SCI Ventures, a groundbreaking initiative co-founded by the Reeve Foundation, continues to accelerate progress toward breakthrough therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI). As the first fund of its kind dedicated to SCI, it is helping move promising discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic, and closer to the people who need them most.
Since its launch in June 2024, the specialist fund has raised more than $35 million and built a portfolio of nine early-stage companies, with a tenth investment anticipated before the end of the year. Backed by the Reeve Foundation and leading SCI foundations and clinical centers around the world, and guided by world-renowned neuroscientists, SCI Ventures invests in therapies that deliver meaningful functional improvements while pursuing the ultimate goal of biological repair of the spinal cord.
In June, renowned Craig Hospital joined SCI Ventures as an Alliance Partner, reinforcing a shared commitment to advancing new therapies for people living with paralysis. Craig Hospital will invest in SCI Ventures, join the fund’s Board of Directors, and contribute clinical expertise and direct connection to the patient community. The Reeve Foundation and its SCI Ventures co-founders are proud to welcome Craig Hospital to this groundbreaking partnership.
The Reeve Foundation’s research program plays a critical role in advancing the fund’s investment strategy by priming the SCI research field for more ambitious investment. For example, the Foundation’s Standardized Testing Research InVivo Endeavor (STRIVE) preclinical grant supports development of a validated research tool for the SCI community, helping accelerate the therapeutic development that is central to SCI Ventures’ mission.
Across the Portfolio, Momentum Is Building
SCI Ventures is investing in companies tackling some of the biggest challenges in SCI, from regeneration and functional recovery to bladder dysfunction and AI-enabled drug discovery. Together, these investments illustrate how the fund is accelerating multiple pathways toward better treatments and, ultimately, cures.
Moving Toward the First Regenerative Therapy for SCI
NervGen Pharma Corp. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class neuroreparative therapeutics for spinal cord injury (SCI) and other traumatic and neurological disorders. Its lead drug candidate, NVG-291, has the potential to become the first approved regenerative therapy for SCI. Backed by SCI Ventures, the company is preparing to launch its pivotal RESTORE Phase 3 registrational trial, a randomized, placebo-controlled study enrolling approximately 150 adults with chronic cervical SCI at up to 60 sites across the U.S. and Canada. Designed to evaluate improvements in functional hand use and independence, the trial represents a critical step toward potential regulatory approval.
SCI Ventures’ investment has also supported NervGen’s recent Nasdaq listing, broadening access to U.S. investors and strengthening the company’s position as it advances through these key clinical and regulatory milestones. With durable functional improvements and strong walking data already in hand, along with a recently completed $60 million financing round, NervGen is moving quickly toward its goal of developing the first disease-modifying therapy for chronic SCI — potentially within just a few years. Such a milestone could transform the field and spark a new wave of pharmaceutical investment and innovation, with enormous potential benefit for the SCI community.
A Potential Breakthrough for Neurogenic Bladder EG427 is a biotechnology company pioneering pinpoint DNA medicines for chronic neurological diseases, including EG110A, a novel therapeutic candidate for neurogenic bladder. In 2024, SCI Ventures catalyzed the Series B financing that enabled EG427 to move EG110A into clinical trials — and that investment is already showing promise.
The company recently announced Phase 1/2 clinical trial results demonstrating that the lowest dose of EG110A reduced urinary incontinence episodes by 90% after 12 months in people living with SCI. Every participant experienced improvement, with no serious side effects or immune reactions reported.
EG427 also received U.S. FDA Fast Track designation, and the therapy is currently being evaluated in a 16-patient clinical study across four centers.
Industry interest continues to build. EG427 is on track to become a new standard of care for neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO), with the potential to become an approved therapy within three to four years.
Bladder dysfunction remains one of the most challenging daily realities for people living with SCI. Existing treatments are often invasive, temporary or poorly tolerated, and many patients discontinue medications because of side effects. EG110A may offer a more targeted, longer-lasting treatment that significantly improves quality of life, potentially
within the next five years.
Harnessing AI to Accelerate Discovery
Healx, a pioneer in AI-driven drug discovery for rare and neglected diseases, partnered with SCI Ventures in early 2025 on a first-of-its-kind initiative to identify new treatments for chronic SCI. The collaboration leverages Healx’s advanced AI platform to uncover regeneration-related biological mechanisms and identify existing drugs that could be repurposed for SCI, dramatically accelerating the search for effective therapies.
Earlier this year, SCI Ventures expanded the collaboration with a second program focused on combination therapies, targeting multiple mechanisms of repair simultaneously.
To date, SCI Ventures has invested $3.5 million in the collaboration, attracting an additional $2.5 million to the SCI program. The initial partnership is already advancing toward in vivo testing in fall 2026, with multiple promising compounds identified. The second program focused on combination therapies is progressing rapidly, with AI-generated predictions expected by the end of the year.
Speed is what distinguishes these programs from traditional drug discovery, which often requires a decade or more and billions of dollars to move from candidate identification to validation. By harnessing AI, Healx is compressing that timeline by an order of magnitude.
While focused on SCI, the collaboration is also expected to generate insights applicable to other central nervous system disorders. As a biologically well-defined and stable condition, SCI provides an ideal model for advancing innovations that could ultimately benefit people living with traumatic brain injury, stroke, ALS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Learn more and follow SCI Ventures at SCIVentures.com and on LinkedIn.
