BioCorRx Inc. (OTC: BICX), a developer of treatment support programs for substance use disorders, announced the appointment of Richard J. Baum to its Strategic Advisory Board. Baum is a former Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and former Executive Director of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. His nearly three decades of federal experience arrive as the company pushes forward with both an FDA-approved medication for opioid withdrawal and an investigational implant for methamphetamine use disorder.
During 28 years at ONDCP, Baum served across six presidential administrations and helped shape federal responses to evolving drug threats, including the opioid crisis. His expertise spans treatment and recovery policy, prevention, public safety, interagency coordination, and collaboration with state and local partners. That background is expected to be directly relevant as BioCorRx advances LUCEMYRA® (lofexidine), an FDA-approved non-opioid medication indicated for the mitigation of opioid withdrawal symptoms to facilitate abrupt opioid discontinuation in adults, and BICX104, the company’s investigational biodegradable naltrexone implant technology.
The appointment carries significance beyond a routine advisory role. It signals BioCorRx’s intent to position its treatment portfolio within the broader continuum of care and to engage more effectively with treatment and recovery organizations, public health agencies, healthcare systems, justice-system partners, and policymakers. In an era of increasingly dangerous polysubstance use, particularly involving illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine, such policy expertise could help the company navigate regulatory and access barriers that often determine whether evidence-based treatments reach patients.
“Rich has spent his career at the intersection of drug policy, public health, treatment, and public safety, and we are honored to welcome him to BioCorRx,” said Lourdes Felix, Chief Executive Officer of BioCorRx Inc. “His deep understanding of how policy translates into real-world treatment access will be invaluable as we work to expand awareness of evidence-based approaches to addiction treatment and thoughtfully position our programs within the broader continuum of care.”
Baum emphasized the company’s alignment with urgent public health needs. “I am pleased to join BioCorRx as a strategic advisor at a time when the country continues to face significant challenges related to opioid use, addiction treatment, and recovery,” he said. “BioCorRx is working across several important points in the treatment continuum, including managing opioid withdrawal symptoms with LUCEMYRA. In an era of increasingly dangerous polysubstance use, particularly involving illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine, I am also encouraged by the Company’s research evaluating BICX104, an investigational long-duration naltrexone implantable pellet, as a potential treatment for methamphetamine use disorder. I look forward to helping BioCorRx position these approaches within a comprehensive, evidence-based system of care that expands treatment access, supports retention, and improves long-term recovery.”
The stakes are considerable. According to the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 4.0 million people in the United States aged 12 or older had an opioid use disorder in the past year, while approximately 2.7 million reported using methamphetamine in the past year and over 15 million have used it at least once. Methamphetamine use disorder is associated with cognitive impairment, psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and psychosis, cardiovascular damage, and severe dental disease. BICX104 is being evaluated in an ongoing NIDA-supported clinical study, alone and in combination with bupropion, as a potential treatment for methamphetamine use disorder. A new clinical study commenced in January 2026, with additional studies planned.
Baum is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, author of Inside America’s Opioid Crisis: 12 Hard Lessons for Today’s Drug War, and a member of the United Against Fentanyl Board of Directors. His writing on the opioid crisis has also appeared in The Lancet. For more information on BioCorRx and its subsidiary pipeline, visit www.BioCorRx.com. Information on the company’s UnCraveRx® Weight Loss Program is available at www.uncraverx.com. The original release is available at www.newmediawire.com.
