Lexicon Says LX4211 Meets Primary Endpoint In Study Of Type 2 Diabetes Patients

(RTTNews) - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(LXRX) Tuesday said its dual inhibitor of sodium glucose transporters 1 and 2, LX4211, in a study of patients with type 2 diabetes and moderate to severe renal impairment, met the primary endpoint of reducing post-prandial glucose. The company said that reducing elevated post-prandial glucose, high blood sugar levels after meals, is a key objective of diabetes therapy. LX4211 also produced significant elevations in GLP-1, a hormone involved in control of glucose and appetite.

Renal impairment occurs in about 30 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes. LX4211's inhibition of sodium glucose transporters 1 in the gastrointestinal tract, reducing glucose absorption and triggering GLP-1 secretion, offers the potential treatment for the patients with compromised kidney function. In previous Phase 2 studies, LX4211 improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes with normal renal function. Lexicon plans to present full results of the study at scientific congresses in 2014.

"The post-prandial glucose reductions and GLP-1 elevations observed in this study population support the rationale for demonstrating effective HbA1c reduction in a larger, longer-term Phase 3 trial, and provide further support for the clinical differentiation of LX4211 as a first-in-class dual SGLT1 and SGLT2 inhibitor." said Pablo Lapuerta, Lexicon's chief medical officer.