Anaheim-based BioCorRx Inc., a thinly traded small-cap stock, claims it’s developing a novel approach to treating opioid addiction.
While Wall Street remains skeptical, putting its market cap at $15 million (OTCQB: BICX), the federal government is continuing to give it a chance.
The company has been awarded $2.8 million in funds by National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. It’s the second installment of a $5.7 million grant announced last year. The award is for its application, “Development of Medication to Prevent and Treat Opioid Use Disorders and Overdose.”
The company’s key product is BICX102, which is a sustained-release naltrexone implant for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Naltrexone is an opiate antagonist—it blocks receptor sites from being activated by opiates.
“We are pleased to receive the notice of award for the second tranche of this non-dilutive NIDA grant funding, which we believe further validates the progress we have achieved to date with BICX102,” Chief Executive Brady Granier said in a statement.
Last year, the company announced a deal with Charles River Laboratories Inc. to begin conducting preclinical studies of BICX102.
The company also has a medically assisted program for food cravings, UnCraveRx and, also last year, it gained a new investor, Joe Galligan, formerly a founder and partner at DoubleLine Capital, which has $147 billion in assets under management.
