matdesign24/iStock via Getty Images ImmunityBio ( NASDAQ: IBRX ) traded higher Thursday after the company said multiple payors across the U.S. have offered insurance coverage for its bladder cancer therapy, Anktiva, even though only weeks have passed since its FDA approval.
The stock has recorded its biggest intraday gain since April, albeit on below-average volumes. A little over 4.0M IBRX shares have changed hands compared to the 65-day average of ~6.
9M. In April, the FDA cleared Anktiva, an intravesically delivered immunotherapy in combination with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, for patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. ImmunityBio ( IBRX ) launched the product in mid-May.
“We are grateful to be able to offer this first-in-class immunotherapy to qualified bladder cancer patients less than two months after the therapeutic was approved by the FDA,” said IBRX’s chief medical officer, Patrick Soon-Shiong. More on ImmunityBio ImmunityBio: Anktiva's Launch Demands A Reassessment ImmunityBio: Anktiva Approval Opens Up A World Of Possibilities, Risks And Potential Gains ImmunityBio: FDA Approval Gets Ball Rolling Towards Next Set Of Indications ImmunityBio, LadRx end licensing deal for cancer drug ImmunityBio immunotherapy shows positive overall survival in lung cancer trial.