Anavex Partners with Neuronetrix for Alzheimer’s Clinical Trial

A novel, potentially disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is set to begin a Phase 2a clinical trial, designed to evaluate efficacy over a time frame of 6 months, across 7 study sites in Australia. ANAVEX 2-73, a pipeline product of Anavex Life Sciences Corp., will be partnering with a leader in neurotech, Neuronetrix, for their proprietary COGNISION™ System, a neuro-electrophysiological device that allows objective assessments that can effectively quantify and analyze cognitive biomarkers in the study’s participants.

There are over 332,000 Alzheimer’s patients in Australia alone, and at least 44 million worldwide. There is still no known cure for this neurodegenerative disease, and today’s available treatments have only been successful with slowing disease progression. Without a breakthrough treatment soon, experts are expecting the number of Alzheimer’s patients to increase to 135 million worldwide by the year 2050.

This multi-site adaptive study will examine key performance measures in 32 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. With COGNISION’s help, Anavex’s researchers will have a more convenient, reliable means to study cognitive biomarkers through a cloud database.

“Due to COGNISION™’s cloud based structure, our systems are specifically designed to be used in multi-site clinical trials that require immediate data analysis,” said Dr. Marco Cecchi, Director of Research and Clinical Affairs, Neuronetrix. “We are excited to be a part of this important treatment study.”

Anavex is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in researching and developing treatments for Central Nervous System disease and cancer. AVANEX 2-73 is an oral formulation that specifically acts on sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors, and in preclinical studies has shown potential in being able to stop and/or reverse Alzheimer’s disease. For more information about Avanex, visit their website at http://www.anavex.com, or dial toll-free (844)-689-3939, or e-mail [email protected].

Researchers are also looking into the possibility of treating Alzheimer’s disease with drugs indicated for type 2 diabetes. A study conducted on mice for 10 weeks showed that the mice receiving these medications exhibited improved memories and recognition of objects.This supports past studies that sought to establish a causative link between type 2 diabetes and developing Alzheimer’s, and the unexplored potential of repurposing diabetes medication for the treatment of cognitive disorders.