Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (Nasdaq: LEXX) announced the engagement of a contract research organization to execute and report on its Human Pilot Study #7 (GLP-1-H26-7), which will evaluate two oral DehydraTECH-semaglutide (DHT-sema) compositions against commercially available Wegovy® tablets. Contracts have been signed, and submissions are being prepared to obtain ethics approval from an independent review board.
The study is designed as a 5-week parallel group investigation with three arms to assess safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. It will compare salcaprozate sodium (SNAC)-inclusive DHT-sema tablet and capsule formulations to Wegovy® tablets under fasted pre-dose conditions. Lexaria hopes to preserve the superior safety and tolerability profiles observed in previous GLP-1 studies, such as GLP-1-H25-4, combined with PK performance matching or exceeding that of commercial oral tablet brands Rybelsus® and Wegovy®.
This study introduces two key innovations. First, it marks the first time Lexaria has developed an oral DHT-sema tablet, mimicking properties of Novo Nordisk’s Rybelsus® and Wegovy® tablets, which are designed to adhere to the stomach lining and facilitate absorption. Second, both the DHT-sema tablet and capsule test articles are formulated with SNAC, evaluated over a multi-dose, multi-week period for the first time. The 5-week duration is expected to reach steady-state drug concentrations, unlike earlier single-dose studies.
If successful, the results will add to Lexaria’s data set aimed at generating interest from pharmaceutical partners seeking to license the proprietary DehydraTECH technology. The study is fully funded from existing resources, and Lexaria will update stakeholders once ethics board approval is obtained, allowing patient recruitment to begin.
DehydraTECH is Lexaria’s patented drug delivery platform that improves oral bioavailability, reduces side effects, and enhances drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier. The company holds 65 patents and operates a licensed in-house research laboratory. For more information, visit www.lexariabioscience.com.
