NTRB Stock Alert: The Patent News Sending Nutriband Soaring

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Nutriband (NASDAQ:NTRB) stock is soaring 170% in mid-morning trading after the company announced today that it was granted a patent for “abuse deterrent” technology, called Aversa. The patent was granted by South Korea’s Korean Intellectual Property Office, or KIPO.

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NTRB Stock Catalyst: What Is Aversa?

Aversa uses a transdermal delivery system, meaning that works through a patch on patients’ skin. It uses “aversive agents,” which are chemicals that produce “unpleasant” sensations when a patient ingests a drug or another type of product. These agents are supposed to deter people from drug use.

Nutriband’s Aversa patch is supposed to “prevent the Abuse, DiVERsion, MiSuse and Accidental exposure of drugs with abuse potential specifically Opioids,” the company explained on its website. Its first patch, Aversa Fentanyl, is specifically designed to deliver an opioid called fentanyl for the relief of chronic pain.

“Aversa Fentanyl … has the potential to be the world’s first fentanyl transdermal system with abuse deterrent properties,” Nutriband has stated.

The product is in the preclinical stages of development. On Oct. 4, however, the U.S Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice of allowance for Aversa. Such a notice indicates that the USPTO anticipates that a company is entitled to a patent for a  product.

Why does this matter? From April 2020 to April 2021, a record total of over 100,000 Americans were killed by drug overdoses. During that period, “Synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, caused nearly two-thirds (64%) of all drug overdose deaths,” CNN reported.

The Bottom Line on Nutriband

Founded in 2014, Nutriband is based in Florida. In 2018, it acquired 4P Therapeutics, which had developed a number “of pharmaceutical transdermal products.” In the wake of the deal, Nutriband decided to focus on 4P’s transdermal technology.

Nutriband’s CEO and co-founder is Gareth Sheridan. He was named “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ireland in 2014, based on his launch of Nutriband. He holds a 2012 degree in business and Management from the Dublin Institute of Technology.

The company’s chief scientific officer, Dr. Jeff Patrick, is also director of the Drug Development Institute at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Patrick previously held roles with New Haven Pharmaceuticals and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:MNKKQ).

The market capitalization of NTRB stock was about $84 million in mid-morning trading.

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On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines

Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 15 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israel’s largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been SMCI, INTC, and MGM. You can reach him on Stocktwits at @larryramer.


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