Full Press Release Details
ANAVEX APPOINTS DR. JEFFREY CUMMINGS TO ITS
Hoboken, NJ March 1, 2011 -- Anavex Life Sciences
Corp. ( Anavex ) (OTCBB: AVXL) today announced the appointment of Dr. Jeffrey
Cummings to the Scientific Advisory Board as a clinical expert. The Scientific
Advisory Board works closely with the company to support development of the
Anavex product pipeline, including its lead compound ANAVEX 2-73, which is being
studied for Alzheimer s disease and is scheduled to enter Phase I clinical
trials shortly. Dr. Cummings is the third clinical expert serving on the Anavex
Scientific Advisory Board, alongside Drs. Paul Aisen and Rachelle Doody.
Dr. Cummings is Professor of Neurotherapeutics and Drug
Development in the Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic and Director of the
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, Nevada and
Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Cummings was formerly the Augustus S. Rose Professor of
Neurology and Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California. He was Director of
the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer s Disease Research and Director of the
Deane F. Johnson Center for Neurotherapeutics at UCLA. Dr. Cummings has
expertise in neuropsychiatric assessment, outcomes in clinical trials, clinical
trial design and analysis, and global clinical trials and is an experienced
consultant to industry.
Dr. Cummings has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed papers
and 30 books on Alzheimer s disease, neuropsychiatry, and clinical trials. He is
a member of the Alzheimer s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), the National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Neuroprotection
Exploratory Trials in Parkinson s Disease (NET-PD) oversight committee, American
College of Neuropsychopharmacology, American Society for Experimental
Neurotherapeutics, American Academy of Neurology, American Neurologic
Association, American Neuropsychiatric Association (past president), Behavioral
Neurology Society (past president), and the American Association of Geriatric
Psychiatry (honorary member). .
Dr. Cummings graduated magna cum laude from the University of
Wyoming, Laramie and obtained his M.D. degree (with thesis) from the University
of Washington, Seattle. He completed internship at Hartford Hospital in
Hartford, Connecticut and did his neurology residency at Boston University,
Boston, Massachusetts. He had his specialty training in Behavioral Neurology at
Boston University and pursued advanced studies in neuropsychiatry and
neuropathology at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square,
London. Among many other awards, Dr. Cummings received the 2010 Distinguished
Scientist Award from the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry and the
Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award from the National Alzheimer s Association
(2008), the Research Award from the John Douglas French Alzheimer s Research
Foundation (2008) and the Henderson Award of the American Geriatric Society
(2005). Dr. Cummings interests embrace the neuropsychiatry of neurologic
disorders, biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, and clinical trials and
drug development for neurologic diseases.
We are honored that Dr. Cummings has joined our Scientific
Advisory Board, in addition to Drs. Aisen and Doody. All three are highly
respected key opinion leaders in Alzheimer s disease. Dr. Cummings extensive
knowledge and expertise in drug development, biomarkers and clinical trials in
Alzheimer s disease will be instrumental in supporting our clinical development
plans, said Dr. Cameron Durrant, Executive Chairman of Anavex.
I am excited to join the Anavex Scientific Advisory Board. It
is my strong desire to see new and promising drugs move along the development
path in Alzheimer s disease and I believe ANAVEX 2-73, with its unique mechanism
of action, may be a promising drug. The traditional beta-amyloid approach may be
losing ground and with ANAVEX 2-73 we will explore a different treatment
approach, which has interesting data to date, said Dr. Cummings.
About Alzheimer s Disease
While Alzheimer s disease is most common in people over the age
of 65, it can strike adults of any age irrespective of their gender, background
or socioeconomic status. According to the Alzheimer s Association an estimated
5.3 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer s disease. The number
of Americans aged 65 and over with Alzheimer s is estimated to reach 7.7 million
in 2030. By 2050, between 11 million and 16 million Americans over 65 are
expected to have Alzheimer s disease.
ANAVEX 2-73 is the first of a new class of oral,
disease-modifying drugs being studied to potentially treat Alzheimer s disease
itself, versus treating its symptoms.
About Anavex Life Sciences Corp.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (www.anavex.com) is a specialty
pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel drug
candidates for the treatment of neurological diseases and cancer. The Anavex
proprietary SIGMACEPTOR Discovery Platform involves the rational design of drug
compounds targeted to specific receptors involved in the modulation of multiple
cellular biochemical signaling pathways.
The SIGMACEPTOR -N program involves the development of novel
drug candidates that target neurological and neurodegenerative diseases
(Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, depression, pain). The company's lead drug
candidates exhibit high affinity for sigma receptors, which have been
extensively documented as potentially valuable drug targets and have
demonstrated anti-amnesic and neuroprotective properties.
Anavex is a publicly traded company under the symbol
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly
historical in nature are forward-looking statements. These statements are only
predictions based on current information and expectations and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release
include that ANAVEX 2-73 is scheduled to enter Phase I clinical trials shortly;
that Dr. Cummings contributions in the development of ANAVEX 2-73 will be of
great importance; that ANAVEX 2-73 will have an impact on the disease process and treatment in patients and that ANAVEX 2-73 is the
first of a new class of oral, disease-modifying drugs being studied to
potentially treat Alzheimer s disease itself, versus treating its symptoms.
Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in any of
such statements due to various factors, including the risks and uncertainties
inherent in drug discovery and development, which include, without limitation,
the potential failure of development candidates to advance through preclinical
studies or demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical testing and the ability
to pass clinical trials so as to move on to the next phase, our ability to
retain key employees and our ability to finance development or satisfy the
rigorous regulatory requirements for new drugs. Readers are cautioned not to