GLP-1 "Arms Race" Broadens to Include Dozens of Companies

Rhea-AI Summary

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) provides an update on the expanding GLP-1 and obesity drug market, highlighting its DehydraTECH technology's potential role. The market is expected to exceed $150 billion by 2030, with 39 new GLP-1 drugs in development from 34 companies.

The company's DehydraTECH platform has demonstrated significant reductions in gastrointestinal adverse events across major GLP-1 drugs, showing improvements ranging from 31% to 100% in various studies. The update also details recent major industry deals, including Novo Nordisk's $2.2 billion collaboration with Septerna, Roche's $5.3 billion rights acquisition from Zealand Pharma, and Regeneron's $1.93 billion licensing deal with Hansoh Pharmaceutical.

Positive

• DehydraTECH demonstrated 31-100% reduction in GLP-1 drug adverse events
• Company's technology shows potential for improving three major GLP-1 drugs currently on market
• Extensive wholly-owned patent portfolio protecting DehydraTECH worldwide
• Positioned in rapidly growing market expected to exceed $150 billion by 2030

Negative

• No commercial partnerships announced yet despite market opportunity
• Faces competition from 34 companies developing 39 new GLP-1 drugs
• Large pharmaceutical companies already making billion-dollar deals with competitors

Insights

Pharmaceutical Industry Analyst

Lexaria's DehydraTECH shows promising GI side effect reductions in GLP-1 drugs amid intense industry competition and multi-billion dollar deals.

Lexaria Bioscience is positioning its DehydraTECH drug delivery platform as a potential solution to one of the biggest challenges in the booming GLP-1 market: gastrointestinal side effects. Their internal studies claim significant reductions in adverse events across all three major GLP-1 drugs currently on the market - semaglutide (Rybelsus), tirzepatide (Zepbound), and liraglutide (Saxenda).

The reported reductions in GI adverse events are substantial, ranging from 31% to 100% across different studies. Most notably, their oral formulations showed these improvements against both oral and injectable control products, suggesting DehydraTECH could potentially address the most persistent patient complaint with these medications.

This announcement comes amid what Lexaria aptly describes as a GLP-1 "arms race," with 39 new GLP-1 drugs in development from 34 different companies. The press release highlights recent major transactions in this space:

• Novo Nordisk's $2.2 billion deal with Septerna
• Roche's $5.3 billion acquisition of rights to Zealand Pharma's petrelintide
• Regeneron's $1.93 billion licensing deal for Hansoh's GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist
• Merck's $493 million non-exclusive licensing deal for Cyprumed's oral peptide delivery technology

While Lexaria hasn't announced any partnerships, they're clearly signaling to investors that their technology could be valuable to companies competing in this space. The explicit mention of these high-value transactions appears designed to frame DehydraTECH as a potential licensing target in an industry where delivery technologies are commanding significant premiums.

What sets Lexaria's approach apart is their focus on improved safety rather than just efficacy. With the GLP-1 market projected to exceed $150 billion by 2030 and dominated by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, differentiation will be crucial for new entrants. If DehydraTECH can genuinely reduce the notorious side effects while maintaining or improving efficacy in larger, more rigorous trials, it could represent a meaningful advance in patient experience.

Lexaria highlights DehydraTECH's adverse events improvement opportunity

KELOWNA, BC / ACCESS Newswire / August 6, 2025 / Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (Nasdaq:LEXX)(Nasdaq:LEXXW) (the "Company" or "Lexaria"), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, provides the following glucagon-like peptide-1 ("GLP-1") and obesity industry update.

The market for obesity and diabetes control drugs such as GLP-1 is growing at faster rates than nearly anyone originally anticipated, with revenues now expected to exceed $150 billion by 2030. Today these markets are overwhelmingly dominated by Eli Lilly and Company® and Novo Nordisk®, but with compelling growth opportunities abounding, no less than 39 new GLP-1 drugs are in development from 34 different companies.

These tremendous growth opportunities in the GLP-1 sector have all of these companies racing to deliver improved products to the market. As reported earlier, perhaps the largest opportunity for product improvement is in the area of patient safety. The existing medications in the market today notoriously cause unwanted adverse events ("AEs"), more specifically gastrointestinal ("GI") AEs (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation).

