Anavex Life Sciences Corp (OTCMKTS:AVXL) shares were up 31.53% to $4.13 and flat in after-hours trading. The company has a market cap of $147.5 million at 35.7 million shares outstanding. Share prices have been trading in a 52-week range of $2.43 to $14.84.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is engaged in the development of differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including drug candidates to treat Alzheimer’s disease, other central nervous system diseases, pain and various types of cancer. Its lead compounds ANAVEX 2-73 and ANAVEX PLUS, a combination of ANAVEX 2-73 with donepezil (Aricept), are being developed. Apart from that, Anavex Life Sciences Corp has other products in its pipeline, which includes ANAVEX 3-71, ANAVEX 1-41 and ANAVEX 1037.
In a press release, Anavex Life Sciences Corp announced that it signed a material transfer agreement with Biogen for them to test the company’s lead drug candidate, ANAVEX 2-73 in an oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation assay. A satisfactory result in this study could lead to an in vivo remyelination study using a chemical demyelination model.
Battling demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis requires an understanding of the processes that cause remyelination to fail. Remyelination of demyelinated axons is typically a function of oligodendrocyte precursor cells. These studies will examine the therapeutic role ANAVEX 2-73 may play in permitting remyelination in the brain,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, President and CEO of Anavex Life Sciences Corp.
ANAVEX 2-73 is currently in a Phase 2a clinical trial for Alzheimer’s disease. It is an orally available drug candidate that targets sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors and successfully completed Phase 1 with a clean safety profile.
Biogen is one of the world’s oldest independent biotechnology companies and patients worldwide benefit from its leading multiple sclerosis and innovative hemophilia therapies. The company discovers, develops and delivers worldwide innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological, autoimmune and rare diseases.
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