Will Opiant See New Highs?

Shares of Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OPNT) have lost nearly 25% of their value so far this year and trade around $25.

Opiant Pharma is a commercial-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing medicines to treat addictions and drug overdose. The lead product is NARCAN nasal spray, which is approved for opioid overdose in the U.S. and Canada.

NARCAN nasal spray was licensed by Opiant to Adapt Pharma in 2014. Adapt Pharma is now a part of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS).

The company has 2 products under clinical testing and 2 products under preclinical stage.

— OPNT003, nasal nalmefene, for the treatment of opioid overdose, is under a pharmacodynamic (“PD”) study. This study is designed as a non-inferiority study comparing OPNT003 to nasal naloxone to reverse the respiratory depression produced by the synthetic opioid remifentanil, by measuring change in minute ventilation.

The pharmacodynamic study data of OPNT003 is anticipated this quarter.

In a confirmatory pharmacokinetic (“PK”) study, conducted last year, OPNT003 exhibited fast absorption and high plasma concentrations that surpassed intramuscular nalmefene, as well as a comparable long duration.

The PK and PD studies support NDA submission. According to the company, OPNT003 has the potential to improve and sustain reversal of opioid overdose.

The development of OPNT003 is funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

— OPNT002, nasal naltrexone, for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder, is under a phase II trial. This study is designed to enroll approximately 300 patients at sites within the European Union and the United Kingdom, with results expected in 2023.

The preclinical products include OPNT004, for acute cannabinoid overdose, and OPNT005, for opioid use disorder.

Financial Numbers:

The company generates revenue from royalties related to net sales of NARCAN Nasal Spray for the treatment of opioid overdose by its commercial partner, Emergent BioSolutions, as well as from grants and contracts.

Sales of NARCAN Nasal Spray in the third quarter of 2021 were approximately $133.3 million, as reported by Emergent BioSolutions.

Opiant recorded about $14 million as royalty revenue from net sales of NARCAN Nasal Spray in the third quarter of 2021 compared to approximately $8.6 million in the year-ago quarter. The company’s grant and contract revenue was $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to approximately $0.5 million in the same period in 2020.

Opiant Pharma is scheduled to report fourth quarter and full-year 2021 financial results in the first week of March.

The royalty revenue from net sales of NARCAN Nasal Spray in full-year 2021 is projected to be about $38 million.

The company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $50.3 million, as of September 30, 2021.

OPNT has traded in a range of $10.00 to $37.71 in the last 1 year. The stock closed Tuesday’s trading at $25.37, up 0.83%.

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