Key opinion leaders and company management will discuss the current spinal cord injury treatment landscape and NervGen's Phase 1b/2a clinical trial evaluating NVG-291 in individuals with spinal cord injury
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NervGen Pharma Corp. (TSX-V: NGEN) (OTCQB: NGENF), a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to developing neurorestorative therapeutics, today announced that it will host a virtual investor event on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET. To register for the event, click here.
The event will feature key opinion leaders, Monica Perez, PT, Ph.D. (Shirley Ryan AbilityLab) and Steven Kirshblum, MD (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School), who will join company management to discuss the unmet medical need and current treatment landscape for individuals with spinal cord injury.
Ahead of clinical data expected in the second quarter for the company’s Phase 1b/2a proof-of-concept, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, the event will highlight the study design and provide an overview of endpoints being measured, including electrophysiology. NervGen will also review data from preclinical trials evaluating NVG-291-R and the Phase 1 trial evaluating safety of NVG-291, NervGen's first-in-class therapeutic peptide targeting nervous system repair, in chronic and subacute SCI.
A live question and answer session will follow the formal presentations.
About Monica A. Perez, PT, PhD Monica A. Perez, PT, PhD, is the Scientific Chair of the Arms + Hands Lab at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University, and a Research Scientist at the Edward Jr. Hines VA Hospital. Dr. Perez has studied neural mechanisms contributing to the control of voluntary movement in healthy humans and in people with spinal cord injury for more than 15 years. Her research aims to understand how the brain and spinal cord contribute to the control of movement with the ultimate goal of using this mechanistic information to develop more effective rehabilitation therapies for people with spinal cord injury. This theme is mainly investigated from a neurophysiological point of view, using a combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic resonance imaging, electrical stimulation, and behavioral techniques.
About Steven Kirshblum, MD Steven Kirshblum, MD, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the program director for the Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellowship. He also serves as the chief medical officer for the Kessler Foundation and the co-director of the Foundation’s Tim and Caroline Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation. Dr. Kirshblum is the project co-director of the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury Model System, one of only 18 federally designated centers in the country. Dr. Kirshblum also serves as chief medical officer for Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
About Phase 1b/2a Trial The double-blind, placebo-controlled proof-of-concept Phase 1b/2a clinical trial (NCT05965700) evaluates the safety and efficacy of NVG-291 in two separate cohorts of individuals with cervical spinal cord injury: chronic (1-10 years post-injury) and subacute (20-90 days post-injury), given demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models of both chronic and acute spinal cord injury. The trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy of a fixed dose of NVG-291 using multiple clinical outcome measures as well as objective electrophysiological and MRI imaging measures and blood biomarkers that together will provide comprehensive information about the extent of recovery of function, with a focus on improvements in motor function. Specifically, the primary objective is to assess the change in corticospinal connectivity of defined upper and lower extremity muscle groups following treatment based on changes in motor evoked potential amplitudes. Secondary and exploratory objectives are to evaluate changes in a number of clinical outcome assessments focusing on motor function and strength, as well as changes in additional electrophysiological measurements. The cohorts will be comprised of approximately 20 subjects each and will be evaluated independently as the data becomes available. The trial is being partially funded by a grant from Wings for Life, which is being provided in several milestone-based payments and will offset a portion of the direct costs of this clinical trial.
About NVG-291 NervGen holds exclusive worldwide rights to NVG-291, a first-in-class therapeutic peptide targeting nervous system repair. NVG-291’s technology was licensed from Case Western Reserve University and is based on academic studies demonstrating the preclinical efficacy of NVG-291-R, the rodent prototype of NVG-291, in animal models of spinal cord injury. Effects of NVG-291-R reported in multiple independent academic studies include the promotion of neuroplasticity, remyelination, anti-inflammatory polarization of microglia, and functional improvement in preclinical models of spinal cord injury, stroke, and peripheral nervous system injury. NVG-291 has received Fast Track designation in spinal cord injury from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
About NervGen NervGen (TSXV: NGEN, OTCQB: NGENF) is a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to developing innovative treatments to promote nervous system repair in settings of neurotrauma and neurologic disease. The company is testing the clinical efficacy of its lead molecule, NVG-291, in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial in spinal cord injury and has initiated preclinical evaluation of a new development candidate, NVG-300, in models of ischemic stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal cord injury. For more information, visit www.nervgen.com and follow NervGen on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook for the latest news on the company.
Contacts
Bill Adams, Chief Financial Officer info@nervgen.com 778.731.1711
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