NEW YORK, NY – August 10, 2015 – Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex” or the “Company”) (OTCQX: AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing drug candidates to treat Alzheimer’s disease, other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain, and various types of cancer, today announced that it has been awarded a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to develop ANAVEX 2-73 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
The MJFF grant is expected to fully fund a preclinical study on the effect of ANAVEX 2-73 in a Parkinson’s disease animal model, which seeks to provide a solid dataset that will justify moving forward to clinical development in Parkinson’s. The study may also provide further evidence for the involvement of sigma-1 receptors in potentially disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease.
As a potential platform drug and the Company’s lead therapeutic, ANAVEX 2-73 targets misfolded proteins central to many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It is believed to enhance the body’s own cellular defense mechanisms through both sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors to return diseased cells to a pre-diseased or “homeostatic” state.
“The development of disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease is the top priority of The Michael J. Fox Foundation and ANAVEX 2-73 presents a promising approach,” said Marco Baptista, PhD, Senior Associate Director of MJFF Research Programs. “Companies that receive funding from MJFF have scientifically compelling plans that hold obvious potential to impact our understanding of Parkinson’s and ultimately the development of improved treatments for people with the disease. To that end, we look forward to the results of the ANAVEX 2-73 study.”