UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

Current Report
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 13, 2019

ANAVEX LIFE SCIENCES CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

51 West 52nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY USA 10019
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code 1-844-689-3939

Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a -12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d -2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e -4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On September 13, 2019, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (the “Company”) filed a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to its effective registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-232550) registering shares of the Company’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share, issuable pursuant to its purchase agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC. This Current Report on Form 8-K is being filed solely to include the opinion of counsel attached hereto as Exhibit 5.1 with respect to the legality of the shares issuable pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement.  

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

2

Exhibit 5.1

September 13, 2019

Anavex Life Sciences Corp.

51 West 52^nd Street, 7^th Floor

New York, New York 10019-6163

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as your counsel in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-232550) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 3, 2019 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), and declared effective on July 15, 2019 (the “Registration Statement”), and the related prospectus supplement filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) of the Securities Act dated September 13, 2019 (the “Prospectus Supplement”) relating to the registration of: (i) up to $15,365,495 of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Purchase Shares”), and (ii) up to 49,845 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Commitment Shares”) (all collectively, the “Shares”), which may be sold and issued to Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“Lincoln Park”) pursuant to a purchase agreement between Lincoln Park and Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (the “Company”) dated as of June 7, 2019 (the “Purchase Agreement”), and which may be resold by Lincoln Park. Capitalized terms used in this letter which are not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Prospectus Supplement.

You have requested our opinion as to the matters set forth below in connection with the Prospectus Supplement. For purposes of rendering this opinion, we have examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement, the Purchase Agreement, the Company’s articles of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws, as amended, and the corporate action of the Company that provides for the issuance of the Shares, and we have made such other investigation as we have deemed appropriate. We have examined and relied upon certificates of public officials and, as to certain matters of fact that are material to our opinion, we have also relied on certificates made by officers of the Company. In rendering our opinion, in addition to the assumptions that are customary in opinion letters of this kind, we have assumed the genuineness of signatures on the documents we have examined, the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, and that the Company will have sufficient authorized and unissued shares of common stock available with respect to any of the Shares issued after the date of this letter. We have not verified any of these assumptions.

This opinion is rendered as of the date of this letter and is limited to matters of Nevada corporate law, including applicable provisions of the Nevada Constitution and reported judicial decisions interpreting those laws. We express no opinion as to the laws of any other state, the federal law of the United States, or the effect of any applicable federal or state securities laws.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that the Shares are duly authorized for issuance by the Company and, when issued and paid for as described in the Prospectus Supplement and Purchase Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid, and nonassessable.

We consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Prospectus Supplement and to the reference to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters”. In giving our consent we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations under such act.