Kite Highlights Durable Complete Remissions Up to 56+ Months in Patients with Chemorefractory Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) after Anti-CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy at the National Cancer Institute

• Durable CRs Continued After Recovery of Normal B Cells
• Anti-CD19 CAR T-cell Therapy Can Be Curative for Chemorefractory Aggressive NHL

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kite Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:KITE), a leading cell therapy company, highlighted the recent online publication of results in Molecular Therapy from a National Cancer Institute (NCI) study of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with aggressive NHL including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The research, led by James N. Kochenderfer, M.D., an Investigator in the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch of the NCI Center for Cancer Research, and Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch at NCI's Center for Cancer Research, was performed pursuant to a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between NCI and Kite.

This work follows previously published data in the February 2015 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology in which nine patients with chemorefractory aggressive NHL were treated with a single dose of anti-CD19 CAR T cells with a CD28 co-stimulatory domain. Seven of the 9 patients were evaluable for response. Complete remissions (CR) were observed in 5 of the 7 evaluable patients. Four of the 5 CRs are ongoing from 38 to 56+ months after treatment. There were no chronic toxicities attributable to CAR T cells except B-cell aplasia and hypogammaglobulinemia. Importantly, 3 of 4 patients in ongoing CR had recovery of normal polyclonal B cells, showing that durable CRs can be maintained in the absence of continued activity of anti-CD19 CAR T cells.

"We are encouraged to see durable CRs ongoing for more than 3 years, which raises a possibility of cure, from a single infusion of anti-CD19 CAR T cells in patients with chemorefractory DLBCL, a population that previously had no curative treatment options. This study helps us to understand the long-term potential for this anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in the larger aggressive NHL patient population," said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of Kite.

About Kite

Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies with a goal of providing rapid, long-term durable response and eliminating the burden of chronic care. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors. Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com. Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: the success of anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy. Various factors may cause differences between Kite's expectations and actual results as discussed in greater detail in Kite's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Kite assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

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KiteChristine CassianoSVP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relationsccassiano@kitepharma.comorGreg MannVP, Investor Relationsgmann@kitepharma.com

Source: Kite Pharma, Inc.

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