What happened
Shares of Scilex Holding (NASDAQ: SCLX) were up 39.7% this week as of Thursday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock closed at $7.60 last Friday and hit a high of $11.16 on Thursday, just shy of its 52-week high of $11.17, before closing the day at $10.62. Scilex is up more than 5% since it began trading on the Nasdaq on Nov. 10.
So what
Scilex develops non-opioid treatments for acute and chronic pain. The healthcare company is majority owned by Sorrento Therapeutics, and there have been rumors of a potential buyout.
Scilex announced on Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its board of directors had adopted a plan to offer stock options to attract top employees.
The company's shares were already on the upswing after it said on Jan. 3 that it expected between $37 million to $42 million in annual revenue in 2022, compared to $31.3 million in 2021. That surge was led by Ztlido, whose sales were expected to be between $93 million and $98 million in 2022, up 53% over 2021. Ztlido treats postherpetic neuralgia, a burning pain caused by shingles.
Now what
Scilex's other approved therapy, Gloperba, to treat gout flare-ups, could be worth as much as $8.3 billion a year in revenue, the company said, while Ztlido's annual revenue could be $1.9 billion.
It also has two more therapies that could be on the way in the next few years. SP-102, to treat lumbar radicular sciatica pain, is in phase 3 trials, and SP-103, a topical lidocaine system to treat acute back pain, is in a phase 2 trial.
While Scilex isn't likely to be profitable soon, it has a big enough pipeline that revenue should keep growing.
