CWRU-licensed NervGen Pharma floated at the top of its range on the TSX Venture Exchange, with the proceeds earmarked to push its lead candidate for spinal cord injury into the clinic.
NervGen Pharma, a Canada-based developer of nerve damage therapies based on Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) research, has completed an initial public offering (IPO) which raised gross proceeds of C$10m ($7.5m).
NervGen commended trading on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange on March 15 after issuing 10 million common shares priced at C$1 ($750,000) each, bringing the company to the top of its $5.3m to $7.5m range.
Founded in 2017, NervGen develops medicines for nerve damage that attempt to inhibit a neural receptor called protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPσ) associated with preventing nerve regeneration.
The infusion of capital will be used to prepare NervGen’s lead candidate, NVG-291, for clinical development focused on spinal cord injury ahead of human studies scheduled for 2020.
NervGen believes treating spinal cord injury represents a significant market opportunity due to the lack of non-surgical alternatives available at present, however its platform could also support treatments for indications including acute heart attack, peripheral nerve injury, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
In a separate announcement, NervGen said it plans to seek an additional $375,000 for NVG-291’s development through a private placement of up to 500,000 shares.
The company’s platform builds on inventions made in the lab of Jerry Silver, a professor in the Department of Neurosciences at CWRU.
CWRU received a consideration consisting of 439,000 shares in NervGen collectively worth $66,000 in June 2018, plus a further 162,659 shares worth $63,000 issued that September, according to the company’s prospectus.
The prospectus shows NervGen had raised a total of $3.6m in equity across three private placements. NervGen co-founders Harold Punnett and William Radvak are named as the company’s principal shareholders with stakes amounting to 8.2% and 6.6% respectively following the IPO.