Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX), a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for various human disease, recently announced the successful completion of the company’s Phase 1 multiple-dose escalation study in normal volunteers with LX1031, its oral drug candidate for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The recently completed trial for LX13031 was a randomized, double-blind, ascending multiple-dose study in which all dose levels were well tolerated over 14 days and no dose limiting toxicities were observed. Based on the success of the Phase I trial, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals plans to progress the new drug candidate into Phase II studies during the fourth quarter of this year.

LX1031 was designed to act locally in the gastrointestinal tract by reducing the serotonin available for receptor activation, without affecting serotonin levels in the brain or its central nervous system functions. The most recent Phase I study showed that LX1031 decreased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) at all dose levels tested as compared to the placebo group. LX1031 is being developed as part of a product development collaboration with Symphony Capital Partners, L.P. and its co-investors.

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