New York, Feb 23, 2026, 07:25 ET — Premarket
- IBRX shares climbed in premarket trading, following a new results update.
- ANKTIVA’s sales kept climbing, and international reach remained front and center in the read-through.
- Cash burn, leverage levels, and the upcoming FDA or regulatory events are on traders’ radar now.
ImmunityBio shares ticked up roughly 1% to $8.70 before the bell Monday, following the company’s new update on ANKTIVA sales momentum.
This is ImmunityBio’s debut drug on the market, so ANKTIVA’s launch has been in sharp focus. Investors want to know if revenue from product sales can finally start to pick up some of the slack.
The company’s ramping up its push for additional approvals and expanded indications, all while outlays for trials and manufacturing remain steep—a classic late-stage biotech crunch.
ImmunityBio’s ANKTIVA product brought in $113 million in net revenue for 2025, marking a jump of nearly 700% over last year. Unit sales for ANKTIVA reached 3,745, climbing about 750%. The company posted a net loss to common stockholders of $351.4 million and closed out 2025 holding $242.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, according to its filing. Executive chairman Patrick Soon-Shiong described the Saudi lung-cancer approval as “a defining moment.” CEO Richard Adcock pointed to “disciplined execution” as the priority while ImmunityBio eyes additional markets. SEC
ANKTIVA, an interleukin-15 (IL-15) receptor agonist designed to activate immune cells, is paired with BCG—a long-standing tuberculosis vaccine administered straight into the bladder—for patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, a form that hasn’t invaded the bladder’s muscle layer.
ImmunityBio last week picked up conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission for ANKTIVA combined with BCG in the existing bladder-cancer indication—a move that opens up the European market but comes with the requirement to provide more follow-up data.
The company on Monday highlighted ANKTIVA’s reach across 33 countries, including the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and parts of Europe. It also mentioned commercial partnerships in Europe and Saudi Arabia, with launches beyond the U.S. in the pipeline.
The company reported a jump in research and development spending, citing increased manufacturing and clinical-trial expenses plus a one-off fixed-asset write-off. Selling and administrative costs, however, dipped from last year thanks to reduced litigation-related spending.
Still, the balance sheet is under pressure. According to StockTitan’s filing summary, operating activities soaked up roughly $305 million in cash in 2025, with total liabilities stacking up to around $1.0 billion—factoring in a related-party convertible note and a revenue interest liability. That doesn’t give the company much room for error if sales slip or regulatory approvals face setbacks.
Traders are eyeing the early move to see if it sticks as the session opens, and whether any fresh commentary tweaks views on how quickly the international rollout might play out. Next up: the conversation shifts to balancing cash runway against the expense of launching new trials.
ImmunityBio is aiming for a U.S. FDA meeting in March 2026 connected to its upcoming recombinant BCG submission. The company also has its sights set on submitting a biologics license application for a randomized study in BCG-naïve bladder cancer by the fourth quarter of 2026.
