10 Big Names Leaving Wall Street in the Dust; 4 at Fresh Highs

4. ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)

ImmunityBio jumped by 7.76 percent on Friday to close at $2.36 apiece after securing the green light of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to sell its bladder cancer treatment Anktiva in Europe.

In a statement, ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) said that the EMA officially authorized Anktiva, in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) carcinoma in situ, allowing the company to expand its sales and operations across Europe.

The therapy stands to benefit bladder cancer patients whose disease does not respond to BCG. At present, there are no current options to treat the disease type, except for a surgical removal of the bladder.

Unlike the US, where only one BCG substrain is approved, ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) said that Europe recognizes approximately six major BCG substrains, making standard-of-care therapy broadly available across the region.

“Anktiva represents an important evolution in the treatment of NMIBC CIS, strengthening the immune response and improving the durability of BCG,” said ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) Executive Chairman Patrick Soon-Shiong.

“Hundreds of patients in the US are already experiencing the benefits of this therapy, and our goal is to make it available to patients in Europe and other parts of the world as quickly and responsibly as possible, to ensure avoidance of a radical cystectomy,” he added.

“We are pleased that the EMA issued this positive recommendation based on our single-arm trial and through a regulatory process that allows earlier access to Anktiva, as stated in the EMA announcement, the benefit of a medicine’s immediate availability to patients outweighs the inherent risks.”