New York, January 23, 2026, 11:18 EST — Regular session underway
- Shares of ImmunityBio climbed following the release of updated Phase 2 data in recurrent glioblastoma
- The company reported that median overall survival remains unreached, with 19 out of 23 patients still alive at the latest cut-off
- Investors await the Jan. 31 scientific summit, where more details on the regimen and upcoming trial phases will be revealed
ImmunityBio shares jumped 2.7% to $7.54 in late morning trading Friday following new data on a chemo-free treatment for recurrent glioblastoma, a tough brain cancer. The stock fluctuated between $6.97 and $7.86, with over 31 million shares changing hands. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF slipped roughly 1.1%.
ImmunityBio’s rally shows no signs of slowing. The stock has surged more than threefold in just three weeks and kept climbing through the first 12 trading days of 2026, according to Bloomberg. The relentless rise has pushed some short sellers to cut their losses and exit positions. 1
Bulls have been focusing on the company’s commercial progress as much as its pipeline. Last week, ImmunityBio announced preliminary 2025 net product revenue for ANKTIVA at about $113 million, marking roughly a 700% jump from the previous year. The company also reported ending 2025 with an estimated $242.8 million in cash and marketable securities. CEO Richard Adcock highlighted the quarter as evidence of “accelerating adoption of ANKTIVA.” 2
ImmunityBio revealed in its Friday update that the Phase 2 QUILT-3.078 trial enrolled 23 patients with second-line recurrent or progressive glioblastoma, all of whom had previously undergone surgery, radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy. By the Jan. 22 data cut, 19 patients remained alive, and the trial hadn’t yet hit the “median overall survival” milestone—meaning fewer than half the participants have died. 3
Data from 14 patients showed an increase in absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), a key immune-cell blood marker, after just one treatment cycle. The company reported that mean ALC climbed from 0.9 (x10^3/uL) to at least 1.4 (x10^3/uL), staying elevated for up to 20 weeks.
“Survival beyond historical expectations … represents a paradigm change,” said Simon Khagi, medical director of neuro-oncology at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute and the study’s principal investigator. He’s set to reveal updated results at the Stand Up to Cancer Glioblastoma Innovation Scientific Summit on Jan. 31 in Pasadena, California.
Founder and executive chairman Patrick Soon-Shiong noted that patients started the study with “profound lymphopenia” — a severe drop in lymphocyte levels commonly caused by chemo and radiation. “We observed recovery and maintenance of lymphocyte counts without chemotherapy,” he said.
The regimen pairs ImmunityBio’s ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept) with engineered natural killer cell therapy, along with bevacizumab (Avastin) and Tumor Treating Fields. No cytokine release syndrome or related neurologic toxicity was observed in the data, though three patients experienced serious adverse events possibly linked to the treatment.
The data, however, stem from a small, early-phase study, and glioblastoma remains a notoriously tough area for drug development. ImmunityBio cautioned that these results are preliminary and may change as follow-up continues or larger, controlled trials report.
This week brought insider trading disclosures, with a Form 4 filing revealing director Simon Barry offloaded 151,967 shares on Jan. 20 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. That included a 75,000-share lot sold at a weighted average price near $7.8791. 4
Traders are now focused on whether Friday’s data will sustain the rally into next week and if the details from the Jan. 31 summit strengthen the argument for ImmunityBio’s upcoming randomized glioblastoma trials.
