(Image via Lexaria Bioscience Corp.)
Canadian bioscience Company
Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX, CSE: LXX, NASDAQ: LEXXW, Forum) has
been busy these last few months preparing the results from studies that have seen many positive outcomes, some of which may have relevance both for the therapeutic indications of the drugs that were studied as well as for additional antiviral drugs within their classes for indications including and beyond COVID-19.
In mid June 2021, LEXX released positive results from its tolerability and pharmacokinetic (PK) animal study VIRAL-A20-2, evaluating DehydraTECH-enabled remdesivir and ebastine. Recently, the Company discovered that remdesivir and ebastine processed with DehydraTECH were effective at inhibiting the COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 virus using an in vitro screening assay in infected cells in its study VIRAL-C21-3.
Lexaria’s Chief Executive Officer, Chris Bunka explained
in a news release that these were the best results Lexaria has ever generated demonstrating the technology’s ability to more effectively deliver antiviral drugs when taken orally.
“We are starting to see circulating drug levels in the bloodstream that are twice or even three-times higher with DehydraTECH than without, which could greatly enhance opportunities to treat viral infections via oral drug delivery.”
This drug delivery technology, DehydraTECH, improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) enter the bloodstream by promoting healthier ingestion methods and increasing the effectiveness of fat-soluble active molecules, which also means lower dosing overall. There are many different ingestible product formats where this clinically proven technology can be applied to, from drugs, foods, beverages, oral suspensions, tablets, capsules and more.
According to the Company, DehydraTECH can increase bio-absorption by up to 5-10 times, while also reducing time of onset from 1 - 2 hours to just minutes and can even mask unwanted tastes for orally administered bioactive molecules, including anti-virals, cannabinoids, vitamins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), nicotine, and other molecules.
Building upon this, CEO Bunka also noted in
a media release published earlier this month detailing this news that the main purpose of the study was to confirm that Lexaria's DehydraTECH formulation and processing methodology did not negate the known antiviral efficacy of these compounds before proceeding to larger, planned in vivo efficacy testing.
“These preliminary findings evidenced SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory performance commensurate with our expectations warranting ongoing and further investigation in animal testing.”
The gains in delivery for remdesivir and ebastine were even better than what the Company reported back in December for efavirenz (42% gain) and darunavir (35% gain), two other antiviral drugs investigated by Lexaria representative of two classes of antiviral therapies (a protease inhibitor and a reverse transcriptase inhibitor) under investigation against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and already in use against HIV/AIDS.
Lexaria’s success does not stop there. The Company also provided
a progress report on several studies within its 2021 applied research and development (R&D) program, such as:
- VIRAL-A20-2 – A tolerability and PK study in animals using antiviral drugs remdesivir and ebastine.
- VIRAL-A20-3 - An additional tolerability and PK study in animals evaluating AUC for 3 other antiviral drugs.
- VIRAL-MC21-1 – A molecular characterization (“MC”) study being performed by Canada’s National Research Council.
- HYPER-A21-1 and HYPER-A21-2 – Follow on blood pressure testing in animals pursuant to previously reported successful PK study findings.
- NSAID-A21-1 – A tolerability and PK study in animals evaluating ibuprofen and naproxen.
- Oral Nicotine: NIC-C21-1 (now NIC-A21-1) – A tolerability and PK study in animals evaluating oral nicotine.
Lexaria also recently reported that treatment and dosing in its human clinical study (HYPER-H21-1) have been completed ahead of schedule.
HYPER-H21-1 focused on testing DehydraTECH-enabled cannabidiol (CBD) for potential use as a hypertension treatment alternative. Twenty-four human volunteers aged 45 to 65 were dosed within this study, all of whom tolerated treatment well with no serious adverse events or side effects observed or reported.
Via an
early June 2021 news release, CEO Bunka explained that completing this work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging and we acknowledge and commend the dedication and work ethic of our Europe-based research partners and all parties involved.
“Blood samples from the study volunteers will be shipped this week to our U.S. and Canadian analytical testing laboratory partners, and we expect to complete all sample and data analyses and reporting ahead of schedule, by July or August instead of the end of Q3 as previously indicated.”
Lexaria relies on applied R&D programs to generate confirmatory results and data evidencing improved drug delivery characteristics that enable the pursuit of commercial opportunities and/or corporate relationships.
As such, Lexaria considers advancing these applied R&D studies to be a vital early step towards its goal of establishing commercial relationships with potential industry partners to utilize DehydraTECH within their existing product lines or in the development of new product lines.
Operating out of its federally licensed research laboratory, Lexaria holds a robust intellectual property portfolio, with 19 patents granted and over 50 patent applications pending around the world. All studies are fully funded and performed by independent third-party testing laboratories.
Should Lexaria’s technology prove it could enhance the delivery characteristics of several antiviral drugs, this could provide incalculable gains to its shareholders.
For more information, visit
lexariabioscience.com.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.