NervGen Pharma Names Shamim Ruff As Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer And Appoints Christine McSherry As SVP Of Patient Advocacy & Clinical Affairs

NervGen Pharma Corp., a clinical-stage biopharma company developing first-in-class neuroreparative treatments for spinal cord injury (SCI) and other neurological conditions, has announced two senior leadership appointments. The company has named Shamim Ruff as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and Christine McSherry as Senior Vice President, Patient Advocacy and Clinical Affairs.

According to Adam Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of NervGen, these appointments strengthen the company at an important stage of development. He explained that Shamim’s extensive regulatory background will be key as NervGen advances NVG-291, which the company is developing as a potential first-ever pharmacologic treatment for spinal cord injury. He added that Christine’s long-standing work in patient advocacy and clinical development ensures that patient and family perspectives remain central as NVG-291 progresses. Rogers noted that both leaders bring experience that will help NervGen execute with the level of rigor expected by the SCI community.

Shamim Ruff joins NervGen with more than three decades of experience in regulatory strategy. She will lead the company’s global regulatory efforts and work closely with the executive team to support its mission of improving the lives of people living with SCI. Most recently, she served as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and SVP, Head of Quality Assurance at Stoke Therapeutics, where she guided regulatory strategy for the company’s RNA medicine platform. Before that, she held the role of Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer at Sarepta Therapeutics, building and leading the regulatory and quality functions for its rare and infectious disease programs. 

She has also served as a strategic regulatory advisor to the CEO and NDA submissions team at Soleno Therapeutics and was a board member at Reata Pharmaceuticals prior to its acquisition by Biogen. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at Sanofi Genzyme, Amgen, Abbott, and AstraZeneca. She holds a master’s degree in analytical chemistry from the University of Loughborough in the U.K. and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from the University of Leicester.

Ruff said she has dedicated her career to guiding innovative therapies through regulatory pathways with the goal of improving patient outcomes. She described NVG-291 as a strong opportunity in SCI treatment, supported by encouraging findings from the Phase 1b/2a CONNECT SCI Study, which showed signs of nervous system repair. She expressed enthusiasm about joining NervGen and supporting the continued advancement and regulatory planning for NVG-291.

Christine McSherry brings more than 30 years of experience connecting patient advocacy with clinical development. In her new role, she will ensure that the needs, perspectives, and priorities of the SCI community remain central to NervGen’s clinical strategy. Previously, she co-founded Casimir, a clinical research organization that worked across more than 20 rare diseases to capture and measure patient and caregiver experiences. Casimir played an influential role in developing outcome measures aligned with the FDA’s patient-focused drug development initiative. McSherry served as CEO of Casimir until its acquisition by Emmes.

Her advocacy work began in 2001 when she founded the Jett Foundation after her son Jett was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The organization became a major force for DMD families and contributed significantly to the advocacy efforts that supported the FDA approval of Exondys 51, the first treatment approved for DMD. She continues to serve as a director of the Jett Foundation and has previously served on the board of the Duchenne Alliance. McSherry holds a BSN from Northeastern University and is a registered nurse.

McSherry shared that her personal experience as a caregiver has shaped her career and her dedication to ensuring that patient perspectives influence drug development. She said that NervGen’s commitment to incorporating community voices into its programs was a key reason she joined the company. She emphasized that people living with SCI have long been told that meaningful recovery is not possible, and she believes NVG-291 represents an opportunity to shift that outlook by giving individuals the chance to improve their quality of life.