Breakthrough Drug Against Neurodegenerative Diseases

Significant breakthrough drug holds the potential for blocking the nerve repair following injury through either trauma or degenerative conditions.

With the various decade-long researches on the devastating damages from neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and multiple sclerosis (MS)), scientists have finally found a significant breakthrough in treating these conditions.

Regenerating the degenerative neural tissues has been regarded as a breakthrough treatment against both AD & MS, as per an ongoing study by a small Canadian-headquartered biotech start-up – NervGen Pharma.

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‘Significant breakthrough drug NVG-291 holds the potential for blocking the nerve repair following injury through either trauma or degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and multiple sclerosis (MS).’

This offers new hope to tens of millions of sufferers of neurodegenerative diseases and the start-up also has the study entered in its Phase 1 clinical trials.

The Breakthrough Drug

The innovative drug candidate — NVG-291 is a small protein (a peptide) that targets the protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPσ) receptor. This receptor is responsible for blocking the nerve repair following injury (trauma or degenerative conditions).

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NervGen designed the drug to target nerve cell repair, and simultaneously also promote plasticity for creating new neural pathways. The study team is currently conducting the trials in healthy volunteers that would follow its transition to studies for several medical ailments.

The company affirms its interest in NVG-291’s ability to tackle Alzheimer’s disease. After the ongoing Phase 1 safety trials for the drug candidate, it is also prepared to enter a Phase 1b clinical trial for Alzheimer’s patients in 2022.

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“What differentiates NVG-291 from other drugs in development is that it leverages multiple mechanisms for repairing nerve damage, while most others focus on a single approach. Alzheimer’s disease is a complex condition and likely caused by multiple factors. We believe that a systems approach to treating the disease is an important distinction. NVG-291’s ability to remyelinate and enhance plasticity is a one-two knockout punch for repairing a faulty central nervous system, which is the end result on a diversity of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as traumatic brain and spinal injuries,” says NervGen’s CEO, Paul Brennan.

Source-Medindia