Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)

[apostrophe]

re: "I had read all this stuff, and then I started reading about Heptares"

I also started to read up a bit on the buying of Heptares . They have developed bio-mapping techniques using x-ray crytallography that basically allows them to reverse-engineer biologic molecules. Then they can "engineer" compounds based on that knowledge. One could also include "copy" under that heading.

I think that bio-mapping technology is what got them snapped up more than any specific compound they have worked up so far. Maybe they are considering trying to do an end-run around Anavex, or at least making a show of it. Their main accomplishments seem to be determining the structure of the actual receptor molecule inside the body so they can recreate it. The trouble, if I understand correctly, is that these natural molecules are unstable and don't "keep" very well outside the body, so their goal is to "tweak" them into a more stable version. But, if you want to make a pill, there is the hurdle of the gastro-intestinal process transforming the compound into something else, still some chess moves behind. The bioreceptor chemistry is incredibly more complex than I ever imagined.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_protein%E2%80%93coupled_receptor

I think anticipating what happens to an externally introduced molecule as it finally makes its way into the brain is like trying to predict the outcome several moves out in a game of "go". They ostensibly have something more-or-less ready for M1 but I wonder if it would need to be administered intravenously. The Anavex compounds actually improve as they transform and already can be taken as a pill. Anyway... way ahead.