ImmunityBio Holds FDA End-of-Phase Meeting on sBLA for ANKTIVA® Plus BCG in Papillary NMIBC

21 January 2026 | Wednesday | News

FDA recommends additional information to support potential resubmission, citing durable survival, high cystectomy avoidance and consistent safety data in BCG-unresponsive disease

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, announced that it recently held a Type B End-of-Phase meeting with the U.S. FDA regarding the Company’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for ANKTIVA® (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept) plus Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with papillary tumors.

The Company presented an overview of the clinical status of its papillary disease program, including more than five years of follow-up data supporting the papillary indication. Highlights included durable disease-specific survival of approximately 96% at 36 months, with the median survival not yet reached even with five years of follow-up; high rates of cystectomy avoidance of 92% and 82% at one and three years, respectively; and a safety profile consistent with the currently approved indication in CIS disease with or without papillary tumors. In addition, several thought-leading urologists who attended the meeting presented real-world treatment approaches for patients with BCG-unresponsive disease, where the remaining alternative is often radical cystectomy.

Based on these discussions, the FDA recommended that the Company provide certain additional information for its consideration to support a potential resubmission of the sBLA initially submitted in 2025 for the papillary indication. ImmunityBio has compiled the requested information and will submit it to the Agency within the next 30 days. This additional information does not contemplate the initiation or design of a new clinical trial.

This submission follows a productive face-to-face meeting with senior FDA officials, during which the regulatory path forward for ANKTIVA in papillary NMIBC was collaboratively defined. Topics included current standards of care, challenges associated with chemotherapy, patient management considerations, and perspectives on the interpretation of the Company’s data. BCG-unresponsive disease remains a serious condition, with risks of progression to muscle-invasiveness disease, higher mortality, and limited bladder-sparing treatment options for patients.

“We appreciate the FDA’s collaboration throughout this process and remain fully committed to delivering this much-needed therapy to patients who currently have no approved alternatives when standard of care fails,” said Richard Adcock, President and CEO of ImmunityBio. “We have completed the assembly and analysis of the requested additional information and will submit it within the next 30 days for the Agency’s review.”

 

Survey Box

Poll of the Week

Which area of biopharmaceutical research excites you the most?

× Please select an option to participate in the poll.
Processing...
× You have successfully cast your vote.
 {{ optionDetail.option }}  {{ optionDetail.percentage }}%
 {{ optionDetail.percentage }}% Complete
More polls
Stay Connected

Sign up to our free newsletter and get the latest news sent direct to your inbox

© 2026 Biopharma Boardroom. All Rights Reserved.

Show

Forgot your password?

Show

Show

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close