Company Appoints Stephan Toutain as Senior Vice President of Operations and Claus van der Velden to Board of
Directors
NEW YORK , March 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex” or the “Company”)
(Nasdaq:AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of
neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Rett syndrome and other central nervous system
(CNS) diseases, announced today the addition of Stephan Toutain, MS, MBA as Senior Vice President Operations to its management team
and the appointment of Claus van der Velden, PhD to the Board of Directors.
“We are delighted to welcome Stephan and Claus to Anavex. These appointments are a commitment to building our
team in order to advance the development of ANAVEX2-73 in devastating neurological diseases like Rett syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease
and Parkinson’s disease. Stephan is a seasoned business leader and an experienced operations and marketing executive who will lead
the acceleration of our product development strategy, while Claus’ expertise will provide strategic guidance, compliance and
accounting oversight on the Board of Directors,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Anavex.
Stephan Toutain, MS, MBA, SVP Operations
Stephan Toutain brings more than 25 years of drug development, general management, operations, commercial
development, market access, and sales and marketing leadership with particular expertise in neurology and orphan drug markets
globally. Before joining Anavex, he held the role of CCO at Interleukin Genetics. He also worked with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to
build its early access program. Previously, he led Global Commercial Development for Sarepta Therapeutics and served as General
Manager for Alexion Pharmaceuticals in Europe. Mr. Toutain has also held various U.S. commercial, marketing and product management
positions with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Celgene Corporation, and Johnson & Johnson. He received a Master of Business Administration
from the University of North Carolina, and a Master of Engineering in Biotechnology from the University of Nancy II in France.
Claus van der Velden, PhD, Board of Directors
Claus van der Velden, PhD, brings significant expertise in accounting and is currently corporate head of
Management Accounting, Internal Audit and Risk Management at Stroeer SE & Co KGaA, a publicly listed $3bn media company.
Previously, Dr. van der Velden served as Director, Corporate Business Controlling for the Nutrition & Health business unit at
Cognis, a worldwide supplier of global nutritional ingredients and specialty chemicals with about $3bn sales. In this position, he
was also a compliance representative and a member of the global leadership team. After the acquisition of Cognis by BASF, he was
responsible for the management accounting processes of the $2bn BASF Nutrition & Health division, developing and producing mostly
natural-source ingredients for the food and healthcare industries. Dr. van der Velden started his career as a strategy consultant
at an international marketing and strategy consultancy firm. He studied in Kiel and Stockholm and received a degree in economics
from the University of Kiel and later obtained his doctorate from the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management.
About Anavex Life Sciences Corp.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq:AVXL) 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’ lead drug candidate,
ANAVEX®2-73, recently completed a successful a Phase 2a clinical trial for Alzheimer’s disease. ANAVEX®2-73 is an orally available
drug candidate that restores cellular homeostasis by targeting sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors. Preclinical studies demonstrated
its potential to halt and/or reverse the course of Alzheimer’s disease. ANAVEX®2-73 also exhibited anticonvulsant, anti-amnesic,
neuroprotective and anti-depressant properties in animal models, indicating its potential to treat additional CNS disorders,
including epilepsy. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has awarded Anavex a research grant to develop
ANAVEX®2-73 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The grant fully funds a preclinical study, which could justify moving
ANAVEX®2-73 into a Parkinson’s disease clinical trial. ANAVEX®3-71, targeting sigma-1 and M1 muscarinic receptors, is a promising
preclinical drug candidate demonstrating disease modifications against the major Alzheimer’s hallmarks in transgenic (3xTg-AD)
mice, including cognitive deficits, amyloid and tau pathologies, and also with beneficial effects on neuroinflammation and
mitochondrial dysfunctions. Further information is available at www.anavex.com. You can also connect with the company on Twitter,
Facebook and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature are forward-looking statements.
These statements are only predictions based on current information and expectations and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in any of such statements due to various
factors, including the risks set forth in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All
forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and Anavex Life Sciences Corp. undertakes
no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
For Further Information:
Anavex Life Sciences Corp.
Research & Business Development
Toll-free: 1-844-689-3939
Email: info@anavex.com
Investors & Media:
Clayton Robertson
The Trout Group
(646) 378-2900
Email: crobertson@troutgroup.com
