NervGen Pharma Corp. announced that it will add an Alzheimer's disease patient cohort to its Phase 1 clinical trial program for its lead product, NVG-291, a specific and selective protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma ("PTP") inhibitor. NervGen remains on track to initiate its Phase 1 program for NVG-291 in healthy volunteers in First Quarter 2021 with plans to report top-line results from the single and multiple dose portion of the study in the second half of 2021. Pending a positive outcome of the results in healthy volunteers, the Company intends to add a multi-dose Alzheimer's disease patient cohort starting in First Quarter 2022. The primary objective for including Alzheimer's disease patients will be to study the safety and pharmacokinetic profile of NVG-291 in both elderly and Alzheimer's disease patients. Additionally, the Company plans to include various biomarker and cognitive tests to identify early signals of efficacy. Patients enrolled in the study will be dosed for a minimum of 28 days. Alzheimer's disease is a complex disease with poorly understood mechanisms that lead to progressive neurodegeneration, with symptoms including the destruction of memory and thinking skills, and, in later stages, the inability to carry out the simplest tasks. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia among older adults, contributing to as many as 60-70% of cases. NVG-291 is an inhibitor of PTP, a promising target for reducing the clinical effects of Alzheimer's disease. Neuronal damage and chronic inflammation are believed to be major contributors to progressive and permanent cognitive and physical disabilities in Alzheimer's disease patients. NervGen believes that inhibiting the activity of PTP has the potential to alter Alzheimer's disease pathology by promoting nerve repair mechanisms such as regeneration, remyelination and plasticity; repairing autophagy, a cellular cleaning mechanism that is inhibited in Alzheimer's disease patients; and by promoting a non-inflammatory phenotype in microglia cells, the innate immune cells of the brain.