MONTPELLIER, FRANCE – French biotechnology company Sensorion has secured €35 million in private placement financing to fund the development of innovative therapies for hearing loss disorders. The financing involves the issuance of new ordinary shares and pre-funded warrants to investors, including Redmile Group, a US-based healthcare investor, and existing shareholders Invus and Sofinnova Partners.
Nawal Ouzren, the CEO of Sensorion, expressed excitement about the successful capital raise and the new partnership with Redmile Group. The company aims to advance its gene therapy programs, including OTOF-GT, into clinical trials and accelerate preclinical activities for GJB2-GT. These efforts will help in treating hearing loss caused by genetic mutations.
“We are thrilled to announce today’s successful capital raise of EUR 35 million. We are excited to welcome among our shareholders a new US-based healthcare investor, Redmile Group. At the same time, the renewed confidence of Invus and Sofinnova Partners means that Sensorion now has three influential reference shareholders with a long-term vision. With this strengthened investor base in both the US and Europe, we now look forward to further develop our first gene therapy program OTOF-GT into the clinic and accelerate our second program GJB2-GT preclinical IND enabling activities. This capital increase will boost our relentless efforts in building a comprehensive franchise in the treatment of hearing loss caused by genetic mutations. Last but not least, I would like to thank Institut Pasteur for their team’s scientific leadership and support for our gene therapy projects.”
—Nawal Ouzren, CEO of Sensorion
Khalil Barrage, ad interim Chair, Sensorion, commented “We are very pleased to welcome Redmile Group in Sensorion. We look forward to partnering with them to build a leading inner ear gene therapy franchise”.
Accelerating Clinical Development and R&D
Redmile Group believes that gene therapy has significant potential to address medical needs, and they are eager to collaborate with Sensorion to advance these programs for patients with genetic hearing loss.
The private placement funds will primarily be used for clinical development, preclinical activities, and other research and development expenses. Sensorion believes that it can finance its operations through September 2024 with the new funding and existing cash reserves.
The company has specific clinical milestones ahead, including preliminary results for SENS-401 CIO in the second half of 2023, CTA approvals for OTOF-GT, and final proof-of-concept clinical data readout for SENS-401 in combination with cochlear implantation in the first half of 2024.
The private placement issuance will result in a substantial capital increase for Sensorion, and the new shares will be tradable on Euronext Growth in Paris under the ISIN FR0012596468 after the settlement-delivery in August 2023.
The funding and investor support will enable Sensorion to advance its groundbreaking gene therapy programs and make progress in treating genetic hearing loss.
About Sensorion
Sensorion is a pioneering clinical-stage biotech company, which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat and prevent hearing loss disorders, a significant global unmet medical need.
Sensorion has built a unique R&D technology platform to expand its understanding of the pathophysiology and etiology of inner ear related diseases, enabling it to select the best targets and mechanisms of action for drug candidates.
It has two gene therapy programs aimed at correcting hereditary monogenic forms of deafness, developed in the framework of its broad strategic collaboration focused on the genetics of hearing with the Institut Pasteur. OTOF-GT targets deafness caused by mutations of the gene encoding for otoferlin and GJB2-GT targets hearing loss related to mutations in GJB2 gene to potentially address important hearing loss segments in adults and children. The Company is also working on the identification of biomarkers to improve diagnosis of these underserved illnesses.
Sensorion’s portfolio also comprises clinical-stage small molecule programs for the treatment and prevention of hearing loss disorders.
Sensorion’s clinical-stage portfolio includes one Phase 2 product: SENS-401 (Arazasetron) progressing in a planned Phase 2 proof of concept clinical study of SENS-401 in Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity (CIO) and, with partner Cochlear Limited, in a study of SENS-401 in patients scheduled for cochlear implantation. A Phase 2 study of SENS-401 was also completed in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) in January 2022.
Source: Sensorion
