Spinal Cord Innovation Pays Off With First Human Clinical Trials

INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.

Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Dr. Harold Punnett.

Price and NervGen co-founder, Dr. Harold Punnett, on the latest news in reversing paralysis and nerve damage.

Guest topic: Vancouver, BV-based Dr. Harold Punnett, Director & Co-founder, NervGen Pharma, (TSXV: ) (OTC: ), a clinical stage biotech company, is steering the Canadian biopharma to its first human clinical trials as the company proceeds with its landmark clinical trial for NVG-291 for chronic and subacute spinal cord injury patients. Recruitment for people with spinal cord injury has begun at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.

Two major news releases in the past week include fast-tracking from the FDA for NVG-291 for the treatment of individuals with spinal cord injury and the appointment of an acclaimed Venture Capitalist/Private Equity star, John Ruffalo, who became paralyzed during the pandemic when his bicycle was hit by a truck.

Dr. Punnett, co-founder of NervGen, is an accomplished angel investor who has been the director of multiple start-up companies. As a dental surgeon with a practice in British Columbia, Canada, he has extensive knowledge of medicine and physiology, including cell biology. Along with this knowledge, he has a deep passion for those suffering from spinal cord injury and other nerve-related challenges. Dr. Punnett is a Member of the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia, Member of the British Columbia Dental Association and Member of the Canadian Dental Association. He received his doctorate degree from the University of British Columbia.

In 2016, Dr. Punnett’s daughter-in-law, Codi Darnell, fell and became a complete T-11 paraplegic. Following Codi’s accident, Dr. Punnett set out on a mission to find a cure for Codi, and others like her. In his quest, Dr. Punnett discovered Dr. Jerry Silver and his research at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Since the late ’80s, Dr. Silver’s research has been focused on the ability of the nervous system to repair itself after injury. NervGen was founded in 2018, following many conversations and discussions between Dr. Punnett and Dr. Silver. NervGen has exclusive rights to the intellectual property from CWRU.

The groundbreaking research and tenacious perseverance of a single researcher, Dr. Jerry Silver, Professor of Neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine and adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, overturned nearly a century of neuroscience precedence. The research community’s understanding of CNS injury and repair was turned on its head with the discovery and development of a new drug (NVG-291), licensed to NervGen.

Mike Kelly, NervGen’s CEO said to Outsourced Pharma  that Case Western Reserve University “sends a molecule and NervGen has to turn it into a pharmaceutical.”

For more great lifestyle content see here.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE:

The Price of Business is one of the longest running shows of its kind in the country and is in markets coast to coast. The Host, Kevin Price, is a multi-award winning author, broadcast journalist, and syndicated columnist. Learn more about the show and its digital partners at www.PriceofBusiness.com (scroll down to the bottom of the page).