ImmunityBio to present cancer drug data at ASCO 2026 meeting
ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX) announced it will present data from clinical trials of its cancer immunotherapy drug ANKTIVA at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting scheduled for May 29-June 2, 2026, in Chicago.
The company will present two posters and one online publication covering studies in non-small cell lung cancer and non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The presentations include data from two randomized Phase 3 trials in advanced non-small cell lung cancer and a matched adjusted indirect comparison study in bladder cancer patients who did not respond to BCG treatment.
ANKTIVA, also known as nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln, is an IL-15 receptor agonist immunotherapy designed to activate natural killer cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and memory T cells. The drug received FDA approval as an immunotherapy for stimulating these specific immune cell types.
The poster presentations are scheduled for May 31 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. One study examines ANKTIVA combined with tislelizumab and docetaxel versus docetaxel alone in advanced lung cancer resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The second study evaluates ANKTIVA with checkpoint inhibitors in first-line non-small cell lung cancer treatment.
The online publication focuses on a comparison between ANKTIVA plus BCG and pembrolizumab in bladder cancer patients with carcinoma in situ. This abstract will be published on the ASCO website at 5 p.m. EDT on May 21, 2026.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder and executive chairman of ImmunityBio, stated that ANKTIVA represents the first FDA-approved immunotherapy designed to stimulate the specific immune cells that are often depleted in cancer patients with lymphopenia.
