- Lexaria Bioscience is a global innovator in drug delivery platforms
- The company has been developing and commercializing patented DehydraTECH(TM), a technology that has been shown to increase the bioavailability of fat-soluble active molecules, improve the speed of onset and provide other benefits across multiple applications
- Lexaria has undertaken numerous R&D programs in an effort to build relationships with prospective corporate partners to out-license the technology or to form other profitable corporate relationships
- The company owes its achievements to its focus on R&D and the guidance provided by its highly experienced leadership, including CEO Chris Bunka, President John Docherty, as well as a dedicated and active board of directors
Lexaria Bioscience’s (NASDAQ: LEXX) path to becoming a global leader and innovator in drug delivery traces its origins to 2014, when CEO Chris Bunka redirected the company to its current business, focusing on the research and development (“R&D”) of the delivery of lipophilic active molecules based on its patented DehydraTECH(TM) technology. Protected by 28 granted patents worldwide, with many more pending around the world, the technology can lay claim to the potential of disrupting the drug delivery space as it is known today.
Typically, a drug delivery system is a formulation or a device that enables the introduction of a therapeutic substance into the body. It is specifically designed to improve the substance’s efficacy and safety by controlling the rate, time, and place of release of drugs in the body. Over the years, drug delivery scientists have been on a quest to improve the existing systems, leading to the introduction of nanoparticles, emulsifiers, and microalgae-based oral microcarriers (https://ibn.fm/V9lDo), just to name a few.
This quest is informed in large part by the shortcomings of existing systems. And as Lexaria has established, these systems are not particularly effective at delivering as much of the drug as possible into the bloodstream for use by the body; to put it more technically, they have low bioavailability. Additionally, the company has observed that drugs, especially fat-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”), take a considerable time to start working when delivered using the existing systems.
In light of the evident shortcomings, Lexaria has been developing DehydraTECH, a platform technology that enhances the performance of several categories of fat-soluble active molecules and drugs across oral and/or topical formats. DehydraTECH, the company explains on its website, is an additional step that is easily and seamlessly incorporated into the formulation and manufacturing process of existing or new products.
“This step involves mixing the active ingredients as a delivery ‘payload’ together with certain fatty acids, infusing the mixture into a substrate material, and then using controlled dehydration synthesis processing to associate the payload and fatty acids together at a molecular level, before integrating the newly combined molecules into end-product production across a range of dosage form factors,” the website continues (https://ibn.fm/jsri8).
The result? The improved and more rapid absorption of active molecules into the bloodstream and brain tissue. This benefit, according to Lexaria, stems from the fact that DehydraTECH works symbiotically with existing physiological systems, thus enabling better bioavailability and bio-absorption. Another result is that fat-soluble molecules processed using the DehydraTECH technology become masked to oral and olfactory receptors, rendering them mostly flavorless and odorless.
Since 2014, Lexaria has undertaken multiple R&D programs covering such DehydraTECH-processed active molecules as nicotine, cannabidiol (“CBD”), and antiviral drugs (https://ibn.fm/cObdA). These initiatives have not only proven the above results to be true but also opened up additional commercialization opportunities.
“Our applied R&D is paying off in spades because we are currently in active discussions with several multi-billion dollar companies around the world, for the potential use of Lexaria’s DehydraTECH technology in their commercial product pursuits,” Bunka wrote in the annual CEO letter to shareholders published January 2023 (https://ibn.fm/FOOVZ). “It is a direct result of our positive R&D programs that, as 2023 begins, we are actively involved in several sets of ongoing discussions and due diligence proceedings with potential corporate partners with a goal of collaboration, DehydraTECH out-licensing, or other corporate relationships.”
Additionally, the company is working toward an Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application that will seek FDA’s approval to undertake Phase 1(b) registered trial evaluating DehydraTECH-CBD as a potential treatment for hypertension. The study, which will seek to uncover the safety and tolerability of the formulation, is expected to begin this year.
Lexaria’s accomplishments so far can be attributed largely to the guidance of CEO, Chairman and Director Chris Bunka, President and Director John Docherty, and the company’s board of directors with members who have decades of experience in public and private businesses.
For instance, Dr. Catherine C. Turkel, Pharm.D, Ph.D., has over 20 years’ experience as an executive in startup and mid-size pharma or biotech companies. Having previously served as Founder and CEO of Nezee Therapeutics and President and R&D Head at Novus Therapeutics, since renamed Eledon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ELDN), she has formulated registration and commercial strategic plans and spearheaded global development programs for pharmaceutical and biologic treatments from phase 1 through phase 4 (https://ibn.fm/o3FLS). Her experience will, therefore, be invaluable as Lexaria conducts its planned FDA clinical trials.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaBioscience.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LEXX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/LEXX
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