Publications by authors named "Christopher Missling"

Background: There are no approved oral disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess efficacy and safety of blarcamesine (ANAVEX®2-73), an orally available small-molecule activator of the sigma-1 receptor (SIGMAR1) in early AD through restoration of cellular homeostasis including autophagy enhancement.

Design: ANAVEX2-73-AD-004 was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 48-week Phase IIb/III trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Rett syndrome (RTT) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting females, leading to various neurologic impairments that significantly lower quality of life for both individuals and their caregivers.
  • An international collaboration developed a caregiver questionnaire based on literature and parent interviews to assess 22 common issues related to RTT, using a 5-level Likert scale and anonymously surveying 756 caregivers.
  • Results showed that communication and motor impairments were the most frequent and impactful issues, with analyses indicating that the severity of problems often exceeded the perceived impact on both patients and caregivers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pharmacokinetic (PK) data from 28 subjects who received 5-200-mg single ascending doses of ANAVEX3-71, formerly AF710B, were analyzed to characterize the PK of ANAVEX3-71 and its M8 metabolite. PK data from 12 subjects who received 160 mg ANAVEX3-71 under fed and fasted conditions were analyzed to characterize the effect of food on the PK of the drug and its M8 metabolite. PK was characterized using the standard 2-stage approach and the nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This is the cardiodynamic evaluation of a single ascending dose study in healthy participants with the primary objective of assessing the effect of ANAVEX3-71, formerly AF710B, on ECG parameters. Twelve-lead ECGs were obtained at 3 time points within 1 hour prior to dosing to establish a baseline and then serially postdose. Concentration-QTc analysis of plasma concentrations of ANAVEX3-71 and metabolite M8 was conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Big data in drug development may not satisfactorily address the demands of precision medicine in a rare disease population, making the use of smaller clinical trials necessary. Consequently, the use of innovative design and analysis of these clinical trials using model-informed approaches have become indispensable. This requires informative exposure-outcome analysis, together with formal statistical analysis, which should include the strength of evidence for a study outcome.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism, characterized by synaptic development issues, with mouse models showing symptoms like anxiety and hyperactivity.
  • The drug ANAVEX2-73 (blarcamesine), which acts as a sigma-1 receptor agonist, has shown promise in improving cognitive and behavioral issues associated with FXS in mouse studies by normalizing hyperactivity and anxiety-like behaviors.
  • The findings suggest that blarcamesine could be a viable treatment option for FXS and potentially other neurodevelopmental disorders due to its effects on synaptic function and receptor activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The search for drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) has failed to yield effective therapies. Here we report the first genome-wide search for biomarkers associated with therapeutic response in AD. Blarcamesine (ANAVEX2-73), a selective sigma-1 receptor (SIGMAR1) agonist, was studied in a 57-week Phase 2a trial (NCT02244541).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated in most cases with mutations in the transcriptional regulator MECP2. At present, there are no effective treatments for the disorder. Despite recent advances in RTT genetics and neurobiology, most drug development programs have focused on compounds targeting the IGF-1 pathway and no pivotal trial has been completed as yet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF