ImmunityBio (IBRX) Stock Surges 12% as Hedge Fund Bets Big on Cancer Drug Anktiva
Key Takeaways
- •ImmunityBio shares rose more than 12% to close at $8.83 on September 29, 2026, capping gains of over 11% in the past month and more than 256% over the past year.
- •Green Ash Partners' GA-Courtenay Special Situations Fund named ImmunityBio a top holding, anchoring its thesis on one million vials of annual Anktiva production capacity and a 99% trailing gross margin.
- •At a $35,000 list price per dose, the fund estimates Anktiva's addressable market at over $5.8 billion annually under current approvals, potentially exceeding $43 billion if US lung cancer approval arrives by 2028.
- •ImmunityBio partnered with Accord Healthcare to roll out Anktiva across 30 countries with more than 100 staff, supported by a new Irish subsidiary in Dublin for European distribution.
- •Regulatory momentum includes EU approval for Anktiva plus BCG and accelerated Saudi approval in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer, while a Phase 1b bladder cancer trial remains in setup ahead of recruitment.
ImmunityBio (IBRX) shares closed at $8.83 on September 29, 2026, up more than 12% on the day, extending a rally that has lifted the stock over 11% in the past month and more than 256% over the past year. The advance has come alongside a run of regulatory and partnership developments around Anktiva.
That run has put the biotechnology company on the radar of investment funds hunting for growth stories in the sector. Among them is the GA-Courtenay Special Situations Fund, managed by Green Ash Partners, which named ImmunityBio a top holding and a standout pick in its Q2 2026 investor letter, as cited in a Yahoo Finance report.
Manufacturing Capacity Anchors the Fund's Thesis
The fund pointed to ImmunityBio's manufacturing capacity as the core of its investment case. According to the letter, the company can produce one million vials per year of its flagship drug, Anktiva, which carries a list price of $35,000 per dose. Based on that output, the fund estimates an addressable market of more than $5.8 billion in yearly revenue from Anktiva's current approvals alone. It also cited a 99% trailing gross margin on the drug. Production capacity and gross margin are among the metrics outside investors typically weigh when sizing a commercial drug's revenue potential.
A Larger Opportunity Beyond Current Approvals
The fund's projections do not stop at $5.8 billion. Anktiva already holds approval outside the United States for lung cancer treatment, and the fund expects a US approval could arrive by 2028. If that occurs, the fund believes the drug's addressable market could expand beyond $43 billion a year — a forecast that assumes conservative pricing throughout. The larger figure, in other words, remains conditional on a US regulatory outcome that has yet to happen.
Global Expansion Through Partnerships
ImmunityBio has also been active on the partnership front. The company teamed up with Accord Healthcare to expand Anktiva's availability across 30 countries, including the UK, the EU, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Under the agreement, Accord will deploy more than 100 sales, medical, and marketing staff behind the rollout. ImmunityBio has additionally established an Irish subsidiary in Dublin to support distribution across Europe. Together, the moves part of a broader push to broaden the drug's international footprint.
Founder Patrick Soon-Shiong said the aim is to widen access to Anktiva by completing a randomized trial in patients with BCG-naïve disease — a term describing bladder cancer patients who have not yet received BCG immunotherapy, or who relapsed long after treatment.
Regulatory Momentum
ImmunityBio also secured European Union approval for Anktiva in combination with BCG. That clearance came just days after Saudi regulators encouraged the company to file for its recombinant BCG therapy to help ease treatment shortages. The company is separately in talks with Saudi regulators about pairing Anktiva with checkpoint inhibitors across multiple tumor types. Last month, Saudi regulators granted accelerated approval for Anktiva in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer. Taken together, the European and Saudi developments put much of Anktiva's nearest-term expansion outside the United States.
Phase 1b Trial Progress
On the research side, ImmunityBio is running a new Phase 1b study combining N-803 with pembrolizumab and enfortumab vedotin. The trial targets patients with treatment-naïve metastatic urothelial carcinoma, a form of advanced bladder cancer. The study is designed as a single treatment arm, meaning every participant receives the same drug combination, and it is open-label, so both physicians and patients know which agents are being administered.
The trial was first submitted on October 14, 2025, and its record was last updated on September 21, 2026 — a change that points to renewed movement toward site activation. The study remains in the setup phase and has not yet begun recruiting patients. Updates can be tracked through the ClinicalTrials portal as the program advances, with a move from setup into active recruitment the next visible milestone for the study.
Market Snapshot
ImmunityBio currently holds a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, with its 52-week trading range sitting between $1.95 and $12.43 — leaving shares below their 52-week high even after the year's sharp gains.
This article originally appeared on CoinCentral.
