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Investing.com -- ImmunityBio Inc (NASDAQ:IBRX) stock jumped 6.2% premarket Tuesday following encouraging early results from its experimental treatment for recurrent glioblastoma, a common and difficult-to-treat form of brain cancer.
The immunotherapy company reported that all five patients in its pilot study achieved 100% disease control with a regimen combining ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), NK cell therapy, and Optune Gio Tumor Treating Fields. Three of the patients responded to treatment, with two showing near complete responses, while the remaining two maintained stable disease.
These results are particularly significant given glioblastoma’s poor prognosis, with single-digit five-year survival rates for patients over 45. The chemotherapy-free approach represents a potential breakthrough in a field that has seen minimal therapeutic advances for decades.
"In my years of treating patients with glioblastoma I have never experienced these near complete responses as well as the rapidity of the response as seen in these patients to date," said Dr. Simon Khagi, Medical Director of Neuro-Oncology at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute and Principal Investigator for the study.
ANKTIVA, an IL-15 agonist, is being studied for its ability to enhance natural killer cell activity. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder and Executive Chairman at ImmunityBio, noted that these preliminary results "warrant the rapid expansion of this study in recurrent glioblastoma."
While the initial treatment involved a small patient cohort, ImmunityBio plans to advance to a Phase 2 trial in second-line glioblastoma to further evaluate the potential of this combination treatment.
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