https://ir.immunitybio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/immunitybio-announces-positive-overall-survival-results-anktiva.
So, this week, ImmunityBio (IBRX) got approval for their bladder cancer, drug, Anktiva This will go up against Merck’s drug, Keytruda, but Anktiva will become the standard of care for the bladder cancer indication as their results were much better than Merck’s. Today, IBRX announced that Anktiva in conjunction with Keytruda could almost double the survival rate in the standard of care for patients with >lung cancer<. Even the lung cancer patients getting Keytruda and seeing a benefit will eventually relapse. Adding Anktiva to the equation causes the checkpoint inhibitor to resume function. This may exist for several other checkpoint inhibitors and represents a rescue therapy for those with failing checkpoint inhibitor treatments and disease progression in a variety of solid tumors. To that end, IBRX also has a study in phase 2 treating pancreatic cancer with Anktiva in combination with other drugs (now, that Anktiva is FDA approved, label expansion based on second and third line trials can allow other applications). ImmunityBio has a meeting scheduled with the FDA in June to discuss the path to a registration filing of Anktiva plus Keytruda for people (previously getting only Keytruda) whose lung cancer did not respond to checkpoint therapy. ImmunityBio also gets $100 million in nondilutive cash as an infusion with Anktiva’s approval bringing their cash on hand to approximately $240 million for the launch of Anktiva as a treatment for bladder cancer. IBRX will need to build their distribution network from the ground floor as this is their first FDA approved drug, but that’s going to happen. Keytruda sold almost $7 billion in the last quarter as a treatment for various cancers. Do your own DD, but IBRX appears to have limited downside and enormous upside. *Because of the passing of my mother-in-law, I hadn’t planned on visiting Surly today, but the lung cancer treatment with Anktiva is huge and if you’re invested in IBRX or are considering investing in IBRX, you needed to know whazzup.