• Oral GLP-1 market projected to expand from$5.1 billion in 2026 to $89 billion in 2034 

• Novo announces additional weight-loss in patients switching from injected to oral delivery 

 

Kelowna, British Columbia – TheNewswire - October 6, 2026 - Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX) (the “Company” or “Lexaria”), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, is providing this strategic update.

 

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH™ technology is currently being evaluated both by Lexaria and pharmaceutical industry partners for use within the rapidly growing GLP-1 receptor agonist and weight-loss/diabetes drug industries. Those industry segments were valued at $62.8 billion in 2025 and are estimated to grow to $73.4 billion in 2026 and to $254.2 billion by 2034. This growth far exceeds earlier forecasts and validates Lexaria’s 2023 strategic decision to increasingly focus its resources towards this sector.

 

DehydraTECH technology is designed to improve the absorption of drugs taken orally, in formats such as pills, capsules, and liquids, while at the same time reducing unwanted side effects.  In a recent survey, 71% of respondents replied that they would prefer taking a daily pill compared to a weekly injection of GLP-1 drugs.

 

Both the healthcare and the financial industries, including JP Morgan, expect faster future growth with oral GLP-1 drugs than with injected drugs.  Novo, the owner of the multi-billion-dollar brands Ozempic® and Wegovy®, originally envisioned virtually all GLP-1 drugs being administered by injection, but early in 2026, Executive Vice President Ludovic Helfgott stated that he believes that oral doses “could actually represent up to a third-plus of that market overall.” Detailed sales data from within the industry appears to be confirming this as true, since, for example, the oral version of semaglutide is now capturing about 35% of new prescriptions, with the other 65% being injectable.

 

More recently, the CEO of Novo, Mike Doustdar, stated in late September that he believes that oral medications could capture as much as half of the global market. Lexaria believes that the evolution of the GLP-1 market from injectables to orals represents one of the most attractive opportunities in the pharmaceutical world today.

 

According to a report from Grandview Research, injected GLP-1 drugs captured 93% of the market in 2025 and examination of industry revenue figures represent that 5% to 7% market share for oral GLP-1 products remains consistent today. This suggests that 7% of a 2026 market of $73.4 billion is a current market opportunity of $5.1 billion for oral GLP-1 drugs today.

 

If oral GLP-1 drugs were to indeed comprise 35% of the future market, and if the market expands to over $254 billion as expected above, then the oral GLP-1 market will be ~$89 billion in 2034, compared to $5.1 billion today. This is the market segment for which Lexaria’s DehydraTECH is being evaluated. If innovations in the GLP-1 oral delivery industry improve absorption and/or reduce side effects more than currently expected, then Novo’s CEO projection of “half” market share could even prove to be conservative.

On September 30, Novo announced that people who were previously using either Novo’s injected Wegovy® or competitor Eli Lilly’s injected Zepbound®, and then switched to oral Wegovy®, lost an average of 4.1% of bodyweight (8.8lbs) in the three months after ceasing the injectable drug. It seems a remarkable achievement given that people had already received injections of GLP-1 drugs before they began their 3-month study on oral Wegovy® and certainly seems supportive of the looming trend towards oral drug delivery in the fastest-growing drug category in the world today.

 

“For roughly 3 years, Lexaria has been demonstrating the applicability of our DehydraTECH drug delivery technology to the oral GLP-1 market – a segment that barely existed when we began those efforts,” said Richard Christopher, CEO of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. “Our corporate vision is sound and in harmony with market needs. We are working diligently towards DehydraTECH’s eventual adoption within this large and rapidly growing marketplace.”

 

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 66 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 satisfaction of customary closing conditions, the intended use of proceeds from the offering, the anticipated closing of the offering, 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, market and other conditions, 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