Anavex 2-73: Anti-Amnesic and Neuroprotective Data Against Amyloid Toxicity for First of a New Class in Alzheimer’s Disease

Sept. 13, 2010 – Anavex Life Sciences Corp., (“ANAVEX” or the “Company”) (OTCBB: AVXL) announced that the Journal of Psychopharmacology has published an original paper showing that ANAVEX 2-73 and its only and active metabolite ANAVEX 19-144 alleviate neurotoxicity and cognition deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The paper, titled “Anti-amnesic and neuroprotective potentials of the mixed muscarinic receptor/sigma 1 ligand ANAVEX 2-73, a novel aminotetrahydrofuran derivative”, is available online at sagepub.com and cites biochemical, morphological and behavioral evidence from experiments conducted jointly between INSERM at University of Montpellier 2 and Anavex Life Sciences Corp.

Validated and well-recognized, standard non-transgenic animal models were used to show statistically significant neuroprotective effects via both muscarinic cholinergic and sigma-1 receptor agonism effects.

The authors compare the pharmacological profile of ANAVEX 2-73 to that of donepezil (marketed as ARICEPT(R)), the leading-selling drug approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, noting the greater potential benefits of ANAVEX 2-73. Amyloid-beta peptide has been shown to result in mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum stress, intracellular calcium dysregulation leading to oxidative stress and apoptosis (cell death). The authors point to the role of ANAVEX 2-73 in prevention of oxidative stress and apoptosis and other data suggesting modulation of Bcl-2 and reactive oxygen species... Anavex's Press Release -

Anavex Life Sciences : new findings at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008 (July 26-31, 2008, Chicago, USA)

June 24, 2008 - Anavex Life Sciences Corp. ("ANAVEX") (OTCBB AVXL) announces its participation at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008 (July 26-31, 2008, Chicago, USA), where it will present results obtained with ANAVEX 1-41 demonstrating a protective effect against the neurotoxicity of amyloid (beta)25-35 peptide (A(beta)25-35) in mice. This peptide is used to mimic the neurodegenerative processes found in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and help identify the neuroprotective effects of the ANAVEX compound in order to establish its potential for further development.

The two outstanding aspects of the results to be presented are:

1) The very low doses of ANAVEX 1-41 (30-100 micrograms/kg, ip) at which we attain neuroprotective results, indicating significantly greater potency than other pharmacological agents. The neuroprotection was specifically assessed in the hippocampus, an area highly implicated in Alzheimer's disease. This very significant neuroprotective activity of ANAVEX 1-41 was found to be related to its combined sigma-1 and muscarinic effects.

2) The novel anti-apoptotic mechanism of ANAVEX 1-41 that was attained at extremely low doses of ANAVEX 1-41 (100-fold below the threshold for unwanted muscarinic effects). Apoptosis is the predominant pathophysiological aspect of the brain degeneration in AD, and protection against this process could be an important therapeutic strategy. In particular, the inositol triphosphate receptors calcium channels (IP3R) upregulation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensors modulation maintained the ER and the mitochondrion in the unfolded protei response (UPR) adaptative status and protected against the triggering of apoptotic processes.

Unlike the challenge of pro-amyloid and anti-amyloid theories of AD, Anavex Life Sciences' SIGMACEPTOR™ Discovery Platform sigma-1 activator molecules target neuron structures (ER, mitochondrion) with the goal of preventing the neurodegenerative action of the disturbed biochemical pathways and channels (UPR, IP3R, Bcl-2, apoptosis), which recently emerged as putative crucial factors in AD as well as many other neurodegenerative diseases... Anavex Life Sciences' Press Release -

Anavex , drug candidate for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Nov. 28 , 2007 - Anavex Life Sciences Corp. ("ANAVEX") (OTCBB: AVXL) is pleased to announce promising developments with ANAVEX 1-41, the company's lead drug candidate for Alzheimer's disease. In recent pre-clinical animal studies, ANAVEX 1-41 prevented oxidative stress, which damages and destroys cells and is believed to be a primary cause of Alzheimer's disease. ANAVEX 1-41 also prevented the expression of caspase-3, an enzyme that plays a key role in programmed cell death and in the loss of cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that regulates learning, emotion and memory... Anavex' Press release -