Benzinga | Nov 1, 2021 09:02AM EDT

Lexaria Bioscience Reports R&D Program To Compare Prescription Cannabidiol

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX)(NASDAQ:LEXXW) (the "Company" or "Lexaria"), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, has commenced an important new study exploring whether DehydraTECHTM-CBD evidences superior ability to inhibit seizure activity compared to both generic cannabidiol ("CBD") and Epidiolex.

Epidiolex is the first and only FDA-approved CBD medication for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of paediatric epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

Experts in respirology and neurobiology are among the talented team assembled to conduct the study which is designed to investigate if DehydraTECH-CBD has similar or superior levels of efficacy in treating seizures as does the world's only CBD-based seizure medication, Epidiolex. Lexaria's seizure program has been developed due to the significant gains in systemic delivery and brain uptake that Lexaria has repeatedly evidenced and announced from other studies comparing DehydraTECH-CBD with concentration-matched controls, which it believes has potential to improve therapeutic efficacy for a range of disease conditions affecting the central nervous system including epilepsy.

Epidiolex was developed by GW Pharmaceuticals plc ("GW") and is now sold by Jazz Pharmaceuticals ("Jazz") subsequent to the 2021 US$7.2 billion takeover of GW by Jazz.

Animal study EPIL-A21-1 has entered early-stage preparatory work and results are expected by Q3 2022. This animal study is being conducted by a leading US-based independent laboratory using advanced DehydraTECH 2.0 formulations and is fully funded through existing Lexaria resources.

In other developments, Lexaria is pleased to report its first patent award for DehydraTECH in Mexico. The patent award protects Lexaria's proprietary DehydraTECH for use with cannabinoids and nicotine. The Company has also been awarded another patent in Japan for the use of DehydraTECH utilizing non-psychoactive cannabinoids, nicotine, vitamins, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ("NSAID") substances. This latest patent award in Japan becomes Lexaria's 5th patent awarded in 2021. Lexaria's patented DehydraTECH currently benefits from 23 granted patents in the countries of the USA, Australia, the European Union, India, Japan, and Mexico. Lexaria continues to build its intellectual property portfolio in these and other countries.