Odds are that most people know someone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, the debilitating form of dementia which affects memory, thinking, and behavior, given that there are more than 5.3 million Americans suffering today from it. The common thought is that it only inflicts older people, but the reality is that while the disease is most common in people over the age of 65, it can strike adults of any age irrespective of their gender, background or socioeconomic status. At the current rate of growth, Alzheimer’s will affect nearly 8 million Americans by the year 2030 and nearly double that number of victims by 2050.
Hoboken, New Jersey-based Anavex Life Sciences, a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel drug candidates for the treatment of neurological diseases and cancer, is looking to change those statistics. Today, the Company announced that its clinical trial application (CTA) for ANAVEX 2-73, the company’s lead compound for Alzheimer’s disease, has been approved by the German regulatory health authority, BfArM. The Phase I trial of ANAVEX 2-73, which includes testing in healthy human volunteers, will commence immediately to assess the safety, maximally tolerated dose, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ANAVEX 2-73. The Phase I trial will be carried out in collaboration with ABX-CRO and the University of Dresden in Germany.
ANAVEX 2-73 is the first of a new class of wholly owned compounds that act through sigma-1 receptor agonism as well as muscarinic and cholinergic effects and modulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress to trigger a series of intracellular effects thought to modify ion channel signaling at the mitochondrial level. ANAVEX 2-73 is novel as an oral, disease-modifying drugs being studied to potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease itself, versus treating its symptoms.
Anavex has also announced that it will be hosting a live conference call with its investors to discuss the recent developments with ANAVEZ 2-73 on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 4:30pm ET.
Interested parties are invited to participate by calling 1-877-653-3361 (toll free in the United States and Canada) or +1 970-315-0801. Use conference ID 52335582 to participate. Those unable to attend the live event are encouraged to listen to a recorded version that will be posted on the Company’s website at www.anavex.com shortly after the live call is concluded.
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