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NEW YORK - Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL), whose stock has surged nearly 60% over the past year according to InvestingPro data, announced Thursday that its drug candidate ANAVEX3-71 met the primary endpoint of safety and tolerability in a Phase 2 clinical trial for adults with schizophrenia who were on stable antipsychotic medication.
The placebo-controlled study showed no serious treatment-emergent adverse events or severe adverse events in either part of the trial, according to the company’s press release. The safety profile was consistent with previous studies of ANAVEX3-71 in healthy volunteers. The company, currently valued at $774 million, maintains a strong financial position with more cash than debt and a healthy current ratio of 8.93x, according to InvestingPro data.
Secondary and exploratory analyses revealed encouraging trends in several biomarkers, including positive changes in electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potential (ERP) measurements. The company also reported that glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of neuroinflammation, was reduced in participants receiving the drug compared to those on placebo.
"We are encouraged that our ANAVEX3-71-SZ-001 study aligns with our expectations for safety and tolerability," said Juan Carlos Lopez-Talavera, Head of Research and Development at Anavex.
ANAVEX3-71 is a dual SIGMAR1 receptor agonist and M1 positive allosteric modulator. The company suggests this mechanism of action could potentially address all symptom domains of schizophrenia without the side effects associated with standard antipsychotic treatments.
Schizophrenia affects nearly 24 million people worldwide, including 2.8 million in the U.S. Current treatments have significant limitations, with approximately 34% of patients not responding to therapy and 50-60% experiencing only partial improvement or unacceptable side effects, according to data cited in the company statement.
Anavex did not disclose plans for further clinical development of ANAVEX3-71 for schizophrenia in its announcement. While the company is not yet profitable, analysts maintain an optimistic outlook with price targets ranging from $15 to $46 per share. For deeper insights into Anavex’s financial health and growth prospects, including 8 additional key ProTips, investors can access the comprehensive research report available on InvestingPro.
In other recent news, Anavex Life Sciences reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2025, revealing a net loss of $13.2 million, equivalent to $0.16 per share. This result slightly missed the analysts’ earnings per share forecast of -$0.1457. Despite the loss, the company maintains a strong cash position of $101.2 million and carries no debt. Additionally, Anavex Life Sciences has been in the spotlight due to new clinical data from its Phase 2b/3 trial of blarcamesine in Alzheimer’s disease, which showed minimal decline in early Alzheimer’s patients over 48 weeks. H.C. Wainwright continues to support Anavex Life Sciences with a reiterated Buy rating and a $42.00 price target, following promising data from the trial. Furthermore, a peer-reviewed study published in Neuroscience Letters highlighted the potential of blarcamesine in preventing memory impairment and brain oxidative injury in an Alzheimer’s disease model. These developments have kept Anavex Life Sciences under close watch by investors and analysts alike.
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