Anavex Life Sciences Announces Continued Long-Term Benefit from Oral Blarcamesine Compared to Decline Observed in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Control Group

Core Insights - Anavex Life Sciences Corp. announced new findings for blarcamesine, an oral small molecule for the potential treatment of early Alzheimer's disease, demonstrating significant cognitive benefits compared to the ADNI control group [1][2][5] Group 1: Clinical Trial Results - In the intent-to-treat population, blarcamesine showed a significant reduction in cognitive decline at 48 weeks with a mean change from baseline ADAS-Cog13 total score of -2.68 points (p < 0.0001) compared to the ADNI control group [4] - At 96 weeks, the difference in mean change in ADAS-Cog13 total score was -6.41 points (p < 0.0001), and this difference increased to -12.78 points at 144 weeks (p < 0.0001) [5][7] - The treatment resulted in 77.4 weeks (approximately 17.8 months) of 'time saved' in the ITT population compared to the ADNI control group, emphasizing the real-world impact of the treatment on patients' daily lives [9][10] Group 2: Mechanism of Action - Blarcamesine was confirmed to restore impaired autophagy, acting upstream of amyloid-beta and tau pathologies, which are critical in Alzheimer's disease progression [11][12] - The mechanism involves SIGMAR1 activation, enhancing autophagic flux and proteostasis capacity, which may ameliorate symptoms associated with protein aggregation [12] Group 3: Company Perspective - The company expressed optimism about the significant clinical improvements and the favorable safety profile of blarcamesine, highlighting its potential as a scalable and patient-friendly treatment option for early Alzheimer's disease [13] - Anavex plans to present this new data at international Alzheimer's disease conferences, aiming to advance treatment strategies for this chronic condition [13]