Phase 2 Trial Testing Anavex 2-73 Recruiting Parkinson’s Patients With Dementia in Spain
The first patient has been enrolled in Anavex Life Sciences‘ Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the potential and safety of Anavex 2-73 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia.
Now actively recruiting, the study (2017-004335-36) is expected to enroll approximately 120 Parkinson’s patients ages 50 or older with a dementia diagnosis. It is being conducted across several clinical sites in Spain, and has received the support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and León Research.
Anavex has been developing Anavex 2-73 as a potential disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. It is a small molecule that activates the sigma-1 receptor located in a cellular structure called the endoplasmic reticulum, which is critical for several cellular regulatory mechanisms.
“We are very pleased to initiate our first patient enrollment into the Parkinson’s disease dementia Phase 2 study of Anavex 2-73,” Christopher U. Missling, PhD, president and CEO of Anavex, said in a press release. “This is an important step toward achieving clinical data for the second indication initiating this year for Anavex 2-73 also incorporating genomic precision medicine biomarkers.”
Trial participants will be randomly assigned to receive orally 10 or 20 mg of Anavex 2-73 or a placebo for 14 weeks.
Researchers will evaluate the impact of the treatment on cognition, as determined by the cognitive drug research computerized assessment system, as well as on patients’ motor function and sleep quality.
During the study, researchers will also assess genomic precision medicine biomarkers associated with Anavex 2-73 that were identified in another Phase 2 trial (NCT02244541) in Alzheimer’s disease.
Additional information (in Spanish) on the trial can be found here. Patients and caregivers interested in taking part in the study can download and fill out a simple screening questionnaire that is available on the website to assist in discussions with their physician.
“Parkinson’s disease is an already prevalent disease among older individuals that is poised to become a much greater public health problem around the globe in the coming decades and is now appreciated commonly to cause cognitive impairment, including dementia, and behavioral changes,” Jaime Kulisevsky, MD, PhD, principle investigator of the Phase 2 trial, as well as a professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and director of the Movement Disorders Unit of the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona.
Results from preclinical studies have shown that Anavex 2-73 has the potential to restore function to damaged nerve cells in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. The compound was also found to target faulty proteins and poorly working mitochondria — the cells’ powerhouses — preventing oxidative stress and inflammation.
As of now, only one medication, Nuplazid (pimavanserin) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease.
