Lexaria Comments on Study Examining Cannabinoids and SARS-CoV-2

"Cannabinoids have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2"

KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2022 / Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX)(NASDAQ:LEXXW) (the "Company" or "Lexaria"), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, comments on an independent January 10 study, available here, that discovered that "Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants".

In an interview granted to vice.com, lead research scientist Dr. Richard van Breeman commented on how smoking or vaping of cannabis was likely not effective, while oral delivery was effective. "If these hemp products containing these compounds are smoked or vaped, the heat exposure could cause the chemical decomposition or conversion… So, we would recommend in favor of an oral administration of these compounds instead of smoking them, inhaling them from vaping."

"Lexaria has led the conversation for years related to oral delivery of cannabinoids and is a world-leader through its pioneering drug delivery technology, DehydraTECH^TM, in more effective delivery of cannabinoids to the human bloodstream through oral means," said Chris Bunka, CEO of Lexaria Bioscience.

In the peer-reviewed study, the researchers concluded that "Cannabinoid acids from hemp (Cannabis sativa) were found to be allosteric as well as orthosteric ligands with micromolar affinity for the spike protein. In follow-up virus neutralization assays, cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid prevented infection of human epithelial cells by a pseudovirus expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and prevented entry of live SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant B.1.1.7 and the beta variant B.1.351."

Lexaria is actively engaged in research with DehydraTECH-powered cannabinoid formulations across a range of potential therapeutic applications, including an advanced oral DehydraTECH-CBD formulation that it is preparing for registered clinical trials as a prospective new pharmaceutical product. Moreover, the patented DehydraTECH process does not involve processing temperatures remotely as high as those encountered in smoking or vaping processes, and in previous studies has been found to leave the cannabinoid molecules undamaged.