Benzinga | Nov 10, 2021 09:10AM EST

Lexaria 2022 R&D Programs To Include Investigations Into Alzheimer's Disease And Diabetes

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX)(NASDAQ:LEXXW) (the "Company" or "Lexaria"), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, announces its plans for several new and ongoing DehydraTECHTM applied R&D programs for 2022. The studies mentioned herein are only a fraction of Lexaria's 2022 work programs.

"Calendar 2022 will continue to see significant milestones in utilizing DehydraTECH-CBD for investigation of heart disease and hypertension; and separately, for oral nicotine delivery as an alternative to smoking", said Chris Bunka, CEO of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. "We are delighted to announce that DehydraTECH as an enhanced drug delivery platform will also be evaluated for characteristics and potential treatment options for hormone replacement, dementia, rheumatoid disease and diabetes."

Heart disease is the #1 killer in the US, responsible for the deaths of 659,000 Americans each year; and cigarette smoking is the #3 killer in the US, responsible for the deaths of 480,000 Americans per year. Lexaria continues its unwavering commitment to lessening the loss of life in these areas and will detail these advanced work programs in the heart disease and nicotine sectors in separate communications.

During 2022, Lexaria will also be conducting pharmacokinetic ("PK") and efficacy modelling studies in animals to evaluate DehydraTECH's ability to improve the delivery characteristics of many other drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients ("APIs") and determine whether there might be commercial benefit to continue with further pursuit within different market sectors. The following studies are part of approximately 12 applied R&D programs planned for 2022 (tentative start dates are included):

HOR-A22-1 April, 2022. This PK study will evaluate the ability of DehydraTECH to enhance the delivery characteristics of estrogen. Estrogen helps to control the menstrual cycle but also controls cholesterol and protects bone health. The hormone replacement market is estimated at $46.5 billion in 2027.

DEM-A22-1 July, 2022. This efficacy study will evaluate DehydraTECH-CBD with and without nicotine for the potential treatment of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and accounts for at least 60% of all cases, and nicotine is already showing promising results related to Alzheimer's treatment. An estimated 55 million people worldwide are currently affected by dementia, with 78 million expected to be living with some form of dementia by 2030. The dementia drug treatment market is estimated at $19.6 billion in 2026.

RHEUM-A22-1 October, 2022. This efficacy study will focus on the ability of DehydraTECH-CBD to potentially affect treatment of rheumatoid disease. Given CBD's postulated efficacy related to inflammation, Lexaria will explore a possible role for CBD in this area of investigation. Rheumatic diseases are autoimmune and inflammatory diseases that cause the immune system to attack joints, bones, muscles and organs. There are over 100 rheumatic diseases including Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and more. The Rheumatoid Arthritis therapeutics market alone is expected to be over $30 billion per year by 2025.

DIAB-A22-1 November, 2022. This efficacy study will explore the ability of DehydraTECH-CBD to potentially affect treatment of diabetes. Diabetes prevents the body from making enough insulin, resulting in abnormal blood sugar levels. Diabetes is the 7th largest cause of death in the US and there is currently no cure. Investigation of CBD related to diabetes is in early stages, though there are some areas of ongoing investigation. CBD has shown some ability to reduce the incidence of diabetes in mice. The prescription drug market used to treat diabetes is expected to be a $77.9 billion global market in 2024.

Lexaria raised approximately USD$15 million in funding during 2021 which has enabled the active work programs of 2021 and supported significant advances in the fields of heart disease, oral nicotine, and antiviral research. Lexaria's budget for applied R&D during 2022 is fully funded and includes each of the R&D programs noted within this press release. Lexaria's objective for its R&D programs is to build significant value for all Lexaria stakeholders while pursuing policies for significant improvements to human health.

Lexaria is debt free and expects its current cash reserves to meet all its needs until at least Q2, 2023. Lexaria plans to seek strategic corporate business partners for many of its specific drug investigations after sufficient data has been generated which, if successful, could generate any combination of up-front, milestone, and/or royalty payments to Lexaria.

In other news, Lexaria has engaged Barretto Pacific Corporation to provide various investor relations related services for compensation of USD$56,000 for the first four months, and USD$12,000 per month thereafter for the remainder of the 1-year term. Lexaria has also retained the consulting services of Mei Kuo for a 3-month period ending January 08, 2022, for public relations, marketing and similar related services in return for payment of USD$15,000 per month. No stock or options have or will be issued in relation to either contract.