To that end, Lexaria is working to position its DehydraTECH drug delivery technology as not only an improved drug absorption/performance enhancer, but also as a vital enabler of reducing side effects of various GLP-1 drugs. The following table summarizes the dramatic improvements in GI AEs that Lexaria has realized when testing all three (semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide) of the major GLP-1 drugs on the market today with its DehydraTECH ("DHT") technology in an oral format:

Lexaria Study	Control	Test Article	% Reductions vs Control GI AEs
GLP-1-H24-1 GLP-1-H24-2* GLP-1-H24-3 GLP-1-H24-4** GLP-1-H24-4** GLP-1-H25-5	Rybelsus® (oral) Rybelsus® (oral) Zepbound® (injectable) Rybelsus® (oral) Rybelsus® (oral) Saxenda® (injectable)	DHT-Rybelsus® (oral) DHT-Rybelsus® (oral) DHT-tirzepatide (oral) DHT-semaglutide (oral) DHT-tirzepatide (oral) DHT-liraglutide (oral)	-60% -100% -57% -43% -57% -31%

^{* oral dosing was performed after overnight fasting in all instances, except for GLP-1-H24-2 where fed pre-dosing conditions were applied.
** partial/8-week results from 12-week study}

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies large and small are jockeying for position in what has effectively become a technological arms race. On May 14^th Novo Nordisk® announced that it had struck a collaboration and licensing deal with Septerna™ to develop molecules of use in the obesity and type 2 diabetes sectors, in return for up front and milestone payments of up to $2.2 billion.

On March 12^th Roche® announced it had acquired rights to obesity drug petrelintide from Zealand Pharma A/S® for up to $5.3 billion in payments. The Roche transaction allows them to potentially gain more rapid access to the market sector than may have been possible from its own obesity drug, CT-388 which is still undergoing development and assessment.

Regeneron® launched itself into the GLP-1 arms race with its licensing and milestone deal announced June 2^nd, worth up to $1.93 billion to acquire rights to China's Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's™ HS-20094 which is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist.

On April 15^th, Merck® announced a licensing deal worth up to $493 million for limited rights to Cyprumed's™ oral peptide drug delivery technology. What is particularly notable is that these rights are non-exclusive, with additional payments required if Merck® was to exercise their option for exclusive rights.

With an extensive wholly-owned patent portfolio protecting DehydraTECH worldwide, Lexaria continues to take steps to unlock the value of its robust drug delivery platform. As the diabetes control and weight-loss industries continue to focus on GLP-1 and even more advanced drug generations for these and other therapeutic indications, Lexaria remains confident that DehydraTECH is valid for utilization with the right commercial partner(s).

About Lexaria Bioscience Corp. & DehydraTECH

DehydraTECH™ is Lexaria's patented drug delivery formulation and processing platform technology which improves the way a wide variety of drugs enter the bloodstream, always through oral delivery. DehydraTECH has repeatedly evidenced the ability to increase bio-absorption, reduce side-effects, and deliver some drugs more effectively across the blood brain barrier. Lexaria operates a licensed in-house research laboratory and holds a robust intellectual property portfolio with 50 patents granted and additional patents pending worldwide. For more information, please visit www.lexariabioscience.com.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements. Statements as such term is defined under applicable securities laws. These statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and other similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements by the Company relating to the Company's ability to carry out research initiatives, receive regulatory approvals or grants or experience positive effects or results from any research or study. Such forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting the Company's best judgment based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that the Company will actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements. As such, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the Company include, but are not limited to, government regulation and regulatory approvals, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition, scientific discovery, the patent application and approval process, potential adverse effects arising from the testing or use of products utilizing the DehydraTECH technology, the Company's ability to maintain existing collaborations and realize the benefits thereof, delays or cancellations of planned R&D that could occur related to pandemics or for other reasons, and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements and periodic filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR. The Company provides links to third-party websites only as a courtesy to readers and disclaims any responsibility for the thoroughness, accuracy or timeliness of information at third-party websites. There is no assurance that any of Lexaria's postulated uses, benefits, or advantages for the patented and patent-pending technology will in fact be realized in any manner or in any part. No statement herein has been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Lexaria-associated products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or links to third-party websites contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

George Jurcic - Head of Investor Relations
ir@lexariabioscience.com
Phone: 250-765-6424, ext 202

SOURCE: Lexaria Bioscience Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What is the market size projection for GLP-1 and obesity drugs by 2030?

The market for GLP-1 and obesity control drugs is expected to exceed $150 billion by 2030, growing at faster rates than initially anticipated.

How effective is Lexaria's DehydraTECH in reducing GLP-1 drug side effects?

DehydraTECH has shown significant reductions in gastrointestinal adverse events, ranging from 31% to 100% improvement across various studies with major GLP-1 drugs including semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide.

What major deals have occurred in the GLP-1 market recently?

Recent deals include Novo Nordisk's $2.2 billion collaboration with Septerna, Roche's $5.3 billion rights acquisition from Zealand Pharma, and Regeneron's $1.93 billion deal with Hansoh Pharmaceutical.

How many new GLP-1 drugs are currently in development?

There are 39 new GLP-1 drugs currently in development from 34 different companies, showing significant competition in the market.

What is LEXX's competitive advantage in the GLP-1 market?

Lexaria's DehydraTECH technology offers improved drug absorption and demonstrated reduction in side effects for GLP-1 drugs, protected by an extensive worldwide patent portfolio.