Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp (NASDAQ: AVXL) surged 5.55% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company reported better-than-expected fiscal Q1 2025 financial results and provided a positive business update.

For the first quarter, Anavex posted a narrower net loss of $0.14 per share compared to $0.11 in the prior year, beating Wall Street estimates by over 25%. The company also reported a solid cash position of $120.8 million as of December 31, 2024, with a projected cash runway of approximately 4 years at current utilization rates.

More importantly, Anavex highlighted several positive developments for its lead drug candidate blarcamesine, an oral treatment for Alzheimer's disease. These included new patent protection extending to 2039 in the U.S., and favorable data from recent Phase 2b/3 and open-label extension studies showing significant slowing of disease progression and continued long-term benefit for early Alzheimer's patients.