New Trial Results Reveal Anavex Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Disease Decline
A presentation at the 2024 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference revealed that, according to Phase IIb and III clinical data, Anavex Life Sciences’ new Alzheimer’s drug could significantly slow clinical decline when taken in the early stages of the disease. Known as Anavex 2-73, or blarcamesine, the drug slowed both neurodegeneration and cognitive decline when administered once daily at a dose of either 50 or 30 milligrams.
In commenting on these promising findings, Juan Carlos Lopez-Talavera, M.D., Ph.D., head of research and development at Anavex, said, “People living with early Alzheimer’s disease have the desire to maintain their sense of self for as long as possible. The study results provide the potential for people with more time to engage in meaningful activities.” Christopher U. Missling, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Anavex, added that Alzheimer’s “is such a devastating disease that affects tens of millions worldwide. The findings from this and previous studies with blarcamesine in Alzheimer’s disease further strengthen our belief in the potential of addressing the complex pathology in Alzheimer’s disease.”
For far too long, patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s had no hope of slowing disease progression, let alone reversing existing damage. But, as Lopez-Talavera explained, Anavex took a different approach developing blarcamesine, as the drug is “tailored to improving autophagy, a key clearance mechanism that removes protein aggregates and misfolded proteins across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum.”
Luckily, the early results of this approach are promising. In fact, after 48 weeks of treatment, a daily dose of 50 milligrams was shown to slow disease progression by 38.5%, while the 30-milligram daily dose of blarcamesine slowed progression by 34.6%. As such, Marwan Noel Sabbagh, M.D., professor of neurology and chairman of Anavex’sscientific advisory board, said, “These data are very exciting, particularly in a study that can demonstrate objective slowing of markers of neurodegeneration.”
Furthermore, he added, “The advantage of blarcamesine is that it is a small oral molecule.” As such, it “could be appealing because of its route of administration and good comparative safety profile.” The most commonly reported adverse effect was mild dizziness that could typically resolve with adjustments to medication dosing. In light of both ease of administration and the limited risk of serious side effects, Sabbagh concludes the medication could “reduce crucial barriers within the currently complex health care ecosystem for Alzheimer’s disease and provide broader access to a diverse population with early Alzheimer’s disease.”
While blarcamesine is a breakthrough medication in the world of Alzheimer’s interventions, the drug is just another example of Anavex Life Sciences’ commitment to developing new therapeutics for central nervous system and neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Rett syndrome, and schizophrenia. In fact, blarcamesine is not just showing promise for the slowing of Alzheimer’s progression. Rather, its anticonvulsant, antiamnesic, neuroprotective, and antidepressant properties also indicate that the medication could be beneficial to Parkinson’s patients, leading the Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund clinical trials on its benefits for that disease as well, suggesting that the drug could provide multiple benefits if approved and made available to the general public.
Note: This article discusses investigational uses of a product in development and does not intend to make conclusions about efficacy or safety. There is no guarantee that blarcamesine will successfully complete clinical development or gain health authority approval.