IBRX Stock Eyes Best Year Ever: Founder Teases 12 Months Of 'Stealth' Nantworks Reveals - Cancer Tech, AI Chips And Satellites

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

• Healthcare projects include an antibody search engine to help locate and target tumors, alongside real-time patient-data tech.
• Nant Global Finance is developing a blockchain-based platform for trading tokenized securities and managing shareholder records.
• An additional Phase 2 trial will test Anktiva in about 50 adults with sepsis and low immune-cell counts.

With ImmunityBio (IBRX) shares up more than 200% this year, founder Patrick Soon-Shiong has outlined plans to unveil decades of privately funded research at NantWorks over the next 12 months, spanning cancer therapies, AI chips and satellite tech.

IBRX stock tumbled 9% on Thursday to $6.07, with shares down 30% for the week and tracking their worst week in nearly two years. 

Soon-Shiong said on X:“I began the release of our stealth, self-funded programs at Nantworks at a speech at Stanford last night.” NantWorks brings together public and private businesses across healthcare, energy and communications. 

An Antibody 'Google' To Find And Target Tumors

Soon-Shiong highlighted an antibody search engine he likened to Google, part of an effort to find and treat tumors more precisely. He said that the search engine will use camelid antibodies to make tumors visible on PET scans, then targeting them with radioactive isotopes. The goal is to connect cancer detection with treatment directed at the tumor.

He also outlined a system that gives doctors real-time patient data to help them make timely treatment decisions. Soon-Shiong said the tech already had FDA approval, but did not name the product.

Moving Data Faster On Earth And In Space

Meanwhile, Soon-Shiong outlined tech to move data faster as AI systems grow. These include high-speed WiGig wireless tech and optical chips that transmit data using light. He also highlighted U.S. factories to make optical chips and chipsets that connect AI data centers.

NantOptiFab is already working in this area, making chips in California that use light to carry information for AI networks, space systems and quantum technology. An SEC filing in August named Soon-Shiong as a director and showed that the company raised $20 million by selling shares to one unnamed investor.

His space ambitions include chips for use in space, satellite terminals that communicate using light, and new ways to build and launch satellites. The projects also extend to energy, materials and food safety. Soon-Shiong listed batteries that work in Arctic conditions, non-toxic methods of making graphene, biodegradable alternatives to plastic made from ocean-derived materials, and machine vision to detect harmful substances in food and baby food at the point of purchase.

Inside The NantX Trading Plans

Soon-Shiong also spotlighted a blockchain-based exchange for tokenized securities, or digital versions of stocks and other investments. He pitched it as a way to give companies and investors more control. In January, Nant Global Finance announced plans to bring stock trading, shareholder records and blockchain settlement onto one platform.

Its acquisitions included Horizon Globex, which provides technology for the Upstream exchange, and BlockAgent and Equity Stock Transfer, which maintain shareholder records. The company also planned to rename Arkonis Capital, a brokerage and trading platform, NantX. At the time, completing its brokerage acquisitions still required approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Anktiva's Next Test: Sepsis

Soon-Shiong also circled back to ImmunityBio's work on IL-15, a protein that helps activate the body's immune defenses. Its drug Anktiva stimulates natural killer cells and T cells, which fight cancer and infections. The company is testing whether it can help patients whose immune-cell counts are too low, a condition called lymphopenia.

This also includes a sepsis trial that Soon-Shiong said had been authorized.“Trials will be starting soon in USA and Europe,” he said on Wednesday. The Phase 2 study will test Anktiva in about 50 critically ill adults with sepsis and low immune-cell counts. Researchers will compare the drug plus standard care with standard care alone to see whether it reduces deaths within 28 days. 

“Longevity at work. Book of our patients' stories soon,” Soon-Shiong said. The drug is already approved in the U.S. with BCG for certain bladder cancers. ImmunityBio's approval last month expanded its use to another group of patients whose cancer had not responded to BCG.

IBRX Eyes Next Approval Expansion

The update comes shortly after ImmunityBio's third-quarter results, which showed that net product revenue rose 53% from a year earlier to $48.7 million. For the first nine months, it grew 92% to $143.6 million.

The company also said its Quilt-2.005 trial met its main goal in a group of bladder cancer patients who had not previously received BCG. The company is on track to seek expanded FDA approval for these patients in the fourth quarter.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About IBRX?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for IBRX jumped to 'bullish' from 'bearish' levels a week ago amid 'high' message volume.

IBRX sentiment and message volume as of November 12 | Source: Stocktwits

One user said,“$IBRX crazy thought here. With the stock falling and finally hits bottom. Will a bit of news at a cheap price create large whale buy orders against freshly positioned shorts and create a squeeze?”

View this Stocktwits post

Another user said,“The average investor wants money now. This ticker is not that at all. This will grab new highs by next year sometime and those who get rewarded are the patient ones.”

View this Stocktwits post

IBRX stock has surged 195% over the past 12 months. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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