NEW YORK, March 31, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. ("Anavex" or the "Company") (OTCQB:AVXL), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel drug candidates to treat Alzheimer's, diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and various types of cancer, announced today that it has strengthened its Alzheimer's pipeline by obtaining exclusive rights to worldwide patents and patent applications covering methods and compositions for AF710B and other related, preclinical stage compounds from Life Science Research Israel Ltd. (LSRI). LSRI has a proven track record of successfully developing and bringing drugs to market. The licensing of AF710B complements Anavex's existing pipeline in Alzheimer's disease, which is the company's core competency and includes lead clinical candidate ANAVEX PLUS.
Data was presented by Dr. Abraham Fisher (Israel Institute for Biological Research, IIBR) entitled "A novel multipotent sigma 1/M1 muscarinic activator for a comprehensive therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer's disease," in a lecture on March 28, 2014 at the 13th International Geneva/Springfield Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy. AF710B is described as a unique and promising preclinical drug candidate with a novel mechanism of action shown to enhance neuroprotection and cognition in Alzheimer's disease. AF710B is a CNS-penetrable mono-therapy that bridges treatment of both cognitive impairments with disease modifications. It is highly effective in very small doses against the major Alzheimer's hallmarks in transgenic (3xTg-AD) mice, including cognitive deficits, amyloid and tau pathologies, and also has beneficial effects on inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunctions. AF710B indicates extensive therapeutic advantages in Alzheimer's and other protein-aggregation-related diseases given its ability to enhance neuroprotection and cognition via sigma-1 receptor activation and M1 muscarinic allosteric modulation.
"Obtaining exclusive worldwide rights to this intellectual property is exciting as it is another step in Anavex's overall strategy to build a broad and leading platform of technology and intellectual property for the development of mixed muscarinic and sigma-1 therapeutics. It also adds to our already dominant position in this field," said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anavex. "By adding AF710B to our pipeline of Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative drugs, we have another strong small molecule that comes with a very convincing package of preclinical validation. We look forward to advancing AF710B further into the clinic after the required toxicology studies."
Under the terms of the agreement, Anavex gains exclusive development and commercialization rights for AF710B worldwide. Anavex has agreed to make an upfront payment and LSRI is eligible to receive milestone payments. LSRI may also receive royalty payments, assuming regulatory approval and commercial launch.
About Life Science Research Israel Ltd.
Life Science Research Israel Ltd. (LSRI) is an Israeli governmental company involved in the administration of research programs and also their commercial exploitation of proprietary rights. For CNS developments, LSRI engaged Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), consisting of a multidisciplinary team of R&D under the leadership of Dr. Abraham Fisher. This group has invented and developed, among others, AF710B and the M1 selective muscarinic agonist AF102B (Cevimeline), which was approved by the FDA in 2000 and in Japan in 2001 as a new drug (EvoxacTM) for the treatment of dry mouth in Sjoegren's Syndrome.
About Anavex Life Sciences Corp.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (www.anavex.com) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel drug candidates to treat Alzheimer's, CNS diseases and various types of cancer. ANAVEX 2-73, orally available drug candidate developed to treat Alzheimer's through potential disease modification, has undergone an initial Phase 1 human clinical trial and was well tolerated in doses up to 55mg. Results from pre-clinical studies indicate that ANAVEX 2-73 demonstrates anti-amnesic and neuroprotective properties and a highly encouraging synergistic effect observed between ANAVEX 2-73 and donepezil (Aricept®). The combined therapeutics produced up to 80% greater reversal of memory loss in Alzheimer's disease models versus when the drugs were used individually. Anavex is a publicly traded corporation quoted as AVXL.
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.