How Tonix Pharma Is Kicking Cocaine

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 6, 4:24AM EST · Published May 23, 10:35AM EDT

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How Tonix Pharma Is Kicking Cocaine — © andriano_cz / iStock

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.

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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.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.