ANAVEX outlines corporate milestones, drug advancement plans for 2008

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Anavex Life Sciences
Corp. ("ANAVEX") (OTCBB: AVXL) reported today that the company achieved
significant development of its lead drug candidates and in the growth of its
management and scientific teams during 2007. The company further disclosed key
corporate objectives for 2008.
"This past year has been extremely successful for ANAVEX, with important
achievements in all business areas. As a result, we are well positioned for
excellent progress in 2008 and beyond," said Dr. Kontzalis, Chief Executive
Officer for ANAVEX. "This year ANAVEX is planning to file Investigational New
Drug (IND) applications for three lead drug candidates, commence Phase 1
clinical trials of our lead Alzheimer's compound, explore stock exchange
opportunities in the United States, and expand our scientific collaborations
beyond the European community to include American research and academic
institutions. In addition, we are proceeding with an accelerated pre-clinical
development program to advance several additional compounds that are in the
discovery or lead optimization stage."
2008 OBJECTIVES
Pre-clinical studies for three of ANAVEX's lead drug candidates are
nearing completion, including those for Alzheimer's, epilepsy and colorectal
cancer. At the same time, other compounds targeting depression and other forms
of cancer (prostate, breast, lung) are being quickly advanced through the
pre-clinical stages.
In 2008, once pre-clinical studies have been completed, ANAVEX plans to
submit IND applications for three compounds so that we can commence Phase 1
clinical trials. We expect to submit IND filings for ANAVEX 1-41 (Alzheimer's)
in April 2008, followed by an application for ANAVEX 2-73 (epilepsy) in August
2008, and ANAVEX 7-1037 (colorectal cancer and other solid tumors) by December
2008. ANAVEX 1-41 is expected to be the first compound to reach Phase 1
clinical trials, with human testing expected to commence in late 2008 or early
2009.
Also in 2008, ANAVEX plans to strategically explore marketplace choices
and opportunities in the United States. The company believes that the benefits
of listing on a senior stock exchange would include expanded relationships
with the American investment community and the support of a larger, more
liquid trading market.
ANAVEX is aiming to sign licensing agreements for its lead CNS candidates
following Phase 1 clinical trials. The company is motivated to pursue
licensing agreements for its oncology drug candidates at an earlier stage.
World-Class Strategic Partnerships
ANAVEX has forged strong scientific collaborations with leading European
research and academic institutions, including Universite Montpellier,
Universite Louis-Pasteur, EuroGENET Laboratories and the Academy of Athens'
Institute of Biomedical Research. With these partnerships, ANAVEX is able to
outsource parts of the R&D process to drive capital efficiency while
maintaining intellectual property and research control. In 2008, ANAVEX plans
to expand its scientific collaborations to include major U.S. research and
academic institutions.
Pipeline Highlights
ANAVEX's SIGMACEPTOR(TM)-N program pipeline is focused on developing
disease-modifying treatments for neurological conditions.
Considerable advancements have been made with ANAVEX 1-41. In recent
pre-clinical animal studies, the compound demonstrated significant
neuroprotective benefits through the prevention of oxidative stress, which
damages and destroys cells and is believed to be a primary cause of
Alzheimer's disease. The novel mechanism of action of ANAVEX 1-41 demonstrates
that the compound may influence the course of Alzheimer's disease and prevent
or limit the creation of plaques that destroy brain cells in the hippocampus,
the part of the brain that regulates learning, emotion and memory. Published
results were presented at the Neuroscience 2007 conference in San Diego,
California. Testing on ANAVEX 1-41 is being conducted in cooperation with
Universite Montpellier in France. Phase 1 trials of ANAVEX 1-41 on humans are
scheduled to commence in late 2008 or early 2009.
The company has also made promising developments with ANAVEX 2-73, its
lead drug candidate to treat epilepsy. Results from epilepsy animal models
reveal that both compounds have significant anticonvulsant, anti-amnesic and
neuroprotective properties. These activities involve muscarinic and sigma-1
