Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (Nasdaq: LEXX, LEXXW) announced successful results from a rodent biodistribution study showing that its DehydraTECH processing of semaglutide leads to higher levels of the drug in the brain compared to conventional oral semaglutide formulations. The study used fluorescently tagged semaglutide (FTS) to track distribution in rats, revealing that DehydraTECH-FTS compositions achieved predominantly higher brain fluorescent signal intensity across all doses tested, with the 5mg DehydraTECH dose outperforming even the 15mg Rybelsus® equivalent composition.
Further brain sectioning into sagittal slices allowed visualization of key regions where semaglutide interacts, including the brainstem, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, and circumventricular organs. All three DehydraTECH doses showed fluorescence above control groups, while only the highest Rybelsus equivalent dose surpassed controls. This finding is significant because GLP-1 drug performance is increasingly understood to involve brain neurochemistry. Semaglutide regulates body weight through direct and indirect activation of GLP-1 receptors on brain nuclei affecting food intake, reward, and energy expenditure. Studies in rodents also suggest that GLP-1 analogs acting on the brain can suppress appetite without causing nausea, a common side effect of current therapies.
John Docherty, Lexaria President and CSO, noted that the company has previously observed higher brain levels with DehydraTECH-processed ingredients in rodent studies, correlating with superior safety and efficacy. The new fluorescent imaging evidence with DehydraTECH-semaglutide may help explain performance benefits seen in related human clinical testing. Lexaria’s technology has repeatedly shown the ability to increase bio-absorption, reduce side effects, and deliver drugs more effectively across the blood-brain barrier, as detailed on their website at https://www.lexariabioscience.com.
The study suggests that DehydraTECH-FTS composition, lacking Rybelsus excipients, may enable unique delivery enhancements in brain tissue, potentially supporting improved pharmacodynamic performance. Future testing may explore combining DehydraTECH with Rybelsus excipients, given that marked safety and efficacy improvements were evidenced with DehydraTECH-processed Rybelsus over Rybelsus alone in previous human pilot studies (GLP-1-H24-1 and GLP-1-H24-2). Lexaria considers these early-stage results highly encouraging for additional research and industry partnerships to produce safer and more effective GLP-1 drugs.
The preclinical pilot study used single oral gavage dosing in Sprague Dawley rats, with imaging up to 24 hours post-dosing. Semaglutide was tagged with cyanine 7 fluorophore for near-infrared visualization. Tissue collection for ex vivo imaging and analysis included histopathological evaluation and immunofluorescence assays. Key tissues expressing GLP-1R were examined, including brain, pancreas, lung, kidney, liver, and heart. A total of 25 rats were used, with 22 allocated to dosing groups and 3 as naïve controls. The study was performed by an independent animal research facility, and conclusions were qualitative due to the pilot nature.
