Vancouver, B.C. August 10, 2018 NervGen Pharma Corp. (“NervGen”), a regenerative medicine company dedicated to creating innovative solutions for the treatment of nerve damage, announces the issuance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of a patent central to the development and commercialization of protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPs) targeted therapies for spinal cord injury and nerve damage.
The patent, US 9,937,242 is entitled “Compositions and Methods for Inhibiting the Activity of LAR Family Phosphatases.” It includes claims covering both composition of matter and method of use for treating diseases and disorders associated with activity, signaling and/or function of LAR, a family of the PTPs receptor. The patent specifically covers the intracellular sigma peptide and other related peptides, shown to promote nerve regeneration and functional improvement in animal models of various diseases.
“The issuance of this patent is key to our growing intellectual property portfolio and validates the novelty and innovative nature of our technology,” said Dr. Ernest Wong, President & CEO of NervGen. “We are aggressively building upon the successful issuance of this patent by creating new intellectual property and filing new patent applications.”
NervGen acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to US Patent 9,937,242 and related intellectual property estate invented by Dr. Jerry Silver and Dr. Brad Lang through a license with Case Western Reserve University. NervGen continues to collaborate with Dr. Silver and Dr. Lang to prosecute existing patent applications and to pursue new applications.
ABOUT NERVGEN PHARMA CORP.
NervGen is a regenerative medicine company dedicated to restoring life’s potential by creating innovative solutions for the treatment of nerve damage. NervGen’s core technology focuses on the protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPσ), a key neural receptor that inhibits nerve regeneration resulting in a loss of function in patients with spinal cord injury and other medical conditions. Inhibition of the PTPσ receptor has been shown to promote regeneration of damaged nerves and improvement of nerve function in animal models for various medical conditions. NervGen is advancing a drug candidate into the clinic initially for the treatment of spinal cord injury while exploiting the technology to identify additional therapeutic candidates for other related medical conditions.
ABOUT THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The nervous system is the body’s command center, a complex network of cells and nerves that controls movement, thoughts, senses, heartbeat, breathing and numerous other body functions vital to living.
Nerve damage, from loss of sensation to paralysis, occurs with physical traumas such as car accidents and combat injuries. It also occurs with multiple sclerosis, heart attack induced arrythmia, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and other diseases and traumas in which the nerves are damaged. Millions of individuals are affected globally and hundreds of billions of healthcare dollars are spent to manage medical conditions arising from nerve injury. There are currently no drugs available to regenerate injured nerves and allow the individual to regain or improve key bodily functions.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Dr. Ernest Wong, President & CEO
For further information, please contact:
Bill Radvak, Executive Chairman
bradvak@nervgenpharma.com
