The Next Axcella (AXLA) Squeeze --> Bioxytran (BIXT)

Axcella Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AXLA) mesmerized investors yesterday with news of a patent to treat fatigue in Long COVID. The short squeeze setup was a thing of beauty. Bioxtytran Inc (OTCMKTS: BIXT) is poised to be the next Long COVID stock to squeeze. On August 3, 2023 the company gave a corporate update that said they were exploring “strategic alternatives” and indicated that their leading drug candidate AXA1125 was their focus. At the time of the announcement the stock was trading around $.19 and then slumped almost daily until it reached a bottom $.105. Driving the slump was the short narrative that there was a real possibility that the company was going to “terminate operations” but the 1 for 25 reverse stock split proposal might have also been a drag. Here is a quote from the corporate update that might have fueled the speculation.

“If a strategic process is unsuccessful, the Company may be unable to continue operations at planned levels and be forced to further reduce or terminate operations.”

While the shorts were banking on dilution due to the reverse, they didn’t realize that the company was very serious about their strategic option, which has yet to be unveiled. When the announcement of the patent came, the shorts were caught and had no way out except to cover squeezing the stock higher. The patent of composition of their amino acid formulation of AXA1125 for fatigue in Long Covid is significant and protects big pharma from knocking them off but it doesn't stop others from pursuing the indication.One of the things the shorts may have overlooked is one of the investigators behind the clinical trials in NASH is none other than Dr. Stephen Harrison. He is a former Army colonel who has made a name for himself and is a key opinion leader in NASH. He really understands the disease and the fibrotic pathway and was also instrumental in Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GALT) clinical trials. Given the strong P2 interim data, Dr. Harrison would unlikely let this technology fall by the wayside. Long Covid is a very complicated disease with little to no guidance on endpoints from the FDA or tests to diagnose the disease. It is for these reasons that AXLA needs a partner that has the regulatory know-how to design and run the registrational trial. The company has a Phase 2b/3 ready asset for the Long COVID Fatigue indication in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Now that the patent is secure, big pharma will be willing to pay up and potentially in the billions because the company has strong P2 data in both NASH and Long Covid. The $100+ million market cap is just scratching the surface of what big pharma would and could pay for this asset. The science behind their amino acid cocktail is largely based on the strong data in their NASH trial, which also deals with the fibrotic process that leads to NASH. Some types of Long Covid are characterized by fibrosis of the lung, which drives the cascade of less oxygen and, therefore, less energy for the cells leading to the fatigue that is so common in Long Covid sufferers. Their The company has a September 11 Stockholders meeting. The stock could run into the meeting as investors speculate on the closing of a strategic deal that would be announced at the shareholder meeting. There is always the risk that one of the strategic alternatives is an offering, but it is highly unlikely before the reverse split vote and without an S-1 or S-3 offering on file. If this were a reasonable possibility, the stock wouldn't have squeezed so much. The Next SqueezeBioxytran Inc. has approval to proceed with their intravenous Long Covid drug and they make a convincing presentation that they could very well be the standard of care in Long Covid if they can get their trial started. Since BIXT also has the proven galectin technology, they should also have a better valuation. They claim to have an impact on Long COVID regardless of cause because galectins are at the root of all of the key theories behind COVID. Like AXLA, BIXT has 100% ownership of the intellectual property of their molecules but unlike AXLA, their technology can’t be copied by big pharma. Big pharma has no galectin manufacturing expertise at all. After BIXT finishes its safety data for ProLectin-I the Long COVID and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) drug they could get a monster partnership. Regarding share count, AXLA has about 74 million shares in the O/S versus 132 million but many shares are held by BIXT insiders and restricted. There is a very loyal shareholder base at BIXT, so if any volume comes in the stock could see massive swings higher. Many investors have shunned COVID stocks but the virus is clearly on the rise again and poised to cause havoc. BIXT is one of the last COVID stocks standing, but what makes them unique is the drug actually works and is more of a cure as it neutralizes the spike proteins on contact. This is why it had results of 88% viral clearance in 3 days. Think about it. You get sick, feel better within the day, and then return to work three days later because you are PCR-negative. This drug could have done billions and displaced big pharma long ago if they didn't have such a hold over the drug development money that BIXT has been struggling to get. In a head-to-head comparison against Paxlovid, this picture is a thousand words. How much better is this ProLectin-M compared to this $22 billion dollar selling drug that probably doesn't work on the latest variants? BIXT is really a cult stock for any investors sick of big pharma and their shenanigans making drugs that just work okay instead of curing the disease. At the Emerging Growth conference, BIXT latest interview presentation spells it out in plain man language using the dandelion analogy. BIXT makes drugs that pull dandelions out by the roots, whereas big pharma makes drugs that twist off the tops so it comes back over and over again.

Investment Summary

There is more in the tank for AXLA on a fundamental basis because they appear to be the leader in NASH and Long Covid Fatigue which are multibillion dollar indications. Now BIXT has almost the same set up as AXLA and went down to that same low teens price and is starting to see an uptick. BIXT stock has one of the largest insider ownerships in biotech well over 50% which means the float is very very thin and the stock could run. In the past BIXT has attracted some sellers but for the most part they are gone. Just look at the low print, the stock traded 40K shares at the annual low and has rebounded nicely. The thing is no large YouTube influencers like Brendan Guastaferro or Moon Market really know about this stock and its low float otherwise they would have run it. To date only Stock Wizard did an interview on BIXT. On a fundamental basis BIXT clearly has the best technology for Long COVID and COVID but isn't getting the credit it deserves because up until a month ago, COVID was over. The new surge and two different variants have gotten people's attention who are starting to realize it's getting very real as the entire American population has no immune protection against COVID. Now that the COVID dust has settled, it's safe to say that BIXT is the last early-stage therapy standing and one of only 2 drugs in the past decade that got a 100% responders rate in a clinical trial. This is a testament to the incredible efficacy of the drug. Investors need to wake up and get a slice of this multi-billion company cheap before the increasing number of COVID cases reminds us that we could actually profit off of COVID stocks again. On the next COVID surge there is a scarcity of COVID stocks to invest in, AXLA and BIXT are the best ways to play a resurgence in COVID-19. Investors interested in spreading the risk, some honorable mentions include Todos Medical (OTCMKTS: TOMDF), Aethelon Medical (NASDAQ: AEMD), and Veru Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VERU).

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Disclosure: Insider Financial and its owners do not have a position in the stocks posted and have posted this article for free without editorial input. A guest contributor wrote this article and solely reflects his opinions.