NervGen Pharma Appoints Shamim Ruff as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and Christine McSherry as SVP, Patient Advocacy and Clinical Affairs

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NervGen Pharma Corp. (“NervGen” or the “Company") (TSXV: NGEN) (NASDAQ: NGEN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class neuroreparative therapeutics for spinal cord injury (SCI) and other neurotraumatic and neurologic conditions, today appointed Shamim Ruff as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and Christine McSherry as Senior Vice President (SVP), Patient Advocacy and Clinical Affairs.

“We are assembling a world-class leadership team as the company moves into a critical period of execution,” said Adam Rogers, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of NervGen. “Shamim’s regulatory expertise and proven track record of success will be crucial as we advance NVG-291 toward potential approval as the first pharmacologic treatment for SCI, while Christine’s unique combination of authentic patient advocacy and clinical development experience ensures the patient and family voice remains at the forefront of NVG-291’s path forward. These appointments build on NervGen’s momentum and further elevate our ability to execute at the level of rigor the SCI community deserves and demands.”

Shamim Ruff brings more than 30 years of strategic leadership in regulatory affairs to NervGen, where she will oversee the company’s regulatory strategy and work closely with the executive team to support the realization of NervGen’s mission to transform the lives of individuals living with SCI. Most recently, Ms. 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, Ms. 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. Her earlier career included leadership roles at Sanofi-Genzyme, Amgen, Abbott, and AstraZeneca. Ms. 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.

“I’ve spent my career advancing novel therapeutics through regulatory pathways to approval, with the goal of delivering meaningful benefit to patients and their families,” said Shamim Ruff, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer of NervGen. “NVG-291 represents a compelling opportunity in the treatment of SCI and is supported by promising clinical data from the Phase 1b/2a CONNECT SCI Study, indicating evidence of nervous system repair. I'm honored to join the company and look forward to working closely with the team to guide NVG-291’s continued development and regulatory strategy.”

Christine McSherry brings more than 30 years of experience bridging patient advocacy and clinical development. She will play a pivotal role in ensuring the voice of the SCI community is central to NervGen’s clinical strategy. Previously, Ms. McSherry co-founded Casimir, a clinical research organization that worked across more than 20 rare diseases, capturing and quantifying patient and caregiver perception of treatment benefit. Casimir's work pioneered the development of outcome measures to advance the FDA's patient-focused drug development initiative. Ms. 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. Ms. 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.

“I know what it means to be a family fighting for access to a treatment capable of changing lives, and that experience has shaped both my life and my career,” said Christine McSherry, SVP, Patient Advocacy and Clinical Affairs of NervGen. “The most successful clinical programs are designed alongside the communities they are meant to serve, and NervGen’s commitment to that approach is what drew me to the company. For too long, those living with SCI have been overlooked, defined by the belief that recovery was unattainable. We are determined to redefine that narrative through NVG-291, because every individual deserves the opportunity to live life to the best of their ability.”

About NervGen Pharma
NervGen Pharma Corp. (TSXV: NGEN) (NASDAQ: NGEN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class neuroreparative therapeutics for spinal cord injury (SCI) and other neurotraumatic and neurologic conditions. The Company’s mission is to transform the lives of individuals living with SCI by enabling the nervous system to repair itself. NervGen’s lead therapeutic candidate, NVG-291, is a subcutaneously administered, neuroreparative peptide. NVG-291 was evaluated in the Phase 1b/2a CONNECT SCI Study in individuals with chronic SCI between 1 to 10 years post-injury 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 significant unmet medical need. For more information, visit www.nervgen.com and follow NervGen on X and LinkedIn.

Contacts
Huitt Tracey, Investors
htracey@nervgen.com
604.537.2094

David Schull or Ignacio Guerrero-Ros, Ph.D., Media
Russo Partners
David.Schull@russopartnersllc.com
Ignacio.Guerrero-Ros@russopartnersllc.com
858.717.2310

Adam Rogers, President and CEO
info@nervgen.com
778.731.1711

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Cautionary Note and Forward-Looking Statements 
This news release may contain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Such forward-looking statements herein include but are not limited to, the Company’s current and future plans, expectations and intentions, results, levels of activity, performance, goals or achievements, or any other future events or developments constitute forward-looking statements, and the words “may”, “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “trend”, “indication”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “likely” or “potential”, or the negative or other variations of these words or other comparable words or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to: the expected contributions of newly appointed leadership to the Company’s regulatory and clinical strategy; the role of patient advocacy and community engagement in shaping the Company’s clinical programs; the Company’s ability to execute on its regulatory and development plans with its current leadership team; the Company’s potentially best-in-class candidate, NVG-291; the potential broad therapeutic applications of NVG-291; the future growth of the Company; the Company’s mission to transform the lives of individuals living with spinal cord injury; the Company’s pursuit to revolutionize the treatment paradigm for neurotraumatic conditions with significant unmet medical need; the objectives, planned clinical endpoints, timing, expected rate of enrollment, and final results from our Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of NVG-291 in individuals with spinal cord injury; and the creation of neuroreparative therapeutics to enable the nervous system to repair itself in settings of neurotrauma and neurologic disease. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the company in light of management’s experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. In making forward-looking statements, the Company has relied on various assumptions, including, but not limited to: its ability to obtain future funding on favorable terms, if at all; the accuracy of its financial projections; obtaining positive results in its clinical trials; its ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals; its ability to arrange for the manufacturing of its product candidates and technologies; and general business, market and economic conditions. Many factors could cause the Company’s actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, a lack of revenue, insufficient funding, reliance upon key personnel, the uncertainty of the clinical development process, competition, and other factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s most recently filed prospectus supplement, short form base shelf prospectus, annual information form, financial statements and management discussion and analysis all of which can be found on NervGen’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and in NervGen’s Form F-10/A filed on EDGAR at www.edgar.com. All clinical development plans are subject to additional funding. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements made in this news release. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.