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Anavex to present data on ANAVEX 2-73, lead compound for Alzheimer’s disease, at Japan Neuroscience Society special symposium

HOBOKEN, NJ, September 15, 2011 – Anavex Life Sciences Corp., (“Anavex”, OTCBB: AVXL) will present the most recent data showing the therapeutic potential of ANAVEX compounds in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease at a special symposium of the 34th annual meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society. The symposium is being held in Yokohama, Japan from September 15-17, 2011.

Results obtained with ANAVEX 2-73 and ANAVEX1-41 will be outlined by Dr. Tangui Maurice, CNRS Research Director, Team II Endogenous Neuroprotection in Neurodegenerative Diseases INSERM, University of Montpellier. The Anavex presentation will provide an overview of the neuroprotection induced by ligands activating the sigma-1 chaperone protein in Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are pleased to be presenting data at this time on the disease-modifying potential of ANAVEX 2-73 and its potential dual utility in both amyloid and Tau pathology, which is currently nearing completion of Phase I clinical trials”, said Harvey Lalach, President of Anavex.

In particular, the pathomimetic toxicity induced by oligomeric amyloid 25-35 fragments injected into the brain of mice could be alleviated in several aspects, including cell loss, cellular stress and brain inflammation. The most recent data suggested that ANAVEX 2-73 could alleviate the generation of newly formed amyloid-beta species that are induced in the model and contribute to the formation of senile plaques in the pathology. Moreover, ANAVEX 2-73 also blocked the mechanism involved in the abnormal and hyper-phosphorylation of Tau protein. Tau protein, once abnormally and hyperphosphorylated, can clump together within neurons, creating so-called neurofibrillary tangles, which are associated with poorly functioning neurons and cell death. These two actions, on amyloid beta species seeding and Tau phosphorylation, suggested that the drug could help to decrease the chronic pathological processes and therefore act as a disease-modifying agent.

About the ANAVEX 2-73 Phase I Clinical Trial

This Phase I clinical trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled study to initially test ANAVEX 2-73 as a single, ascending oral dose in healthy male volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55. The trial seeks to determine the maximum tolerated single dose, safety and pharmacokinetics.

The Phase I clinical trial is being conducted in Germany in collaboration with ABX-CRO, a clinical research organization that has conducted several Alzheimer’s disease studies, and the Technical University of Dresden.