Audion touts Ph1 results for hearing loss drug

Audion Therapeutics touted positive results yesterday from a Phase I trial of the company’s hearing loss drug.

In 15 people with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss, Audion tested the safety and tolerability of its LY3056480 mediated Notch inhibitor. The drug is designed to regenerate the inner ear sensory hair cells that are lost over time.

The Amsterdam-based company reported that trans-tympanic injection of the drug at the highest dose (250 micrograms) was safe and well tolerated by the study’s participants.

Audion has already begun recruitment for a Phase II trial. The company plans to enroll 40 adults and study its product using pure tone hearing levels and speech in noise performance as primary efficacy metrics.

“These positive Phase I results are an important milestone for Audion’s lead program addressing the growing, global need for treatment options for hearing loss. This achievement would not have been possible without our excellent academic and industrial partners with whom we form the REGAIN consortium under the EU Horizon 2020 program,” CEO Rolf Jan Rutten said in prepared remarks.

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