BioCorRx Welcomes Four Experts to Expanded Scientific Advisory Board

ANAHEIM, CA, June 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via NewMediaWire — BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB: BICX) (“BioCorRx” or the “Company”), a developer and provider of advanced solutions in the treatment of substance use disorders, today announced the addition of Dr. Ashok Kumar MSc DIoD FRCPath, Michael Howcroft, Priya Jambhekar, and Dr. Jeff Witkin to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The new board members raise the number of Company advisors to seven.

Lourdes Felix, CEO, CFO and Director of BioCorRx Inc., commented, “We’re thrilled to have these drug developer experts and influencers join our SAB. All four bring their own unique set of skills and network to our board. They will help accelerate our progress and provide invaluable insights as we proceed to human trials for BICX104, a gradual release implantable naltrexone pellet for opioid use disorder. Additionally, several of the new additions will also be valuable to the growth of the Company’s treatment programs for substance use disorder and weight management. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the nation’s drug overdose epidemic even worse, and people are in urgent need for treatment that is effective and safe, and we look forward to bringing our product to market.”

The additional SAB members are as follows:

Dr. Jeff Witkin is a Research Fellow with RespireRx Inc., and the co-founder of the Laboratory of Antiepileptic Drug Discovery where he holds a research appointment at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI. He heads the Witkin Consulting Group that advises companies working on the development of novel therapeutics in the areas of neurology and psychiatry.  He is also one of the founders of Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals based in New York, NY.  For 17 years prior, Dr. Witkin headed a laboratory in Neuroscience Discovery at the Lilly Research Labs, Eli Lilly and Company, in Indianapolis, Indiana.  There he headed the biology efforts to discover multiple antidepressants, and a novel glutamate-based anticonvulsant, and the GABAA receptor potentiator KRM-II-81.  Some of these compounds are currently in clinical development.  Prior to working at the Lilly Research Labs, he headed the Drug Development Group for the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 14 years.  He is a world class scientist with over 250 peer-reviewed publications and multiple scientific awards and honors. 

Priya Jambhekar is a drug development entrepreneur with over 25 years of executive experience in worldwide regulatory, quality, clinical and pharmacovigilance operations, as well as early and late-stage development product registration and commercial support. She has held positions including Global Senior Vice President of Regulatory & Quality Operations at Paramount BioSciences, Global Vice President at Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company, and Worldwide Vice President of Regulatory and Government Relations at Alkermes. Other senior positions include Baxter ACC, as Regulatory Head of Compliance, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, as Manager of Regulatory, Safety, Compliance. She is also certified by the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society and the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Quality Control and Assurance Society.

Dr. Ashok Kumar MSc DIoD FRCPath has over 25 years’ experience in drug delivery development and production. Dr. Kumar is a serial entrepreneur following his early days in a clinical and research environment. His experience spans not only in the research of drug delivery but actually turning the projects from the laboratory setting into production and delivering the results directly to the patient. His work in planning and procurement has allowed him to head a number of pharmaceutical companies with a keen interest in substance dependency and its management. As a result, he has spent the best part of 20 years working on developing and improving naltrexone implantable technology in conjunction with the end users. Dr. Kumar has worked on various formulation for extended release and continues to be regarded as one of the key individuals in his field. Today as well as his leadership roles he runs a number of rehabilitation clinics throughout Europe and sits as Chairman in all his ventures. Always keen to be involved he understands the international regulatory requirements for manufacture and continues to develop novel delivery systems in conjunction with his partners.

Michael Howcroft is currently a consulting pharmacist. Mr. Howcroft was a co-founder of one of the first Pharmacy Benefit Management Companies, currently known as Anthem. Mr. Howcroft’s experience is in drug formulary management, preferred drug list management, rebate contracting, outcomes and value-based contracts, benefit analysis and design, disease state management, drug utilization review management, data analysis, experience in writing legislative administrative code policies, an acute understanding of medical and pharmacy coding, management of the pharmacy and therapeutics committee and drug utilization review board. Mr. Howcroft also has experience in hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy, oncology, and home infusion. He has worked with major companies in commercial insurance, self-employed insurance, managed care and most recently Medicaid/Medicare. Mr. Howcroft also served as secretary to the Chief Medical Officer in the development and implementation of the Ohio Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team (GCOAT) which developed policies in Ohio for Opioid prescribing guidelines. Mr. Howcroft has worked with Governor Mike DeWine’s office to develop provider education programs on opioids.  Mr. Howcroft’s credentials include a B.S. in biology, an M.Sc. in biology, and is a registered pharmacist in the state of Ohio. Mr. Howcroft’s education includes Xavier University in Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati and a fellow of the Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Howcroft’s interests include reading war history books, traveling and volunteering at the Ohio Pharmacist Association (OPA) and he is a long-time member of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).

In addition to its four newest members, BioCorRx’s advisory board includes:

·         David R. Gastfriend, M.D. is a psychiatrist and internationally recognized addiction treatment researcher, policy expert and technology developer

·         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.

·         George E. Woody, M.D. is a 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.

About BioCorRx Inc.

BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB: BICX) is an addiction treatment solutions company offering a unique approach to the treatment of substance use and other related disorders. Beat Addiction Recovery is a substance use disorder recovery program that typically includes BioCorRx’s proprietary Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) modules along with peer support via mobile app along with medication prescribed by an independent treating physician under their discretion. The UnCraveRx™ Weight Loss Program is also a medication assisted weight loss program; please visit www.uncraverx.com for more information on UnCraveRx™. The Company also conducts R&D under its controlled subsidiary, BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals. For more information on BICX and product pipeline, please visit www.BioCorRx.com.

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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