DehydraTECH with Antivirals for COVID-19
In two studies first announced December 22, 2020, Lexaria will be testing four additional antiviral drugs currently in use for various applications as detailed below. Those drugs include remdesivir, a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (or, "NtRTI") and three additional drugs known to target the main protease associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The first of these studies VIRAL-A20-2, has completed its initial design phase, the contract has been entered with the third party laboratory that will be performing the work, and animal dosing is expected to occur in February/March with results in May/June followed by analysis and reporting when completed. The second of these two studies (VIRAL-A20-3) is still in the initial design planning stages and the Company will provide updates on its status as this work progresses.
Also referenced in Lexaria's announcement of December 22, 2020 was a planned study to evaluate the relative antiviral activity of certain DehydraTECH formulations in an effort to kill the virus in an established cell culture model of SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. This is study VIRAL-C21-3 and the contract is in place and design aspects are nearly complete with the third-party laboratory that will be performing this work, which is expected to be underway in March, with results in May/June followed by analysis and reporting when completed. If successful, Lexaria would expect to subsequently design and undertake an in vivo efficacy program to determine if DehydraTECH-enabled antiviral drug formulations offer performance enhancement when given orally to SARS-CoV-2 infected animals.
Lexaria's business plan relies on applied R&D programs to generate confirmatory results and data enabling pursuit of commercial opportunities and/or corporate relationships. Lexaria's prospective business partners expect evidence that demonstrates initial effectiveness of DehydraTECH in improving drug delivery characteristics, prior to entering negotiations that might include utilization of DehydraTECH in existing or new drug classes. As such, Lexaria considers these applied R&D studies to be a vital early step in establishing commercial relationships with potential industry partners to utilize DehydraTECH within their existing product lines or in the development of new product lines.
Applied R&D studies often also provide test data that supports existing patent applications, and at times produces data that could support additional new patent applications.
