New Findings Related to Blarcamesine Treatment for People with Alzheimer Disease Presented at AAIC 2025

According to an analysis of results from the phase 2b/3 ANAVEX2-73-AD-004 clinical trial (NCT04314934), treatment with Anavex2-73 (blarcamesine; Anavex Life Sciences, New York, NY) yielded greater clinical response for people with Alzheimer disease (AD) who carried the homozygous wild-type (WT) SIGMAR1 genotype. In a presentation at the 2025 meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), researchers explained how the study results demonstrate the importance of precision medicine in AD treatment.

In results from the phase 2b/3 trial, treatment with Anavex2-73, a small-molecule activator of the sigma-1 receptor (SIGMAR1), significantly slowed the progression of cognitive and functional decline in people with AD vs placebo for all study participants. At 48 weeks, participants treated with Anavex2-73 experienced a 36.3% (P=.008) reduction in clinical decline on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale—Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog13) and a 27.6% (P=.010) reduction in decline on the Clinical Dementia Rating—Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scale. Individuals with the SIGMAR1 WT gene showed greater improvements: a 49.8% (P=.015) reduction on the ADAS-Cog13 and a 33.7% (P=.012) reduction on the CDR-SB.

The researchers suggest that the specificity of Anavex2-73 to the SIGMAR1 WT genotype, as well as a clear understanding of Anavex2-73’s mechanism of action (MoA), shows the promise of targeting AD therapies to individual genetic and molecular profiles.

Source: Gabelle A, Grimmer T, Villa L, et al. Precision medicine in Alzheimer’s disease (AD): observed efficacy treatment effects from blarcamesine clinical AD trials. Presented at: Alzheimer's Association International Conference; July 27–31, 2025; Toronto, Canada.