Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (OTCQX: LXRP) (CSE: LXX), a global innovator in drug delivery technology, announces it is commencing a program, in collaboration with leading laboratories in Canada and the USA, to study the benefits of Lexaria’s DehydraTECHTM drug delivery platform for enhancing delivery and effectiveness of certain antiretroviral drugs in the fight against coronavirus disease COVID-19.

Researchers around the world are racing to find treatment solutions to combat COVID-19. But, some of the most promising drug candidates are known to present significant bioavailability challenges in successfully reaching the human bloodstream.

Lexaria is an established world-leader in oral delivery of fat-soluble drugs. Lexaria’s patented DehydraTECH technology has already been thoroughly studied and proven to deliver other fat soluble drugs with increases of up to 317% more drug quantified in blood in a human clinical study within the first 30 minutes of dosing as published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

If Lexaria’s technology demonstrates similar performance improvements in the drug delivery characteristics of antiviral drugs, it could be used to more effectively and more economically treat COVID-19 victims utilizing DehydraTECH-empowered drugs in a number of different oral medications. If so, the Company will make its technology available to researchers throughout the world looking to maximize the effectiveness of their own drug investigations.

Pending positive outcomes from its planned research activities, Lexaria will aggressively engage with prospective strategic partners to improve drug development where applicable as per its business model as a drug delivery technology licensor and provider, including in the fight against a number of other viruses and disease indications.