Anavex Life Sciences Corp. announced the signing of a material transfer agreement with Biogen, wherein Biogen will test Anavex’s lead drug candidate, ANAVEX 2-73 in an oligodendrocyte precursor cell, OPC, differentiation assay. A satisfactory result from the OPC assay study may lead to an in vivo remyelination study using a chemical demyelination model.
Christopher Missling, President and CEO of Anavex, is optimistic of the agreement, explaining, “These studies will examine the therapeutic role ANAVEX 2-73 may play in permitting remyelination in the brain.” The announcement caused shares of Anavex to spike 40%, to $ to $4.46. The science behind ANAVEX 2-73 makes it one of the most promising drug being developed right now for Alzheimer’s Disease.
Anavex is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain and various types of cancer. Anavex’s lead drug candidate, ANAVEX 2-73, is an orally available drug candidate that targets sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors and successfully completed Phase 1 with a clean safety profile.
Preclinical studies demonstrated its potential to halt and/or reverse the course of Alzheimer’s disease. It has also exhibited anticonvulsant, anti-amnesic, neuroprotective and anti-depressant properties in animal models, indicating its potential to treat additional CNS disorders, including epilepsy and others. The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for Parkinson’s Research has awarded Anavex a research grant to develop ANAVEX 2-73 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease to fully fund a preclinical study, which could justify moving ANAVEX 2-73 into a Parkinson’s disease clinical trial.
For more information on Anavex, visit the company’s website.
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