VANCOUVER, British Columbia — March 4, 2026 — Leads & Copy —
NervGen Pharma Corp. (TSXV: NGEN) (NASDAQ: NGEN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has appointed Shamim Ruff as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and Christine McSherry as Senior Vice President (SVP), Patient Advocacy and Clinical Affairs.
According to Adam Rogers, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of NervGen, the company is assembling a leadership team as it moves into a critical period. He added that Ruff’s regulatory expertise will be crucial as the company advances NVG-291 toward potential approval as a treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI).
Rogers also noted that McSherry’s patient advocacy and clinical development experience ensures the patient and family voice remains at the forefront of NVG-291’s path forward, and that these appointments build on NervGen’s momentum.
Ruff brings more than 30 years of strategic leadership in regulatory affairs. She will oversee the company’s regulatory strategy and work with the executive team to support NervGen’s mission to transform the lives of individuals living with SCI.
Most recently, Ruff served as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and SVP, Head of Quality Assurance at Stoke Therapeutics, leading regulatory strategy for the company’s RNA medicine platform. Prior to Stoke, Ruff served as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer at Sarepta Therapeutics, where she built the company’s regulatory affairs and quality organizations and led regulatory strategy for its rare and infectious disease pipelines. She also served as Chair of the Development Advisory Board and Strategic Regulatory Advisor to the CEO and NDA Submissions Team at Soleno Therapeutics and on the Board of Directors of Reata Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by Biogen.
Ruff holds a master’s degree in analytical chemistry from the University of Loughborough, U.K., and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from the University of Leicester, U.K.
Ruff said NVG-291 represents an opportunity in the treatment of SCI and is supported by data from the Phase 1b/2a CONNECT SCI Study. She added that she looks forward to working with the team to guide NVG-291’s continued development and regulatory strategy.
McSherry brings more than 30 years of experience bridging patient advocacy and clinical development. She will play a role in ensuring the voice of the SCI community is central to NervGen’s clinical strategy.
Previously, McSherry co-founded Casimir, a clinical research organization that worked across more than 20 rare diseases. Casimir’s work advanced the FDA’s patient-focused drug development initiative. McSherry served as CEO of Casimir until its acquisition by Emmes.
In 2001, she founded the Jett Foundation, after the diagnosis of her son, Jett, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The Foundation became a leading voice for affected families and played a central role in the advocacy efforts that contributed to the FDA’s approval of Exondys 51, the first approved therapy for DMD. McSherry continues to serve as a Director of the Jett Foundation and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Duchenne Alliance. She holds a BSN from Northeastern University and is a registered nurse.
McSherry said NervGen’s commitment to designing clinical programs alongside the communities they are meant to serve drew her to the company. She added that those living with SCI have been overlooked, and that NervGen is determined to redefine that narrative through NVG-291.
NervGen Pharma Corp. is developing neuroreparative therapeutics for spinal cord injury (SCI) and other neurotraumatic and neurologic conditions. The Company’s lead therapeutic candidate, NVG-291, is being evaluated in the Phase 1b/2a CONNECT SCI Study and is the first pharmacologic candidate to demonstrate durable improvement in function, independence, and quality of life.
The Company’s Phase 1b/2a CONNECT SCI Study in individuals with subacute SCI is ongoing, alongside preparation for a Phase 3 clinical trial in chronic SCI. NVG-291 has received Fast Track designation from the FDA and Orphan Drug designation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of SCI.
Through NVG-291 and the Company’s next-generation candidate, NVG-300, NervGen is pursuing a pharmacologic approach to transform the treatment paradigm for neurotraumatic and neurologic conditions with unmet medical need.
Source: NervGen Pharma
