Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (LXRX), a biopharmaceutical company based in Woodlands, Texas, has reported positive results in the clinical trial of a drug that has demonstrated reduced post-grandial and fasting blood glucose levels in humans. Lexicon also stated that the results could be used to hasten the development of a treatment for pre-diabetes.
The new drug is called LX4211 and, according to Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, it had positive effects on multiple facets of both cardiovascular health and blood glucose regulation in the treatment of diabetes and its associated metabolic conditions. The drug is delivered orally.
Lexicon stated that the results demonstrate that LX2411 could be useful for earlier treatment of diabetes. It could even be used to treat patients who had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes who experience complications with fasting glucose or glucose tolerance.
“Newly observed in this study were the effects of LX4211, in healthy volunteers, of decreasing postprandial glucose levels without hypoglycemia and substantially reducing triglycerides,” said Dr. Brian Zambrowicz, the company’s chief scientific officer, in a press release.
The reduced levels of triglycerides were similar to that seen in current standards of care prescription and clinical-stage medicines, according to Lexicon. Other results of the compounds have shown little to no reductions in triglyceride levels.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1995 as Lexicon Genetics, Inc, and was renamed as Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in 2007 to reflect the company’s increased focus on developing drugs. The company was started as biotechnology venture of the Baylor College of Medicine and went public in April 2000; it was well-known for going public with one of the largest initial offerings for a biotechnology company at $220 million. In addition to LX2411 for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, Lexicon is pursuing therapeutics for treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); for treating symptoms associated with carcinoid syndrome; and for treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Lexicon’s corporate headquarters are located in Woodlands, Texas; this location also functions as the company’s primary research facility, with its clinical development and regulatory teams operating at the headquarters. The company operates another facility in Princeton, New Jersey, which performs small molecule medicinal chemistry and preclinical development functions. The Princeton location is the primary site where the company creates new chemical compounds to be used in therapeutics.
The company has used its patented “gene knockout” technology in its therapeutic development efforts. The technique involves the use of “knockout mice” with modified DNA which disrupts, or “knocks out,” a single target gene. Using these mice with specifically deactivated genes, the researchers are able to test the physiological effects when a single gene is inactive. Mice have long been used in medical studies because they share a close similarity with humans in genetic makeup and physiology.
Lexicon uses “knockout gene” techniques in its Genome5000 program, an initiative that uses genetically altered mice to determine the exact physiological and behavioral effects of nearly 5,000 human genes by studying the corresponding genes in mice. The program is focused on genes that are thought to have implications for the development of diseases, such as those responsible for enzymes, membrane proteins, secreted proteins, and transporters. Throughout the course of the Genome5000 project, Lexicon has identified key small molecule drug targets in the fields of cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, immunology, and metabolism. To date, the company has analyzed nearly 5,000 human genes through corresponding genes in mice.