Lexicon Reveals Positive Effects of Potential Pre-Diabetes Drug

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) reported on Tuesday positive results from a clinical trial of a drug shown to reduce fasting and post-prandial blood sugar in healthy humans, and it says the results may even be used to accelerate the development of a pre-diabetes treatment.

The biopharmaceutical company said that the drug, called LX4211, had favorable effects on multiple parameters of glycemic control and cardiovascular health in normal subjects in the treatment of diabetes and associated metabolic conditions.

The Woodlands, Texas-based company said the results show that LX4211 could be considered earlier in the diabetes treatment paradigm, perhaps even in the treatment of pre-diabetes patients with impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose.

Newly observed in this study were the effects of LX4211, in healthy volunteers, of decreasing postprandial glucose levels without hypoglycemia and substantially reducing triglycerides, the companys chief scientific officer Dr. Brian Zambrowicz said in a statement.

The reductions in triglycerides were similar to current standard of care prescription and clinical-stage medicines, the company said. By contrast, other results of the compounds have demonstrated minimal or no reductions in triglycerides.