Anavex Life Sciences Reports Fiscal 2020 Second Quarter Financial Results And Provides Business Updates

NEW YORK, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. ("Anavex" or the "Company") AVXL, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Rett syndrome and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2020 second quarter.

"We are pleased to report that we are approaching the conclusion of the double-blind Phase 2 Parkinson's disease dementia trial with ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) and we expect to report top line results by mid-2020," said Christopher U Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anavex. "Both the Alzheimer's disease Phase 2b/3 trial and clinical Rett syndrome programs are also proceeding as planned. Our focus on Precision Medicine studies for neurological disorders remains persistent."

Program Updates:

• Enrollment for the two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) U.S. Phase 2 Rett syndrome trial¹ and the AVATAR Rett syndrome trial² each have surpassed the 50% mark and continue to enroll.
• Despite the outbreak of COVID-19, all clinical trial programs continue to proceed. While Rett syndrome protocols have always by default allowed at-home visits, Anavex implemented contingency plans as recommended by local regulatory authorities for the Phase 2b/3 ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) Alzheimer's disease (AD) study³ and the Phase 2 study in Parkinson's Disease Dementia (PDD) study⁴ to ensure remote or virtual assessments for all active patients and all respective extension studies. Because ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) is an oral formulation, study participants are able to receive shipments of their study medication in a controlled and compliant fashion, and direct-to-patient delivery is occurring in multiple countries.
• In January 2020, Anavex announced achieving the enrollment target for the ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) Phase 2 study in Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Topline results from this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study are expected by mid-2020.
• In February 2020, Anavex announced a publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neuroimmunology titled "Sigma-1 Receptor Agonists as Potential Protective Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis" featuring preclinical data of ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) relevant to multiple sclerosis.
• In April 2020, Anavex announced a publication in the peer-reviewed journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, entitled, "A precision medicine framework using Artificial Intelligence for the identification and confirmation of genomic biomarkers of response to an Alzheimer's disease therapy: Analysis of the Blarcamesine (ANAVEX2-73) Phase 2a clinical study" highlights the relevance of phenotypic and genotypic precision medicine analyses of Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) and gene expression (RNAseq) data in drug development and in particular the potential to identify patients' genetic variants and gene expression changes that may predict increased chances of success of Alzheimer's disease treatments.

Financial Highlights:

• Cash and cash equivalents of $26.6 million at March 31, 2020, compared to $22.2 million at fiscal year ended September 30, 2019.
• Research and development expenses of $6.1 million for both the current quarter as well as the comparable quarter in 2019. 
• General and administrative expenses of $1.7 million for the quarter as compared to $2.1 million for the comparable quarter in 2019.
• Net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.12 per share for the quarter, compared to net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.15 per share in the comparable quarter of 2019.

The financial information for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020 should be read in conjunction with the Company's consolidated interim financial statements, which will appear on EDGAR, www.sec.gov and will be available on the Anavex website at www.anavex.com.

Conference Call / Webcast Information

Anavex will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The live webcast of the conference call can be accessed online at http://www.wsw.com/webcast/cc/avxl13.

To join the conference call, live via telephone, interested parties within the U.S. should dial, toll-free, 1 (866) 939-3921 and international callers should dial 1 (678) 302-3550. Please use confirmation number 49673201, followed by the pound sign (#).

A replay of the conference call will also be available on www.anavex.com.

About Anavex Life Sciences Corp.

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. AVXL is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Rett syndrome and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain and various types of cancer. Anavex's lead drug candidate, ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine), recently completed a successful Phase 2a clinical trial for Alzheimer's disease. ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) 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 (blarcamesine) 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 previously awarded Anavex a research grant, which fully funded a preclinical study to develop ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. ANAVEX®3-71, which targets sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors, is a promising preclinical drug candidate demonstrating disease-modifying activity against the major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in transgenic (3xTg-AD) mice, including cognitive deficits, amyloid and tau pathologies. In preclinical trials, ANAVEX®3-71 has shown beneficial effects on mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. 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:
Email: ir@anavex.com

¹ ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03758924
² ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03941444
³ ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03790709
⁴ ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03774459