receptor components, which is significant because it indicates a unique mode
of action that may help control epilepsy and prevent the process that causes
long-term damage to tissue and cells as well as biochemical and physiological
alterations to the brain. Published results were presented at the Neuroscience
2007 conference in San Diego. Ongoing pre-clinical studies are being conducted
in collaboration with Universite Montpellier and are scheduled for completion
by the end of May 2008.
ANAVEX's SIGMACEPTOR(TM)-C program pipeline involves the development of
novel and original drug candidates targeting cancer.
ANAVEX 7-1037, the company's lead drug candidate for the treatment of
colorectal cancer and other types of solid tumors, recently revealed
chemotherapeutic potential without toxic side effects in advanced pre-clinical
studies. The compound has been shown to kill human colon cancer cells and also
significantly suppress tumor growth in immune-deficient mice. Published
results were presented at the 15th Euroconference on Apoptosis in Portoroz,
Slovenia. Testing on ANAVEX 7-1037 is being conducted in cooperation with the
Academy of Athens' Institute of Biomedical Research.
Published results for ANAVEX 1-41, ANAVEX 2-73 and ANAVEX 7-1037 are
available at www.anavex.com/publications.html.
Corporate Developments
On the corporate front in 2007, Dr. Panos Kontzalis was appointed as Chief
Executive Officer and Director, Dr. Alexandre Vamvakides became Chief
Scientific Officer and Director, and ANAVEX added a distinguished, medically
trained MBA to its Board of Directors. The company also attracted prominent
scientists Dr. Jean Jacques Bourguignon and Dr. Tangui Nicolas Maurice, who
joined the company's scientific team and were appointed as members of the
scientific committee.
Dr. Kontzalis is a 38-year pharmaceutical-sector veteran. He has held
various senior positions at Novartis Pharma in Basel, Switzerland, including
Market and Business Analyst for the central nervous system (CNS) portfolio,
Group Market and Business Analyst for the transplantation, dermatology,
rheumatology and cardiovascular portfolio, and Market Research and Competitive
Intelligence Manager for transplantation, immunology and oncology. Dr.
Kontzalis was appointed Head of Novartis' Global Market Research Department in
1998, Global Sales Forecasting Manager in 1999, Deputy Head of Global Sales
Forecasting in 2003, and was Head of Global Sales Forecasting Operations until
2006.
Dr. Vamvakides has spent 30 years in research, focusing on the therapeutic
and pharmacological areas of nootropes, anti-neurodegenerative
(anti-Alzheimer's), anti-epileptic, anti-depressive and prototype molecules.
The author of more than 80 published scientific papers, he has worked at the
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale in Paris, France,
University of Athens (Greece), Ciba-Geigy (Basel, Switzerland), Sanofi
(Montpellier, France) and many other European research labs for the discovery
and development of new concepts in the therapeutic areas of CNS, oncology and
anti-inflammatory diseases. Dr. Vamvakides holds a M.Sc. in chemistry from
Bordeaux University, France, and a M.Sc. in pharmacology, a M.Sc. in
biochemistry and a Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology all from the University of
Paris, Medical School.
In December, Dr. Cameron Durrant, a medically trained MBA with an
entrepreneurial background and major international pharmaceutical experience,
joined the company's Board of Directors. Dr. Durrant is currently Worldwide
Vice President of Virology Global Strategic Marketing at Johnson & Johnson
(NYSE: JNJ). Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Durrant was President and
CEO of PediaMed Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Durrant's background also includes
executive-level positions with Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline and Pharmacia (now
Pfizer). He was a regional winner and national finalist for Ernst & Young's
Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2005. Dr. Durrant holds a MBA from Henley
Management College at Oxford and a MB and BCh (equivalent to an American MD
degree) from the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff, U.K.
Scientific team member Dr. Bourguignon has 30 years experience in
medicinal chemistry, including expertise in drug design and optimization as
well as organic and physical chemistry. Dr. Bourguignon is a Research Director
(CNRS) at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Strasbourg-Illkrich, France. His background
