Anavex Life Sciences Announces Appointment of Dr. Audrey Gabelle, MD, PhD to the Scientific Advisory Board

NEW YORK, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative treatments for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and rare diseases, including Rett syndrome, and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the appointment of Professor Dr. Audrey Gabelle, MD, PhD, a specialist of predictive, personalized medicine and digital health in Alzheimer' disease and related disorders, to the Anavex Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Audrey Gabelle is a Professor of Neurology, MD, PhD, Neurologist and Doctor in Neurosciences at the Memory Resources Research Center, the Rare and Early Dementia Reference Center and the European Neurodegenerative Excellence Center of Montpellier University. Dr. Gabelle is also researcher at the Montpellier Institute of Neurosciences and member of the European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium.

Professor Dr. Gabelle is an accomplished leader with 10+ years of experience driving innovation in addition to 10+ years of experience in clinical Phase I-IV trials. She managed 400+ memory centers within the French network. She has a strong publication record with 200+ peer reviewed scientific papers, and is experienced in public-private partnerships, and collaborating with pharmaceutical companies. She was also founding member of research projects both at the European and global level and collaborates with international teams.

Professor Dr. Gabelle has expertise in diagnosis, predictive and prognosis biomarkers with the creation of the NeuroCognition biobank since 2007, including more than 35,000 samples with CSF, plasma proteomics profile, and clinical data including follow-up. She is involved in cohorts from population-based Three-City Study (3C Study) to clinical cohorts, including the Biomarker of AmyLoid pepTide and AlZheimer's diseAse Risk (BALTAZAR) study, a system supporting Memory and Moments of people with Early and Middle stage of dementia (MEMENTO), the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT study), and the European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD) longitudinal cohort study, to determine risk stratification and preventive strategies at early stage of neurodegenerative processes.

Recently, she focused on real-world evidence (RWE), digital health strategies and Artificial Intelligence (AI), honed through training at Columbia University, Harvard University Executive Leadership and prior leadership of digital initiatives at Biogen, including the Intuition Study with Apple, published in Nature Medicine.

“I’m thrilled to join Anavex’s Scientific Advisory Board given the convincing profile of blarcamesine as a potentially relevant treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Professor Dr. Gabelle. “There is a tremendous unmet medical need around the globe caused by Alzheimer’s disease. I look forward to collaborating on cutting-edge science and helping guide the development of new therapies that can make a meaningful impact on neurodegenerative disorders. A small molecule administered orally once daily, with demonstrated clinically meaningful improvement and good safety profile could be a game changer for patients, health care burden and equity of access to care. I am committed to leveraging my experience, and to supporting the Anavex Life Sciences Company’s ambition of improving lives through novel precision medicine such as blarcamesine.”

“We are delighted to welcome Professor Dr. Gabelle to Anavex’s Scientific Advisory Board,” stated Christopher U Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anavex. “Professor Dr. Gabelle brings broad expertise in Alzheimer’s disease combined with Digital Health to Anavex. I look forward to her active contributions in the process of advancing blarcamesine (ANAVEX^®2-73) to patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.”

About Anavex Life Sciences Corp.

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: AVXL) is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, Rett syndrome, and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain, and various types of cancer. Anavex's lead drug candidate, ANAVEX^®2-73 (blarcamesine), has successfully completed a Phase 2a and a Phase 2b/3 clinical trial for Alzheimer's disease, a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in Parkinson's disease dementia, and both a Phase 2 and a Phase 3 study in adult patients and one Phase 2/3 study in pediatric patients with Rett syndrome. ANAVEX^®2-73 is an orally available drug candidate designed to restore cellular homeostasis by targeting SIGMAR1 and muscarinic receptors. Preclinical studies demonstrated its potential to halt and/or reverse the course of Alzheimer's disease. ANAVEX^®2-73 also exhibited anticonvulsant, anti-amnesic, neuroprotective, and anti-depressant properties in animal models, indicating its potential to treat additional CNS disorders, including epilepsy. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research previously awarded Anavex a research grant, which fully funded a preclinical study to develop ANAVEX^®2-73 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. We believe that ANAVEX^®3-71, which targets SIGMAR1 and M1 muscarinic receptors, is a promising clinical stage drug candidate demonstrating disease-modifying activity against the major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in transgenic (3xTg-AD) mice, including cognitive deficits, amyloid, and tau pathologies. In preclinical trials, ANAVEX^®3-71 has shown beneficial effects on mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Further information is available at . You can also connect with the Company on , , and .

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 set forth in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. 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.

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