Health and Healthcare

How Tonix Pharma Is Kicking Cocaine

Chris Lange

Published: May 23, 2019 10:35 am

Last Updated: January 6, 2020 4:24 am

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: TNXP) shares jumped sharply on Thursday after the firm announced that it has in-licensed a Phase 2 asset, TNX-1300 for the treatment of cocaine intoxication.

Note that emergency room visits for cocaine abuse total more than 500,000 annually in the United States.

TNX-1300 is a recombinant enzyme that efficiently degrades and metabolizes cocaine in cocaine abusers, as demonstrated in a Phase 2 study, providing support of the use of TNX-1300 as a treatment for cocaine intoxication.

Currently, there is no specific pharmacotherapy for cocaine intoxication, a state characterized by acute agitation, hyperthermia, tachycardia, arrhythmia, and hypertension, with the potential life-threatening sequelae of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, rhabdomyolysis, respiratory failure and seizures.

By targeting the cause of cocaine intoxication, rather than the symptoms like other medicines in emergency usage, Tonix believes TNX-1300 may offer significant advantages to the current standard of care for cocaine overdose.

Seth Lederman, M.D., Tonix’s president and CEO, commented:

TNX-1300 is an excellent strategic fit within our focus on breakthrough psychiatry and non-opiate centrally-acting analgesic treatments and expands our pipeline into addiction treatment with a disruptive therapeutic technology in mid-stage clinical development. TNX-1300 also represents our first in-licensed product, as we have historically developed products and technologies internally through our own discovery and R&D efforts. This transformative product meets our standards for innovation, value and impact.

Note that TNX-1300 is designated as a breakthrough therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Shares of Tonix Pharma were last seen up about 19% at $2.03, in a 52-week range of $0.36 to $9.60. The consensus price target is $4.83.