ANAVEX PRESENTS COMPELLING DATA AT WORLD'S LARGEST ALZHEIMER'S CONFERENCE

ANAVEX PRESENTS COMPELLING DATA AT WORLD'S LARGEST
ALZHEIMER'S CONFERENCE

Vancouver, BC – July 17, 2012 -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex”) (OTCBB: AVXL) today announced new and dramatic data concerning its Alzheimer’s disease treatment candidate ANAVEX 2-73 and leading Alzheimer’s treatments Aricept® (donepezil HCl) and Namenda® (memantine HCl).

A clear synergic effect of ANAVEX 2-73 with Aricept® (donepezil HCl) has been demonstrated in a scientific study conducted by Tangui Maurice, PhD, CNRS Research Director, Head of Team 2 "Endogenous Neuroprotection in Neurodegenerative Diseases", at the University of Montpellier and INSERM, in France.

“This new study emphasizes the anti-amnesic and neuroprotective effects of ANAVEX 2-73, and for the first time describes the potential benefits of administering ANAVEX 2-73 with donepezil,” said Dr. Maurice. “ANAVEX 2-73 showed efficacy in reversing learning impairments and toxicity in pre-clinical models. The new data confirms both a restorative effect of ANAVEX 2-73, and in combination with donepezil the potential to boost the therapeutic efficacy of each drug.”

The new data was presented at the world’s largest gathering of dementia researchers at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC) being held this week in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The presentation is titled, “Neuroprotective efficacy of ANAVEX 2-73, a novel tetrahydrofuran derivative targeting the sigma-1 chaperone protein, in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease: Analyses of administration schedules and combination studies with donepezil and memantine.” Conducted jointly by INSERM at University of Montpellier and by Anavex Life Sciences Corp., details of the study are described on Anavex’s website http://www.anavex.com/files/2012-07-16_ANAVEX_2-73_Poster_AAIC.pdf. 

About Alzheimer’s
While Alzheimer’s 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 5.4 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease. The number of Americans aged 65 and over with Alzheimer’s is estimated to reach 6.7 million by 2025. By 2050, between 11 million and 16 million Americans over 65 are expected to have Alzheimer’s disease.

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