Lexaria Updates Evaluation of DehydraTECH for Oral GLP-1 Medicines
Lexaria Bioscience says its DehydraTECH oral-delivery platform is being evaluated for GLP-1 applications by the company and pharmaceutical industry partners.
Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX) has provided an update on the evaluation of its DehydraTECH™ drug-delivery platform for oral GLP-1 receptor agonists and weight-loss and diabetes medicines. The company says pharmaceutical industry partners are also evaluating the technology as treatment development continues to include oral formats alongside injectable drugs.
Lexaria says the GLP-1 receptor agonist and weight-loss/diabetes drug segments were valued at $62.8 billion in 2025. The company cites estimates of $73.4 billion in 2026 and $254.2 billion by 2034.
For oral GLP-1 products, Lexaria identifies a current opportunity of $5.1 billion. It says the market could reach ~$89 billion in 2034 if oral products account for 35% of a market that expands to over $254 billion as expected above. Those figures depend on the market-share and market-growth assumptions stated by the company.
Lexaria cites a survey in which 71% of respondents said they would prefer a daily pill over a weekly GLP-1 injection. The company also points to industry expectations, including views attributed to JP Morgan, that oral GLP-1 medicines could grow faster than injected products.
The update cites industry data indicating that oral semaglutide accounts for about 35% of new prescriptions, while injectable products account for 65%. Lexaria also refers to comments from Novo executives. Executive Vice President Ludovic Helfgott said early in 2026 that oral doses could represent “up to a third-plus” of the overall market. In late September, Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said oral medicines could capture as much as half of the global market.
Lexaria further cites a report from Grandview Research stating that injected GLP-1 medicines held 93% of the market in 2025. The company says oral GLP-1 products currently represent 5% to 7% of the market.
Lexaria says Novo announced on September 30 that people who had previously used injected Wegovy® or Eli Lilly’s injected Zepbound® and then changed to oral Wegovy® lost an average of 4.1% of bodyweight, or 8.8lbs, during the 3-month period after stopping the injectable medicine.
Lexaria presents the reported result as relevant to the movement toward oral GLP-1 delivery. The announcement concerns Novo’s reported study and does not state that Lexaria’s DehydraTECH technology was used in that study.
DehydraTECH™ is Lexaria’s patented formulation and processing platform for oral delivery through pills, capsules and liquids. The company says the technology is designed to improve drug absorption and reduce unwanted side effects. Lexaria also says it has repeatedly shown an ability to deliver some drugs more effectively across the blood-brain barrier.
Chief Executive Richard Christopher said Lexaria had been demonstrating the potential applicability of DehydraTECH to the oral GLP-1 market for roughly 3 years. He described the company as working toward the technology’s eventual adoption; the update does not say that adoption has occurred.
Lexaria operates a licensed in-house research laboratory and says it holds 66 patents granted, with additional patents pending worldwide.
Lexaria says its statements about the programme and market outlook are forward-looking and subject to risks involving market conditions, government regulation, regulatory approvals, competition, scientific discovery, litigation, adverse publicity and the management and maintenance of growth.
The company also identifies risks related to the patent application and approval process, potential adverse effects from testing or using products that utilise DehydraTECH™, maintaining collaborations and realising their benefits, and delays or cancellations of planned research and development. Lexaria says there is no assurance that the proposed uses, benefits or advantages of its patented and patent-pending technology will be realised. It also states that no statement in the update has been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and that Lexaria-associated products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Lexaria says DehydraTECH™ is being evaluated by the company and pharmaceutical industry partners for oral GLP-1 and weight-loss/diabetes drug applications.
The company cites estimates placing the wider GLP-1 and related drug segments at $73.4 billion in 2026 and $254.2 billion by 2034.
Lexaria identifies a $5.1 billion current oral GLP-1 opportunity and conditionally cites ~$89 billion in 2034 if its stated assumptions are met.
Novo’s reported study found an average 4.1% bodyweight loss, or 8.8lbs, over 3 months among certain patients who switched from injected medicines to oral Wegovy®.
Lexaria says DehydraTECH has not yet been adopted for the market and that its potential benefits remain subject to research, regulatory and other risks.
Lexaria Bioscience Corp. provided a strategic update on the transition from injected to oral GLP-1 medicines and the evaluation of its DehydraTECH™ technology in that sector. The company said DehydraTECH is being evaluated by Lexaria and pharmaceutical industry partners for use in GLP-1 receptor agonist and weight-loss/diabetes drug applications.
Lexaria's update says the GLP-1 receptor agonist and weight-loss/diabetes drug segments were valued at $62.8 billion in 2025 and are estimated to grow to $73.4 billion in 2026 and $254.2 billion by 2034. These are estimates cited by the company, rather than reported Lexaria revenue figures.
Lexaria says the oral GLP-1 market is estimated at $5.1 billion today and could reach ~$89 billion in 2034 if oral products comprise 35% of a market that expands to over $254 billion as expected above. The company presents these figures as conditional on those market-share and market-growth assumptions.
Lexaria says its DehydraTECH™ technology is being evaluated for a market transition from injectable to oral GLP-1 medicines, which the company describes as one of the most attractive opportunities in the pharmaceutical world today. Lexaria also says a recent survey found that 71% of respondents preferred a daily pill to a weekly injection of GLP-1 drugs.
DehydraTECH™ is Lexaria's patented drug-delivery formulation and processing platform for oral delivery in formats including pills, capsules and liquids. The company says the technology is designed to improve absorption and reduce unwanted side effects, and has evidenced the ability to deliver some drugs more effectively across the blood-brain barrier.
Lexaria cites industry data indicating that oral semaglutide accounts for about 35% of new prescriptions, compared with 65% for injectable products. The update also cites statements from Novo executives that oral medicines could represent up to a third-plus of the market overall or, according to Novo's CEO in late September, as much as half of the global market.
Lexaria says Novo announced on September 30 that people who had previously used injected Wegovy® or Eli Lilly's injected Zepbound® and then switched to oral Wegovy® lost an average of 4.1% of bodyweight, or 8.8lbs, during the three months after stopping the injectable drug. Lexaria presents this result as supporting the move towards oral delivery, while the result relates to Novo's reported three-month study.
CEO Richard Christopher said Lexaria had been demonstrating the applicability of DehydraTECH™ to the oral GLP-1 market for roughly 3 years. He said the company was working towards the technology's eventual adoption, rather than stating that adoption had occurred.
Lexaria cites an estimate that oral GLP-1 products currently hold 5% to 7% market share and says oral products could comprise 35% of the future market under its stated assumptions. The update also cites Novo's CEO saying oral medicines could capture as much as half of the global market, and says that projection could prove conservative if oral-delivery innovations improve absorption or reduce side effects more than currently expected.
Lexaria operates a licensed in-house research laboratory and says it holds 66 patents granted, with additional patents pending worldwide. The company says DehydraTECH™ is being evaluated by Lexaria and pharmaceutical industry partners, but the update does not state that a commercial product using the technology has been launched.
Lexaria Bioscience Corp. is identified in the announcement as trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol LEXX.
Lexaria says its forward-looking statements involve risks including market conditions, government regulation and regulatory approvals, managing and maintaining growth, adverse publicity, litigation, competition, scientific discovery, the patent application and approval process, potential adverse effects from testing or using products that utilise DehydraTECH™, maintaining collaborations and realising their benefits, and delays or cancellations of planned research and development. The company also says there is no assurance that the postulated uses, benefits or advantages of its patented and patent-pending technology will be realised, and that no statement in the release has been evaluated by the FDA.