Shares of Spherix Inc. spex soared 21% in active morning trading Friday, after the biotechnology company said it executed an exclusive option agreement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore for the technology in the patent for "Methods of Treating Coronavirus Infection." Trading volume swelled to 2.2 million shares, already more than the full-day average of 1.2 million shares. The company said the invention was made with support awarded by the National Institutes of Health, which has certain rights in the invention. Under terms of the option, Spherix said it has until the end of May to execute a license agreement for commercial development. The stock has lost 23% over the past three months, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB, -0.38% has slipped 2.5% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.84% has shed 6.9%.