Anavex withdraws EU filing for Alzheimer's drug, shares fall

Anavex Life Sciences

25/03/2026 11:47

** Shares of biotech firm Anavex Life Sciences AVXL.O fall 18% to $3.43 premarket

** Co says it has withdrawn its EU application for experimental Alzheimer's drug, blarcamesine, after regulators said they could not support approval

** European Medicines Agency committee has said it was not in a position to give a positive opinion for the drug as an add-on treatment for early-stage patients, company says

** Anavex says it will collect more data and run further analyses to address concerns raised by regulators

** Drug is not approved anywhere and remains in development, co says

** Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, a condition that affects memory and thinking, mostly in older adults

** Shares down ~67% in 2025

 (Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru)

 ((Sahil.Pandey@thomsonreuters.com))