Anavex Life Sciences Announces Expansion of Leadership Team

Strengthening Operational Efficiency and Execution towards Sustainable Accessibility for Diverse Populations within Global Healthcare Systems

NEW YORK, May 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Rett syndrome, schizophrenia, and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today announced the addition and appointment of new senior team members with a track record of successfully bringing drugs to market.

Reinforcing the Company’s commitment to drive value-creation through operational efficiencies and innovation in the industry, Anavex announces new additions to its leadership team with the appointment of Juan Carlos Lopez-Talavera, MD, PhD as Senior Vice President, Head of Research and Development, Terrie Kellmeyer, PhD as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development, and Jeffrey Edwards, PhD as Vice President of Clinical Pharmacology and Science.

“The most important part of building a long-term, commercially sustainable, growing business is putting the right players on the field,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anavex. “We believe to have made further progress in assembling an outstanding team with the proper incentives and alignment in order to execute the very clear go-to-market strategy for Anavex.”

Dr. Lopez-Talavera joins the Company with over two decades of key leadership roles in managing registrational clinical trials and patient engagement for approved therapeutics and led and contributed to the development and approvals of several treatments in the USA, Europe, and Asia, including COPEGUS (ribavarin), YERVOY (ipilimumab), ELIQUIS (apixaban), OPDIVO (nivolumab), VIEKIRA PAK (ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir), and OCALIVA (obeticholic acid). Prior to Anavex Dr. Lopez-Talavera held key leadership positions at Fractyl Health, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche. Prior to entering the bio-pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Lopez-Talavera was Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and earned his PhD working with Nobel Prize laureates Sir Michael Houghton, PhD and Harvey Alter, MD on the discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).