Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)

[falconer66a]

Better, because of tiny concentrations.

...3-71 may be the new and improved version of 2-73 in early testing.

So far, the Anavex story involves the safety and efficacy of blarcamesine (Anavex 2-73) as a therapy for Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), Rett syndrome, and Alzheimer's. Human clinical trials were initiated with blarcamesine for all three of these.

As interested parties will know, blarcamesine has yielded statistically-significant and safe results in an early PDD trial. Details of those results will appear a bit later. Results from a trial for Rett syndrome will appear shortly. Results for the big Alzheimer's trial will appear sometime next year.

Positive results have already appeared in the PDD study, along with very early results in an earlier, smaller Rett study. This should continue with the big Alzheimer's study. Well and good.

But it is noted that in the recent PDD study announcement, dosings of blarcamesine were in the range of 30 to 50mg. Very good, with both efficacy and safety. Could anything be better?

Yes; significantly. Murine (lab rodent) studies indicate that effective dosings of Anavex 3-71 are one-thousandth smaller; measured in micrograms, not milligrams. (1.0 milligram = 0.001 gram; 1.0 microgram = 0.000001 gram). Therapeutically, Anavex 3-71 dosings may be in the range of 30 to 50 micrograms (or so).

Why would this be important? Two reasons (at least). First, simply, would be the manufacturing cost. Perhaps one one-thousandth the cost of blarcamesine.

Secondly could be the proportionally-reduced chances of adverse events; side effects. Right now, at dosages up to 50mg blarcamesine has minimal and minor side effects; headaches, dizziness. Anavex 3-71, at its low concentrations, is likely to have even fewer side effects, if any.

One might claim that Anavex 3-71 is "a thousand times stronger" than Anavex 2-73, blarcamesine. Murine tests have been positive. Final human studies have yet to be conducted. In time, they will. In a few years, Anavex 3-71 may be the company's lead drug. It's MOA (mechanism of action) is the same as blarcamesine, activation of the sigma-1 receptor protein. There is a good chance that such activation will work for an even larger number of human diseases and conditions. With blarcamesine, we are in but the first chapter of the Anavex story. With Anavex 3-71, bigger, longer chapters are likely to follow. Of glacial size, not merely an "iceberg."