Opioid drugs have done more damage over the last few years than Covid-19. But now, because of the pandemic, the opioid crisis has significantly worsened, with experts looking for an increase in negative results, including overdoses and deaths from overdoses due to many feeling locked down, laid off, and flooded with uncertainty. So far, according to research from the AAMC, experts see signs of relapses, rising overdoses, and other worries.
That shift takes root from an already crisis-level state of affairs. According to data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in 2018 over 128 people died each day from opioid-related drug overdose.
Most of this has its roots in chronic pain. Over 100 million Americans suffer from some form of chronic pain. Globally, and experts believe the chronic pain market is an opportunity expected to grow to $69 – $105 billion over coming years. But current solutions to this epidemic are woefully inadequate.
The key is to provide new solutions for related health conditions that don’t amount to a recruiting operation for the next crop of addicts on the rails toward potential life crisis or overdose. There must be a better way.
Here, we present some of the stocks seeing significant current or coming growth based on their non-opioid solutions, including: electroCore Inc (Nasdaq:ECOR), Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), Endonovo Therapeutics Inc (OTCMKTS:ENDV), and Novocure Ltd (NASDAQ:NVCR).
electroCore Inc (Nasdaq:ECOR) trumpets itself as a commercial stage medical device company that engages in the development and commercialization of a range of patient administered non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) therapies.
The company is developing gammaCore, a prescription-only nVNS therapy for the acute treatment of pain associated with migraine and episodic cluster headache in adults. Its lead product is gammaCore Sapphire, a rechargeable and reloadable handheld delivery system for multi-year use prescribed on a monthly basis. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
electroCore Inc (Nasdaq:ECOR) just provided an operating and business update as well as select unaudited financial guidance for the third quarter.
“During the third quarter, we again demonstrated our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing business environment and maintain our focus despite the ongoing pandemic, resulting in a greater than 35% sequential increase in total revenue to more than one million dollars,” stated Dan Goldberger, Chief Executive Officer of electroCore. “Our key revenue channels, notably the VA/DoD and United Kingdom, continued to perform well. While our COVID-19 initiatives did not contribute material revenue during the quarter, our physician and patient outreach efforts under our Emergency Use Authorization are ongoing. We are also very pleased that the VA is sponsoring a study of gammaCore Sapphire in veterans with co-morbid traumatic brain injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This work could lead to another potentially high-value indication for nVNS. We believe we are well positioned to finish the year and to enter 2021 with renewed momentum across all of our revenue channels.”
Even in light of this news, ECOR hasn’t really done much of anything over the past week, with shares logging no net movement over that period. Shares of the stock have powered higher over the past month, rallying roughly 22% in that time on strong overall action.
electroCore, Inc. (Nasdaq:ECOR) managed to rope in revenues totaling $753K in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 20.9%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($18.9M against $5.1M).
Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX) promulgates itself as a leading provider of non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions dedicated to advancing and improving outcomes for health care practitioners and their patients.
The company’s long-acting local analgesic, EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) was commercially launched in the United States in April 2012. EXPAREL utilizes DepoFoam®, a unique and proprietary product delivery technology that encapsulates drugs without altering their molecular structure, and releases them over a desired period of time. In April 2019, Pacira acquired the iovera° system, a handheld cryoanalgesia device used to deliver precise, controlled doses of cold temperature only to targeted nerves.
Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX) most recently reported preliminary unaudited net product sales of EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) and iovera° of $113.7 million and $2.7 million, respectively, for the third quarter of 2020. The company also reported preliminary unaudited net product sales of EXPAREL and iovera° of $39.5 million and $1.1 million, respectively, for the month of September 2020. EXPAREL average daily sales were 109 percent, 111 percent, and 110 percent of prior year levels for the months of July, August, and September, respectively.
“We are very encouraged with our strong performance as revenue and claims data show EXPAREL weekly growth rates exceeding those of the elective surgery market due to its expanding role in shifting a variety of complex surgical procedures to the 23-hour stay environment and broadening utilization in non-elective procedures, such as cesarean sections, cardiothoracic and oncology surgeries. When the elective surgery market recovers to its normal pace, we expect EXPAREL revenue to experience further growth,” said Dave Stack, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacira BioSciences. “Demand for training around nerve and field blocks continues to grow and we remain on track to launch our state-of-the-art Innovation and Training Center in Tampa later this month. This facility will advance interactive, hands-on instruction around best practice field block techniques while improving patient care and enabling patient migration to the 23-hour stay environment.”
It will be interesting to see if the stock can break out of its recent sideways action. Over the past week, the stock is net flat, and looking for something new to spark things. PCRX shares have been relatively flat over the past month of action, with very little net movement during that period.
Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX) managed to rope in revenues totaling $75.5M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of -26.4%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($326.8M against $70.6M).
Endonovo Therapeutics Inc (OTCMKTS:ENDV) is a biotechnology company that develops, manufactures, and distributes non-invasive electroceutical medical devices for regenerative medicine. The company offers SofPulse, a non-invasive Electroceutical therapeutic device for the palliative treatment of soft tissue injuries, chronic wounds, and post-operative pain and edema.
Its electroceutical medical devices are also used for the treatment of inflammation, wounds, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, liver diseases, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, peripheral artery diseases, and ischemic stroke, as well as for the treatment central nervous system disorders, such as traumatic brain injury, acute concussions, post- concussion syndrome, and multiple sclerosis. The company has a collaboration with the Stanford University sponsored Orthopedic Shoulder and Knee Study to determine the benefits of Endonovo’s tPEMF SofPulse on pain, medication levels, and physical function post-operatively.
Endonovo Therapeutics Inc (OTCMKTS:ENDV) most recently announced a new marketing and public awareness campaign around their FDA Cleared SofPulse® that has been proven to help the in the response to the opioid epidemic during the COVID pandemic.
“Our country and the world is currently going through a very trying time due to COVID-19 which has significantly exacerbated the opioid epidemic within the U.S.. SofPulse® has shown proven clinical and surgical results – and can be a major solution to helping resolve the opioid epidemic by decreasing patient opioid abuse after patient surgeries.” stated Alan Collier CEO of Endonovo.
Endonovo Therapeutics Inc (OTCMKTS:ENDV) managed to rope in revenues during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data. However, the big story is likely ahead for this early-stage player, which also suggests investors willing to take on more speculative interests might benefit from some further due diligence on ENDV.
Novocure Ltd (NASDAQ:NVCR) bills itself as an oncology company developing a profoundly different cancer treatment utilizing a proprietary therapy called Tumor Treating Fields, the use of electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division.
Novocure’s commercialized product is approved for the treatment of adult patients with glioblastoma. Novocure has ongoing or completed clinical trials investigating Tumor Treating Fields in brain metastases, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer and mesothelioma.
Novocure Ltd (NASDAQ:NVCR) just recently announced that it will host a virtual Research & Development Day for analysts and investors from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, November 12, 2020, to highlight progress across its clinical and product development pipelines and to introduce areas of internal and external focus in its translational research.
According to the release, the event will include presentations from various leaders of Novocure’s research and development teams as well as from key opinion leaders from across the global scientific community who are conducting research on Tumor Treating Fields.
And the stock has been acting well over recent days, up something like 13% in that time. Shares of the stock have powered higher over the past month, rallying roughly 29% in that time on strong overall action.
Novocure Ltd (NASDAQ:NVCR) pulled in sales of $115.9M in its last reported quarterly financials, representing top line growth of 33.7%. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($347.5M against $85.1M).
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