10:16 AM EDT, 10/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Lexaria Bioscience ( LEXX ) said Wednesday that it started dosing for a human pilot study to assess a DehydraTECH-processed version of tirzepatide from Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Zepbound in an oral dose.

The study comprises up to 10 healthy volunteers, the company said, adding the initial seven-day dosing stage of either the oral DehydraTECH-processed tirzepatide capsule or an injected tirzepatide dose is slated to be finalized on Oct. 13. The second and last seven-day dosing phase will be in mid-November, it said.

No serious adverse events have been seen so far, Lexaria said.

Lexaria said that in two previous human studies, it has seen evidence that the processing of semaglutide -- sold by Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) under the brands Rybelsus, Ozempic, and Wegovy -- with DehydraTECH and given in an oral format, improved absorption rates and decreased blood sugar and adverse events, compared with Rybelsus tablets.

The company said that in the tirzepatide study, it's "hopeful of evidencing meaningful absorption rates of tirzepatide in a swallowed oral format, which is not available in the market today since it is currently administered only by injection."

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