Ethics Board Approval Granted for Lexaria's 12-Week Phase 1b DehydraTECH GLP-1 Study in Diabetes and Weight Loss
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DehydraTECH clinical test article manufacturing has been completed
Kelowna, British Columbia – TheNewswire - November 13, 2024 – Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (Nasdaq: LEXX, LEXXW) (the “Company” or “Lexaria”), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, announces it has received lead clinical site human research ethics committee (“HREC”) approval that was required before dosing can begin in the Company’s Phase 1b, 12-week chronic study GLP-1-H24-4, (the “Study”).
The Company is also announcing that clinical test article manufacturing for all planned Study arms has already been completed. This includes production for the four planned DehydraTECH formulation Study arms and clinical repackaging of the commercially available Rybelsus® comparator tablets for the Study control arm as follows:
Arm 1 – DehydraTECH-CBD capsules
Arm 2 – DehydraTECH-semaglutide capsules
Arm 3 – DehydraTECH-semaglutide combined with DehydraTECH-CBD capsules
Arm 4 – Rybelsus® tablets (positive control)
Arm 5 – DehydraTECH-tirzepatide capsules (optional arm with offset start date)
It is possible that the First Patient, First Dose (“FPFD”) Study milestone could be achieved in late December, and failing that, in January, 2025.
“We are delighted by the work of our project team in completing study documentation preparation and primary ethics board submission so quickly and efficiently,” said John Docherty, President of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. “Their nearly round-the-clock work has resulted in a rapid ethics board approval so that the study can start dosing as soon as possible. Together with our expedited manufacturing processes recently completed, we have potentially saved months of time.”
The Study is planned to be conducted using seven clinical investigational sites in Australia as a registrational Phase 1b study within Australian clinical regulatory authority regulations. HREC approval has been received for the primary clinical site, while clinical trial notification acknowledgement by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration and HREC approvals for the remaining clinical sites remain to be completed; but expected shortly now that primary site HREC approval is in hand. Quality control release testing of the clinical test articles also remains to be completed. The Study, upon completion, is expected to be equally regarded as a Phase 1b registrational study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).
About The Study
The Study is planned to commence with 20 overweight, obese, pre- or type 2 diabetic patients for each of Study arms 1-4, with the DehydraTECH-tirzepatide Study arm 5 to be added at a later date if supported by positive results from Lexaria’s separate ongoing study GLP-1-H24-3. All drugs will be administered daily by oral tablet or capsule – there are no drug injections involved in this Study.
Arms 2 and 3 of the Study will use DehydraTECH-processed pure semaglutide and will be compared to Study Arm 4 which will use Rybelsus® tablets (semaglutide) that contains Novo Nordisk’s proprietary salcoprozate sodium (“SNAC”) technology. It is a world-first that pure semaglutide processed with DehydraTECH technology without SNAC will be compared directly to SNAC-enabled Rybelsus® in a multiple week human study.
Arm 1 of the Study will utilize a proprietary, patented DehydraTECH-CBD formulation. Our 2022 diabetes animal study DIAB-A22-1, utilizing DehydraTECH-CBD evidenced weight loss of 7% and reduced blood glucose levels of 19.9%+/-7% (p<0.05) during a multi-week rodent study without the addition of any GLP-1 drugs. Lexaria is looking forward to discovering whether DehydraTECH-CBD studied alone, or together with DehydraTECH-GLP-1, in humans might offer some benefit of improved weight loss and/or reduced side effects as compared to Rybelsus® alone.
In its first-ever GLP-1 study in humans reported in January, 2024, Lexaria discovered that DehydraTECH processing of Rybelsus®-branded semaglutide, after a single dose, improved blood sugar control and reached higher levels of semaglutide measured in blood, than did Rybelsus® itself. Also, in rodent study work Lexaria has undertaken with updates reported in October, 2024, Lexaria was pleased to see comparable performance of DehydraTECH-semaglutide without SNAC to DehydraTECH-processed Rybelsus® formulations including SNAC; which Lexaria previously reported may be due to DehydraTECH preserving similar molecular properties in the gut for ingested semaglutide as have been shown to be integral to SNAC-enabled semaglutide gut absorption.
Lexaria has several important objectives for this Study:
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Is DehydraTECH processed CBD and/or semaglutide safe over the Study duration in the Study population?
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Does DehydraTECH-(pure)semaglutide outperform Rybelsus®-semaglutide with its proprietary SNAC technology in measures of blood sugar control or weight loss?
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Does DehydraTECH processing enhance real world outcomes such as weight loss and blood sugar control over the Study duration?
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Does DehydraTECH processing of pure semaglutide evidence reduced side effects during daily dosing for 12 weeks, as DehydraTECH processing of Rybelsus® seemed to achieve in a prior human study utilizing one single daily dose?
About Lexaria Bioscience Corp. & DehydraTECH
DehydraTECH™ is Lexaria’s patented drug delivery formulation and processing platform technology which improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) enter the bloodstream through oral delivery. Since 2016, Lexaria has developed and investigated DehydraTECH with a variety of beneficial molecules in oral and topical formats. DehydraTECH has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to increase bio-absorption and has also evidenced an ability to deliver some drugs more effectively across the blood brain barrier, which Lexaria believes to be of particular importance for centrally active compounds. Lexaria operates a licensed in-house research laboratory and holds a robust intellectual property portfolio with 46 patents granted and many patents pending worldwide. For more information, please visit www.lexariabioscience.com.
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This press release includes forward-looking statements. Statements as such term is defined under applicable securities laws. These statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and other similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements by the company relating the Company’s ability to carry out research initiatives, receive regulatory approvals or grants or experience positive effects or results from any research or study. Such forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting the Company's best judgment based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that the Company will actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements. As such, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the Company include, but are not limited to, government regulation and regulatory approvals, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition, scientific discovery, the patent application and approval process, potential adverse effects arising from the testing or use of products utilizing the DehydraTECH technology, the Company’s ability to maintain existing collaborations and realize the benefits thereof, delays or cancellations of planned R&D that could occur related to pandemics or for other reasons, and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements and periodic filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR. The Company provides links to third-party websites only as a courtesy to readers and disclaims any responsibility for the thoroughness, accuracy or timeliness of information at third-party websites. There is no assurance that any of Lexaria’s postulated uses, benefits, or advantages for the patented and patent-pending technology will in fact be realized in any manner or in any part. No statement herein has been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Lexaria-associated products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or links to third-party websites contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
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