed to help organizations identify intersection points and collaborate across national priorities, rather than working in isolation.
“see where we can intersect and work together and achieve in some of these goals.”
Vision 2030 and 2050: Turning Biotechnology Into National Economic Growth
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy linked the biotechnology strategy to Saudi Arabia’s longer-term ambitions, positioning it as a pathway to regional leadership by 2030 and global leadership by 2050, with broad economic upside.
“making Saudi Arabia leading in 2030 and as well, 2050 comes a global leader.”
He argued that success in biotechnology would translate into tangible national gains, including job creation and stronger contributions to the country’s economy.
“bring a lot of income… and then all of GDP of the country.”
Talent as the Engine: No Workforce, No Execution
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy emphasized that the strategy depends on skilled people who can translate plans into real delivery, warning that ambition alone is not enough without capacity and talent.
“without the talented workforce, we would not be able to put this into action in reality.”
The Pillars: Vaccines, Biomanufacturing, Localization, Genomics, and Gene Therapies
He highlighted core areas he said sit at the heart of the strategy, including vaccine development, biomanufacturing, localization across biology and pharmaceuticals, and advanced genomics-driven therapies.
“on vaccine development, biomanufacturing, pharmaceuticals, genomics and developing gene therapies.”
A National Bio-Ecosystem in One Room
Speaking from the conference setting, H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy pointed to the breadth of representation in the room and presented the gathering as a working platform to build partnerships across government, entities, centers, and academia.
“we have the Saudi bio-ecosystem… multiple representative from different entities.”
Post-COVID Reflection: A Health System That Can Deliver for the Nation
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy said the pandemic period reinforced the importance of a resilient, sustainable healthcare system that can consistently deliver health outcomes nationally, shaped by lessons learned after COVID.
“two years after COVID, to reflect on the lessons learned in COVID.”
Post-COVID Reflection: A Health System That Can Deliver for the Nation
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy said the pandemic period reinforced the importance of a resilient, sustainable healthcare system that can consistently deliver health outcomes nationally, shaped by lessons learned after COVID.
“two years after COVID, to reflect on the lessons learned in COVID.”
Education Pipeline: Training the Next Generation of Health and Science Professionals
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy underlined the role of King Saud University for Health Sciences in producing a steady flow of graduates and professionals, describing both current scale and future expansion as critical to sustaining national capability.
“Total capacity of 13,000, however, we have possible to reach to 17,000 in the future.”
Degrees Aligned to the National Biotechnology Strategy
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy said academic programs are being shaped to support the national biotechnology strategy, focusing on training pathways that prepare the next generation of scientists and innovators.
“Support the biotechnology strategy, the national biotechnology strategy, to have three major massive degrees.”
Research Footprint and Global Collaboration
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy outlined a distributed research footprint and stressed that infrastructure and structure are designed to enable collaboration with global companies and investment, moving from leadership to execution.
“We continue to collaborate in making an opportunity with leading global companies and leading global investment.”
Saudi Genomics and a Multi-Year Collaboration With AstraZeneca
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy cited Saudi genomics as a national-level effort and pointed to a three-year project with AstraZeneca, supported by government, to expand genetics services targeting diseases relevant to Saudi needs.
“We have recently signed with AstraZeneca, and again, this is the three years of project, supported by the government.”
Next-Generation Medicine: Stem Cells, CAR-T, Biomanufacturing, and Platforms
H.E. Dr. Bandar Alknawy described advanced therapeutic priorities including stem cell therapies, CAR-T, and biomanufacturing-based approaches, positioning these as part of the next wave of treatment for cancer and other diseases.
“Talking about stem cell therapies, CAR-T cell, and the next generation through biomanufacturing.”
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