Our Technology
The nervous system is a complex network of nerves and cells that carries messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to various parts of the body to take in sensory information, process information and control movement. Damage to the nervous system can result in disruption to any, or all, of these functions. It has been the institutional belief that the nervous system is incapable of repairing itself. We know this not to be true.
At NervGen, we’ve changed the way people view nervous system repair with NVG-291, our lead drug candidate. NVG-291 is the first therapy in clinical trials having demonstrated the ability to enable the nervous system to repair itself, including increasing function, independence, and quality of life in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury up to ten years after their injury.
Introduction
NervGen’s lead drug candidate, NVG-291, was developed in the laboratory of Dr. Jerry Silver. Dr. Silver was a renowned spinal cord injury and regenerative medicine researcher, and Professor of Neurosciences, at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Silver’s research focused on why the central nervous system could not repair itself after trauma. He succesfully identified an inhibitory class of molecules known as chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, which are upregulated in lesions occurring from spinal cord injury, as well as other forms of neurologic trauma or disease.
The Glial Scar, CSPGs and the receptor PTPσ
When damage occurs in the central nervous system, a glial scar forms. In the 1980s, Dr. Silver identified a class of molecules called chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) that are present in these scar lesions and inhibit repair. In 2009, Dr. Silver, together with researchers at Harvard University, further discovered that CSPGs bind to a cellular receptor called protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPσ) found in the brain and spinal cord. While CSPGs initially help to contain damage, their interaction PTPσ creates a long term inhibitory enviornment, preventing the nervous system from repairing itself.
NVG-291
In 2015, Dr. Silver and his team at CWRU identified NVG-291, a 35 amino acid peptide. In independent laboratories and institutions around the world, the rodent analog of NVG-291 has been shown to promote nervous system repair and improve functional recovery in preclinical models of nervous system damage and neuroinflammation. A list of select scientific publications that give an overview of the robust effects of NVG-291-R seen in animal models is provided in our list of Journals & Publications.
NervGen’s lead drug candidate is NVG-291, is a first-in-class 35 amino acid peptide administered by subcutaneous injection under the skin to relieve the inhibitory effects of CSPGs enable the nervous system to repair itself.