$LXRP --- NEWS RELEASE https://virtual-str
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NEWS RELEASE
https://virtual-strategy.com/2020/10/13/lexar...hydratech/
The Oral Bioavailability Problem While a host of antiviral drugs exist or are under development today, many of them are hindered by poor water solubility which, in turn, results in their poor absorption and uptake by the body if taken orally. The reason for this is because the human gastrointestinal system is designed to absorb nutrients and other ingested compounds that are primarily water soluble rather than fat soluble or “lipophilic.” And, compounding this problem, the human gastrointestinal system is further designed to channel most compounds it absorbs through the liver for detoxification prior to entry into the bloodstream, which functions as another absorption impediment for many antiviral drugs if taken orally. In concert, these physiological limitations can result in low oral bioavailability for many antiviral drugs, interfering with how well they can reach the bloodstream after ingestion and, in turn, frequently limiting their overall therapeutic effectiveness (Ford et al., 2020).
To attempt to overcome this, oral antiviral medications often have to be given at high doses which can result in a variety of unwanted side effects including diarrhea, headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, drowsiness, dizziness, vision changes, difficulty breathing and other bodily dysfunctions.
Alternatively, in some cases it is necessary to administer antiviral medications by way of needle injection for easier access to the bloodstream circumventing the gastrointestinal absorption limitations. Remdesivir is one such example of an antiviral medication administered by injection instead of orally for this reason. However, injectable administration requires involvement of a medical practitioner which may not be easily accessible for the masses, usually increases cost of a medicine and often means that the product format isn’t as stable or requires special storage and handling considerations relative to oral medications.
Introducing DehydraTECH™ – Effective Oral Delivery for Poorly Water Soluble Drugs DehydraTECH is a patented formulation processing technology developed by Lexaria Bioscience Corp. and licensed to its wholly owned subsidiary Lexaria Pharmaceutical Corp. that has been shown to enhance the performance of lipophilic drugs in oral ingestible products by way of increased rate and extent of intestinal bioabsorption and delivery to target tissues.
DehydraTECH is believed to accomplish this by effecting a temporary molecular association between a given drug compound of interest and certain long chain triglyceride (LCT) ingestible oils, such as oleic acid rich sunflower oil, so that the physiological absorption benefits of the LCTs are conferred upon the drug compound. In particular, LCTs are known to be absorbed intestinally by a specialized process in concert with biliary excretions in the human gut that results in their rapid channeling into the bloodstream bypassing metabolism by the liver (Zgair et al., 2016; Reddy and Murthy, 2002).
In short, DehydraTECH is thought to enable delivery of lipophilic drugs in effect as “payload” compounds in tow with the LCTs that power DehydraTECH formulations. DehydraTECH formulations have been prepared with a range of lipophilic beneficial molecules of interest and administered orally to animals and humans to investigate their absorption and pharmacological performance enhancing attributes. Active ingredients formulated and/or evaluated to date with the DehydraTECH technology have included cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol, terpenoids, nicotine polacrilex, ibuprofen, geraniol, catachin and sildenafil citrate. For example, oral DehydraTECH formulations of CBD have been studied demonstrating as high as an 811% increase in CBD blood perfusion in animals overall and as high as a 317% increase within the first 30 minutes of administration in human volunteers without any safety or tolerability concerns (Patrician et al., 2019).
DehydraTECH™ Antiviral Research Underway Based on Lexaria’s success to date in developing and commercializing DehydraTECH oral product formats for other lipophilic drug compounds, is actively investigating its prospective utility to improve the bioavailability of antiviral drug candidates.
Studies underway and/or in the planning stages include pilot testing in human volunteers to determine the rate and extent of bioavailability enhancement for certain repurposed antiviral medications upon oral administration, as well as testing to follow that will evaluate if this translates into increased effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 and/or other infections in appropriate laboratory and animal models.
If successful, the Company intends to make its DehydraTECH technology available to prospective research partners throughout the world looking to maximize the effectiveness of their own drug investigations with a view to enabling development of safe, effective and readily commercially accessible/viable oral antiviral medications against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, whether for 4 repurposed existing drugs and/or for new emerging drug candidates. Furthermore, as noted above, Lexaria has previously demonstrated utility of its DehydraTECH technology for formulating drugs with known anti-inflammatory properties like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and CBD. Therefore, the Company also envisions its technology being useful for the development of multi-pronged therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases where reduction in viral load together with mitigation of the human innate immunological inflammatory response may be necessary in concert to improve therapeutic outcomes for patients.
Conclusion
In summary, Lexaria believes that its DehydraTECH technology has the potential to significantly increase bioavailability for many oral antiviral medications. This, in turn, is expected to make oral antiviral drugs work more effectively for better therapeutic outcomes and at lower doses than are otherwise necessary in order to minimize unwanted side effects. Furthermore, this may also make the oral route of administration a viable alternative to injection for certain antiviral medications which could lead to better cost effectiveness and wider availability without the added complexity of formulating and administering injectable preparations.
Finally, Lexaria believes that its DehydraTECH technology has the added potential to help treat serious viral conditions like COVID-19 by enabling improved anti-inflammatory drug delivery and effectiveness, which may prove to be of critical importance to decrease disease severity together with reducing viral load with antiviral therapies.
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