BioCorRx Inc. Chief Executive Brady Granier said the company’s history of treating addiction long predates President Donald Trump’s public health emergency declaration over opioid addiction. He said the company’s recent pivot to pursue U.S. regulatory approval for its BioCorRx Recovery Program will increase adoption.
BioCorRx has raised $7 million, including a $4.1 million investment from private equity firm Alpine Creek Capital Partners in 2016.
The comprehensive addiction program includes a naltrexone implant and peer support coaching and counseling completed in 16 sessions on average. Naltrexone is a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication that blocks receptors in the brain that crave alcohol and opioids. The implant is inserted beneath the skin in the lower abdomen.
The implant doesn’t require regulatory approval, only a doctor’s prescription, but Granier said it was challenging to get insurers and hospitals “on board without FDA approval.”
He said BioCorRx will start a preclinical study. It estimates the total cost for regulatory approval is $10 million over the next two or three years. Company executives hope to raise about $16 million to $21 million from grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Separately the company is raising money to uplist from over-the-counter to the Nasdaq.
It announced in June that it partnered with San Diego-based Virtual Reality Medical Center to use virtual reality to study the effectiveness of its recovery program. It submitted a small-business innovation research grant application to the National Institute of Health this month.
BioCorRx, previously Fresh Start Private Management Inc., operated as an alcohol treatment and rehabilitation company. It changed its name in 2014.
Separately, it joined forces with Boston-based DynamiCare Health Inc. to develop a co-branded mobile application that provides predictive analytics to help people recover from addiction. The application is in beta-testing mode.
It also launched a pilot weight-loss program with Atlantis Medical Wellness & Weight Loss Center in October, enrolling 12 patients. The initial results have been positive, with average weight loss of 25 pounds after three months, according to a company press release in March.
— Sherry Hsieh
Students with Rich Uncles
A Rich Uncles-affiliated student housing real estate investment trust launched on April 17 via an offering circular.
Brix Student Housing REIT Inc. wants to raise $50 million on the sale of 10 million shares under Reg A+ rules—directly to investors.
The Business Journal previously reported that RW Holdings Student Housing Inc. filed in November to raise funds for the REIT under securities regulations that permit smaller, faster initial public offerings to accredited and nonaccredited investors.
Rich Uncles is a Costa Mesa-based investment group that uses crowdfunding to buy commercial real estate; minimum buy-in on its deals is $500; the minimum buy-in on the new student housing REIT is $5.
Rich Uncles principals include Chief Executive Harold Hofer and Ray Wirta, chairman of CBRE Group Inc., chief executive of Koll Co., and president of Irvine Co.
The new REIT’s formal adviser is Brix Student Housing Operator LLC. Its sponsor is BrixInvest LLC.
The REIT plans to buy student housing, related assets and “other multi-family housing,” the circular said.
— Paul Hughes
