UG3NS142157
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
NEURAL REPAIR FOR CHRONIC INCOMPLETE CERVICAL SPINAL CORD INJURY WITH NOGO RECEPTOR BLOCKADE PLUS REHABILITATIVE TRAINING - SUMMARY TRAUMATIC SPINAL CORD INJURY (SCI) AFFECTS APPROXIMATELY 300,000 INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES, LEADING TO PERSISTENT NEUROLOGICAL DEFICITS DUE TO DISRUPTED NEURONAL CONNECTIVITY. CURRENTLY, NO PROVEN PHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTION EXISTS FOR PATIENTS WITH SCI. MOLECULAR STUDIES REVEAL A NOGO-66 RECEPTOR 1 (NGR1, RTN4R) PATHWAY INHIBITING AXON REGENERATION, SPROUTING, AND PLASTICITY IN THE ADULT MAMMALIAN CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. RODENT AND NON-HUMAN PRIMATE STUDIES DEMONSTRATE THAT THE SOLUBLE RECEPTOR DECOY NGR(310)ECTO-FC, ALSO KNOWN AS AXER-204, PROMOTES NEURAL REPAIR AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN BOTH TRANSECTION AND CONTUSION SPINAL CORD INJURY MODELS. THE FIRST-IN-HUMAN STUDY OF INTRATHECAL AXER-204 IN CHRONIC CERVICAL SCI (RESET) DEMONSTRATED SAFETY, TOLERABILITY AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID BIOMARKER CHANGES OF NEUROPLASTICITY. ALTHOUGH CONDUCTED WITHOUT REHABILITATIVE TRAINING, POST-HOC ANALYSIS SHOWED IMPROVED MOTOR STRENGTH IN PATIENTS WITH INCOMPLETE INJURY. THESE PRELIMINARY DATA ALSO GENERATED SUBSTANTIAL TRIAL EXPERIENCE FROM A ROBUST AND INTERDISCIPLINARY NETWORK OF INVESTIGATORS, POSITIONING THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF INVESTIGATION. BUILDING UPON THE ENCOURAGING RESULTS FROM RESET, WE PROPOSE A DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF AXER- 204 COMBINED WITH REHABILITATIVE TRAINING FOR INCOMPLETE CHRONIC CERVICAL SCI. THE PRIMARY SAFETY OUTCOME WILL BE THE FREQUENCY OF SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. THE PRIMARY EFFICACY OUTCOME WILL BE UPPER EXTREMITY MOTOR STRENGTH. KEY SECONDARY OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING. AN IMPORTANT OPTIMIZATION BASED ON THE FIRST TRIAL IS THE INCLUSION ONLY OF INCOMPLETE CASES WITH AIS GRADE B-C-D, GIVEN THEIR GREATER RESPONSIVENESS IN RESET. THE SECOND KEY ASPECT WILL BE TO PROVIDE REHABILITATIVE TRAINING TO ALL PARTICIPANTS. COUPLING REHABILITATION WITH PHARMACOTHERAPY IS BOTH PATIENT-CENTERED AND BASED ON PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL DATA INDICATING THAT REHABILITATION WILL SYNERGIZE WITH AXER-204-SUPPORTED NEUROPLASTICITY. THIS CLINICAL TRIAL WILL ENROLL 60 PATIENTS ACROSS 6 GEOGRAPHICALLY REPRESENTATIVE SITES. CENTERS ARE CAREFULLY CHOSEN BOTH BECAUSE OF THEIR PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND COMMITMENT TO SCI TRANSLATIONAL TRIALS. THIS PIONEERING NETWORK WILL RECRUIT THE FULL RANGE OF SCI SURVIVORS IN THE US. POSITIVE RESULTS OF THIS TRIAL WILL HAVE A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT BY SUPPORTING THAT ADVANCEMENT OF THE FIRST NEURAL REPAIR DRUG THERAPY TO PHASE 3 STUDIES IN THIS DISABLED PATIENT POPULATION.
Awardee
Funding Goals
NOT APPLICABLE
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
New Haven,
Connecticut
065103210
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
Yale Univ was awarded
Neural Repair for Chronic Cervical SCI: Axer-204 + Rehab
Cooperative Agreement UG3NS142157
worth $3,306,533
from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in May 2026 with work to be completed primarily in New Haven Connecticut United States.
The grant
has a duration of 4 years 6 months and
was awarded through assistance program 93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders.
The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity NINDS Exploratory Clinical Trials (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required).
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 6/5/26
Period of Performance
5/22/26
Start Date
11/30/30
End Date
Funding Split
$3.3M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$3.3M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
UG3NS142157
SAI Number
UG3NS142157-1260451676
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Private Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
75NQ00 NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Funding Office
75NQ00 NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Awardee UEI
FL6GV84CKN57
Awardee CAGE
4B992
Performance District
CT-03
Senators
Richard Blumenthal
Christopher Murphy
Christopher Murphy
Modified: 6/5/26