ImmunityBio’s Dunkirk Deadline Looms as Short Sellers Circle and Lawsuits Mount

ImmunityBio races to meet NY production deadlines, battles short sellers and class-action lawsuits, while Anktiva sales rise in its strongest quarter.

The clock is ticking on multiple fronts for ImmunityBio. The biotech company is racing to meet a hard production deadline in upstate New York, fending off a wave of shareholder litigation, and watching short sellers pile on — all while trying to capitalize on its strongest commercial quarter to date.

A One-Dollar Lease Becomes a $525,000 Annual Gamble

New York State has fundamentally rewritten the terms of ImmunityBio’s presence in Dunkirk. The symbolic $1-a-year lease for the sprawling 409,000-square-foot facility on Lake Shore Drive is gone. In its place, ImmunityBio will now pay $525,000 annually for the state-owned plant, with the contract subject to yearly renewal based on performance milestones.

The stakes are clear: the company must have the facility fully operational and employ 100 full-time workers by December 31, 2028. If it hits those targets, ImmunityBio can purchase the plant for a single dollar on January 1, 2029. The longer-term vision calls for 450 jobs by the end of 2032.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel has made the local government’s position unambiguous. Should ImmunityBio fail to deliver, he said, the state should find another tenant. “There are other pharmaceutical manufacturers that want to come back to the US,” Wendel warned.

A key test arrives on April 28, when the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency votes on adjustments to the tax-incentive agreement tied to the project. Approval is widely expected, but the scrutiny is intensifying.

Short Sellers Dig In as Insider Confidence Wavers

Wall Street is voting with its feet — and the direction is bearish. As of mid-April, more than 37% of ImmunityBio’s freely traded shares were sold short, representing roughly 140 million shares. That marks a 3.5 percentage point increase from the end of March and implies a cover time of nearly ten trading days.

Insider activity tells a similar story. Over the past six months, management has sold shares eight times without a single purchase. That reticence follows a punishing blow in late March, when the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter over ImmunityBio’s promotional materials for its cancer immunotherapy, Anktiva. The stock took a sharp hit.

Class-Action Lawsuits Add Legal Pressure

The FDA warning has also triggered a cascade of securities fraud lawsuits. Multiple class actions have been filed against the company and founder Patrick Soon-Shiong, alleging that ImmunityBio overstated Anktiva’s capabilities and misled investors about regulatory risks.

One of the lead firms, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, has filed a complaint on behalf of investors who purchased shares between January 19 and March 24, 2026. The deadline for investors to apply as lead plaintiff is May 26 — giving the company just weeks to navigate this legal headwind alongside its operational deadlines.

Revenue Rises as Anktiva Goes Global

Despite the turmoil, the underlying business is showing momentum. ImmunityBio posted preliminary first-quarter 2026 revenue of $44.2 million, driven by Anktiva sales. The company’s cash position remains comfortable at roughly $381 million.

International expansion is accelerating. Anktiva is now commercially available in Saudi Arabia, where local partners handle distribution and the first patients have been identified for treatment. Macau SAR became the first Asian market to approve the therapy. In total, Anktiva is now available or approved in 34 countries and territories.

That global reach stands in stark contrast to the empty factory in Dunkirk, originally envisioned as the centerpiece of US production for Anktiva. Until the facility is running, the promise of domestic manufacturing remains just that — a promise.

With the PILOT vote on April 28 and the class-action lead-plaintiff deadline on May 26, ImmunityBio faces two pivotal events in the next four weeks. The company has the cash, the product, and the international traction. Whether it can hold off the short sellers, satisfy New York, and clear the legal hurdles will determine whether this biotech story has a second act.