Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (LEXX) delivered some promising news Tuesday about its experimental oral GLP-1 medication, showing it can dramatically reduce side effects compared to the current market standard. The biotech company completed a Phase 1b study in Australia testing its DehydraTECH formulation against Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Rybelsus, the world's only approved oral GLP-1 drug for diabetes.
The headline finding? Lexaria's formulation cut total adverse events by nearly half. That's the kind of result that gets attention in a drug class notorious for making people feel pretty miserable, especially in the early weeks of treatment.
The Study Results
"We are extremely pleased to not only have successfully achieved our primary endpoint," said Richard Christopher, CEO of Lexaria, "but to have also demonstrated obvious superiority in reducing unwanted side effects by as much as approximately half as compared to the world's only approved oral-based GLP-1 medication, Rybelsus."
The 12-week treatment study, followed by a four-week monitoring period, evaluated four different DehydraTECH formulations against Rybelsus. All four experimental versions met the primary safety endpoint, proving safe and well-tolerated. But the star performer was DehydraTECH-semaglutide, which delivered the most dramatic reductions in unwanted effects.
The numbers tell the story: a 47.9% reduction in total adverse events and a statistically significant 54.9% drop in gastrointestinal side effects compared to Rybelsus. Anyone who's ever dealt with GLP-1 medications knows those GI issues are often the reason people quit treatment, so this isn't just a statistical curiosity.
On the efficacy front, DehydraTECH-semaglutide achieved comparable HbA1c reduction to Rybelsus, which measures blood sugar control over time. That's the primary goal for diabetes treatment, and matching the approved drug is exactly what you want to see.
The less impressive news? Weight loss performance favored Rybelsus at both the 12-week and 16-week checkpoints across all DehydraTECH formulations. That pattern held consistent with earlier interim results at eight weeks.
What Comes Next
Lexaria believes its DehydraTECH-semaglutide formulation deserves further development, but the company isn't moving forward with the exact formula tested here. Instead, future studies will incorporate salcaprozate sodium, known as SNAC, which appeared in earlier human trials but was excluded from this particular study.
The company is now evaluating options for follow-on clinical testing that would pit a DehydraTECH plus SNAC plus semaglutide combination against Rybelsus. This next-generation formulation would build on findings from three separate studies, creating a more complete picture of what the technology can achieve.
Meanwhile, Lexaria has a Material Transfer Agreement with an undisclosed pharmaceutical company that's been extended through April 30, 2026. Once the final dataset from this study is delivered, that partner will have time to review everything and decide on next steps.
Price Action: LEXX shares closed down 7.42% at $0.63 on Tuesday.