Small-cap pharma firm Valeritas Holdings is up over 14% this morning in pre-market trading with reported values of $2.87 over yesterday’s close at $2.72.
A press release this morning shows that much of these gains seems to be based on breaking news about what the company calls a “preclinical pharmacokinetic study of cannabidiol subcutaneous infusion with two dosing regimens.”
Valeritas has pioneered the H-patch wearable dosing device model where subcutaneous drug delivery is proposed to help with bioavailability as a dramatic improvement over oral delivery of medications.
The trial used CBD products in the H-patch, and found rapid absorption and distribution of CBD levels in the blood within an hour of the infusion, and lasting effects up to 24 hours later.
If successful, this type of treatment could be used for a wide range of health conditions. In general, the subcutaneous delivery helps to lower the amount of potentially toxic drug materials metabolized by the liver. That’s in addition to raising the efficacy and lowering necessary dosage by increasing the “chelation” or digestion of beneficial elements by the body.
“This study highlights Valeritas’ partnering opportunities to leverage the h-Patch™ technology beyond insulin delivery,” said John Timberlake, President and Chief Executive Officer of Valeritas in a recent press statement. “Subcutaneous infusion is a powerful delivery method for a variety of drugs with solubility, permeability, and first-pass metabolism challenges, and the h-Patch™ may offer a cost-effective alternative means of reliable and patient-friendly drug dosing.”
The current rally is not the first for VLRX in recent times – as recently as July 10, the stock spiked up above $4.00 per share in pre-market trading, this time on news around the V-Go insulin delivery product.
The stock lost most of those gains quickly and receded back down to under $3.00 by July 15. Stay tuned to see if the current rally has more staying power as VLRX continues to try out the patch technologies.