On Nov. 8, 2020, ImmunityBio announced positive study results for their human Ad5 (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which showed memory T-cell recall from patients previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. The ability to stimulate SARS-CoV 2 specific T-cells, which recognize the N and S proteins, is a crucial part of the novel design of ImmunityBioﾒs vaccine candidate.

The antibody- and T cell-based vaccine goal was protection for the uninfected population and also the potential to clear virally infected cells in infected subjects. The results of the study were published in medRxiv.