ANAHEIM, CA, Feb. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB: BICX) (the “Company”), a developer and provider of advanced solutions in the treatment of substance use disorders, announced today the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with three key appointments: David R. Gastfriend, M.D., DFASAM, Evgeny Krupitsky M.D., Ph.D., D.M.Sc., and George E. Woody, M.D.

The SAB will work closely with BioCorRx’s management team as it actively continues to advance its lead product candidate, BICX102, a multi-month sustained release naltrexone implant for the treatment of opioid and alcohol use disorders. The Company was recently awarded approximately $5.7 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for further development of BICX102. 

David R. Gastfriend M.D., commented, “In the midst of the U.S. opioid epidemic, the opportunity to improve access and overcome patients’ short-term persistence on existing agents is a crucial national need.”

Brady Granier, CEO and President of BioCorRx, stated, “We are thrilled to have attracted some of the world’s leading experts in our field to support BioCorRx as we continue to seek FDA approval for BICX102. We feel that this product will have profound impact on the current epidemic and look forward to working closely with the SAB.”

The SAB members are as follows:

David R. Gastfriend, M.D., is a psychiatrist and internationally recognized addiction treatment researcher, policy expert and technology developer. Gastfriend led research on the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria for placing patients in addiction treatment programs, which is now standard in more than 30 U.S. states. After 25 years at Harvard Medical School and directing the Addiction Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, he was Vice President for Scientific Communications at the pharmaceutical company Alkermes® from 2004 to 2013. While there, he co-authored a 2011 study that was instrumental in obtaining FDA approval of injectable naltrexone (Vivitrol) for the treatment of alcohol and opioid dependence. Gastfriend has authored over 150 scientific publications and consulted to the governments of Belgium, China, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Russia and the U.S. 

Evgeny M. Krupitsky, M.D., Ph.D., D.M.Sc., serves as a Vice-Director for Research and the Chief of the Department of Addictions at Bekhterev National Medical Research Center for Psychiatry and Neurology and Chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Psychopharmacology of Addictions at St. Petersburg State Pavlov Medical University, Russia. He received his M.D. degree from the Leningrad Institute of Hygiene and Sanitation in 1983 and then his Ph.D. degree in psychopharmacology from the Leningrad Institute of Experimental Medicine in 1988. Krupitsky worked as a Visiting Exchange Scientist at the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University in 1996–1997 and was also Adjunct Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania for over a decade. Krupitsky received national and international awards including the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Fellowship Award (1997), the Heffter Research Institute Award for Outstanding Research in Hallucinogens (Heffter Research Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 2000), the Award of the Government of Russian Federation for Outstanding Research in Medicine (2005), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Award for Excellence in International Leadership (2011). Krupitsky is a member of the Research Society of Alcoholism (RSA), College Physicians on Drug Dependence (CPDD), International Society for Biomedical Research in Alcoholism (ISBRA), European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Russian Association of Addiction Psychiatrists, and others. He has been published extensively in Russian and international peer reviewed psychiatric journals, and is the author of several chapters in international manuals and of two books on the treatment of alcoholism and addictions published in Russia. Krupitsky has been a Co-Principal Investigator of several NIDA and NIAAA grants.

George E. Woody, M.D., is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Principal Investigator of the Delaware Valley Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. He is a reviewer for many journals, and has authored or co-authored over 200 publications including a recent JAMA publication on Suboxone treatment of opioid addicted youth. He was a member of the DSM-IV Work Group on Substance Use Disorders and the FDA Drug Abuse Advisory Committee, has been co-editor of Treatment Improvement Protocols on methadone maintenance, and is a member of research groups studying the abuse liability of prescription opioids. He has lectured nationally and internationally, has worked with Dr. Krupitsky and his team for about 20 years on studies of oral and extended release naltrexone implants for preventing relapse to opioid addiction. He was awarded a Doctor Sui Causa from Pavlov State Medical University in St. Petersburg, Russia in September 2003. He also received an award in honor of Dr. Alexei Alexeevich Likhachev, founder of the Pharmacology Department of the Women's Medical Institute of St. Petersburg, Russia, later renamed Pavlov State Medical University, in February 2009, and was co-recipient with Drs. Krupitsky, Zvartau, Lioznov and Samet of the 2016 Prix Galien Award for work on the prevalence of HIV in vulnerable and special populations of the Russian Federation.

About BioCorRx

BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB: BICX) is an addiction treatment company offering a unique approach to the treatment of substance abuse addiction. The BioCorRx® Recovery Program, a non-addictive, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program, consists of two main components. The first component of the program consists of an outpatient implant procedure performed by a licensed physician. The implant delivers the non-addictive medicine, naltrexone, an opioid antagonist that can significantly reduce physical cravings for alcohol and opioids, and can prevent opioid overdose following relapse. The second component of the program developed by BioCorRx Inc. is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program tailored specifically for the treatment of alcoholism and other substance abuse addictions for those receiving long-term naltrexone treatment. The Company also conducts R&D under its controlled subsidiary, BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals. For more information on BICX and product pipeline, visit www.BioCorRx.com. 

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Safe Harbor Statement
The information in this release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "estimate," "become," "plan," "will," and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof.

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