Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)

[JB3729]

Yes, their drug is not a sigma-1 agonist.

Below is why that is bad. Notice the bolded by me. We heard about this in today's PR -

Anavex Encouraged by Data Showing Sigma-1 Receptor Reduces Tau Dysfunction, a Hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease

New Report Validates Therapeutic Application of Anavex Compounds in Tau Diseases

NEW YORK, NY – May 21, 2015 – Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex” or the “Company”) (OTCQX: AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing drug candidates to treat Alzheimer’s disease, other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain, and various types of cancer, is encouraged by recent data published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research determines that activating the sigma-1 receptor with agonists can potentially reduce the devastating impact of tau dysfunction. Abnormal tau phosphorylation is a common characteristic in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer’s is the most widely recognized neurodegenerative disease associated with the aggregation of tau protein in the brain, with others including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and frontotemporal dementia.

It has been previously reported that ANAVEX 2-73, targeting the sigma-1 receptor in a dose-dependent study, blocked tau and amyloid-beta (“amyloid”) proteins as well as memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. This data was published in the international scientific journal Neuropsychopharmacology. A reduction in these two main hallmarks of Alzheimer’s has the potential to stop, slow or reverse the disease. ANAVEX 2-73 is currently in a Phase 2a study for Alzheimer’s disease, and the Company expects to report preliminary data around the Q3 2015 timeframe.

“We are pleased to see further potential for our sigma-1 drug therapeutics, including ANAVEX 2-73, to prevent tau toxicity in Alzheimer’s and also possibly in other CNS diseases,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anavex. “Our team is excited by the findings of this publication and looks forward to the reporting of preliminary data for the Phase 2a Alzheimer’s trial later this year.”

The scientific paper, entitled “Sigma-1 receptor regulates Tau phosphorylation and axon extension by shaping p35 turnover via myristic acid,” is authored by S.Y. Tsai, T.-P. Su, et al., from the, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Health and Human Services in Baltimore, MD.
http://www.anavex.com/?news=anavex-encouraged-by-data-showing-sigma-1-receptor-reduces-tau-dysfunction-a-hallmark-of-alzheimers-disease