Aug 24, 2026 · 23 min · 11 segments
Send us Fan Mail Fact-checking Anktiva, cancer immunotherapy claims, and what Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong didn’t say. 👉 Get your free guide…
Jay ChaplinHost
Anktiva's claim to fame is its ability to stimulate natural killer cells, or what we call NK cells for short.

And scientists have known for years, for decades, that those can help with a variety of cancers.

Actually, one of the very first immunotherapies, interleukin-2, which was approved for kidney cancer, was designed to stimulate NK cells.

But right up front, we need to deal with the politics and marketing, because that's where things get totally sideways.

It's a tuberculosis-like bacteria used to stimulate the immune system inside the bladder.

You take these drugs, you put them into the bladder with a catheter, they stick to the surface of the tumor because it's kind of sticky and the immune system attacks it.

So the CEO of the company has claimed that the drug's limited access for the public is an FDA issue that only the president can fix.

Except that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever because the drug is already FDA approved.

And we've put a link to the ex-FDA Associate Commissioner Peter Pitts stating the exact same thing.

Anktiva's claim to fame is its ability to stimulate natural killer cells, or what we call NK cells for short.

And scientists have known for years, for decades, that those can help with a variety of cancers.

Actually, one of the very first immunotherapies, interleukin-2, which was approved for kidney cancer, was designed to stimulate NK cells.

But right up front, we need to deal with the politics and marketing, because that's where things get totally sideways.

It's a tuberculosis-like bacteria used to stimulate the immune system inside the bladder.

You take these drugs, you put them into the bladder with a catheter, they stick to the surface of the tumor because it's kind of sticky and the immune system attacks it.

So the CEO of the company has claimed that the drug's limited access for the public is an FDA issue that only the president can fix.

Except that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever because the drug is already FDA approved.

And we've put a link to the ex-FDA Associate Commissioner Peter Pitts stating the exact same thing.
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