also includes work as a senior scientist at the Center of Neurochemistry
(Strasbourg, France), post-doctoral fellow with the department of chemistry at
the State University of Buffalo, and as a research associate at the Faculty of
Pharmacy in Strasbourg. Dr. Bourguignon holds a Ph.D. in polymer physical
chemistry from the Universite Louis-Pasteur in Strasbourg.
The latest addition to the ANAVEX scientific team, Dr. Maurice has 15
years of experience in the field of neurosciences. His expertise is spread
across a number of areas, including behavioral and molecular
neuropharmacology, sigma receptors, neuropeptides, neurosteroids, neurotrophic
factors, normal/pathological aging models for Alzheimer's disease and related
disorders, and behavioral phenotyping of rodent models. Before joining ANAVEX,
Dr. Maurice held research positions with Institut National de la sante et de
la recherche medicale (INSERM) U710 at Montpellier, Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), INSERM U336, the department of
neuropsychopharmacology and hospital pharmacy at Meijo University (Nagoya,
Japan), and Jouveinal Research Institute (Fresnes, France). A past recipient
of the CNRS bronze medal, Dr. Maurice holds a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular
biology with a specialty in neuropharmacology from Universite Montpellier.
"ANAVEX's work is led by a strong, proven management team and Board of
Directors supported by a highly skilled scientific team of biochemists,
molecular pharmacologists and biologists, working in collaboration with
leading academic institutions," said Dr. Kontzalis. "With seven lead
candidates and an additional 50 compounds at various early stages of
discovery, ANAVEX has one of the industry's most robust pipelines of
disease-modifying drugs. We plan to continue to focus on best-in-class
products that take radically different approaches to drugs on the market today
which, in many cases, treat symptoms instead of the underlying causes of a
particular disease. Our team looks forward to a highly successful 2008."
About ANAVEX
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (www.anavex.com) is an emerging
biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel
drug targets for the treatment of cancer and neurological diseases. The
company's proprietary SIGMACEPTOR(TM) Discovery Platform involves the rational
drug design of compounds that fulfill specific criteria based on unmet market
needs and new scientific advances. Selected drug candidates demonstrate high,
non-exclusive affinity for sigma receptors, which are involved in the
modulation of multiple cellular biochemical signaling pathways.
ANAVEX's SIGMACEPTOR(TM)-N program involves the development of novel and
original drug candidates, targeting neurological and neurodegenerative
diseases (Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, depression, etc.). The company's lead
drug candidates exhibit high, non-exclusive affinity for sigma receptors with
strong evidence for anti-amnesic, neuroprotective, anti-apoptotic,
anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsive, anti-depressant and
anxiolytic properties.
ANAVEX's SIGMACEPTOR(TM)-C program involves the development of novel and
original drug candidates targeting cancer. The company's lead drug candidates
exhibit high, non-exclusive affinity for sigma receptors with strong evidence
for selective pro-apoptotic, anti-metastatic and low toxicity properties in
various types of solid cancers such as colon, prostate, breast, lung, etc.
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. 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 file an IND or commence clinical studies.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. This caution is made under
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement and Anavex Life Sciences Corp. undertakes no obligation
to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances
after the date hereof.
For Further Information

Anavex Life Sciences Corp.
Research & Business Development
Email: info@anavex.com

Shareholder & Media Relations
Toll-free: 1-866-505-2895
Outside North America: (416) 489-0092
Email: ir@anavex.com
www.anavex.com

SOURCE Anavex Life Sciences Corp.

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., Research & Business Development, Email:
info@anavex.com; Shareholder & Media Relations, Toll-free: 1-866-505-2895,
Outside North America: (416) 489-0092, Email: ir@anavex.com, www.anavex.com