BioCorRx Inc., which develops and provides treatment programs for substance abuse and weight loss, sees signs of progress amid a rough period for both its operations and its stock.
The clinical-stage company said April 3 that it’s been awarded a U.S. patent directed toward the use of a compound and composition and/or dosage form for treating pain, depression and schizophrenia.
Shares of the Anaheim-based company jumped 24% to $1.15 and about a $10 million market cap (OTCQB: BICX).
“The patented invention may offer a novel approach to reducing the severity of withdrawal symptoms for opioid use disorder compared to current standards of care,” Chief Executive Lourdes Felix said in a statement.
BioCorRx has had a hard time gaining traction both on Wall Street and with customers.
Sales in 2023 fell 58% to $89,160, while its net loss narrowed to $3.8 million from $4.4 million in 2022.
Its most recent annual report, released April 2, said auditors have “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating. The company reported $65,000 in cash as of Dec. 31.
Still, Felix, who also serves as chief financial officer, on April 2 issued a bullish statement about the company’s prospects, citing a $1 million reduction in expenses in 2023.
“We remain confident and vigilant in managing our expenses,” Felix said. “Overall, we are optimistic about the business outlook and look forward to continuing to develop medicines.”
The Big Grant
A big reason for that optimism is an $11 million grant awarded in February by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The three-year grant allows the company to continue its research on BICX104, a biodegradable naltrexone pellet to wean patients from drug addiction. The pellets, about the size of contact lenses, are designed to last three months and to be injected into the stomachs of drug addicts, who are known for not taking their daily medications.
A Phase 1 study, the company said, showed BICX104 was “well tolerated with no serious adverse events and achieved 84 days of therapeutic naltrexone plasma concentrations.”
The company, which is aiming for a Nasdaq listing, won the backing of two believers in recent months.
Dr. Kate Beebe DeVarney, who spearheaded the development of Probuphine, the first six-month, subcutaneous implant approved in the U.S., Canada, and Europe for the treatment of opioid use disorder, has joined the board of the company’s subsidiary BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.
BioCorRx named another director, Louis Lucido, as president, replacing longtime executive Brady Granier.
The company said Granier’s resignation wasn’t because of any disagreement.
Lucido, who has been a director since 2019, appears to be optimistic about the company. He loaned it $50,000 last year, according to a filing.
“I am impressed with the company’s progress,” Lucido said in a statement. “BICX104 represents a truly unique and promising therapy for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder.
Lucido was formerly chief operating officer at DoubleLine Group, which has around $100 billion in assets under management.
