UVA Researchers Find Essential Key to Hearing Sensitivity Within the Inner Ear
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA — New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine is helping shed light on the biological architecture that lets us hear – and on a genetic disorder that causes both deafness and blindness. Sihan Li, a graduate student in the lab of Jung-Bum Shin of UVA’s Department of Neuroscience, has made a surprising…
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Otonomy and AGTC Present Preclinical Results for GJB2 Gene Therapy Hearing Loss Program
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA — Otonomy, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for neurotology, today announced preclinical results from the company’s gene therapy collaboration with Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC) that support the selection of a product candidate for development as a treatment for gap junction beta-2 (GJB2) deficiency, the most…
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Research Suggests Potential of In-Womb Gene Correction for Some Genetic Hearing Disorders
PORTLAND, OREGON — New research led by hearing scientists at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) suggests an avenue to treat and prevent intractable genetic disorders before birth. Researchers at the Oregon Hearing Research Center at OHSU, working with mice, injected a specially designed synthetic molecule into the developing inner ear of fetal mice 12…
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Gene Therapy Expert, Dr. Géraldine Honnet, Appointed as Sensorion’s New Chief Medical Officer
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE — Sensorion, a clinical-stage biotech company which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat and prevent within the field of hearing loss disorders, has announced the appointment of gene therapy expert Géraldine Honnet MD, as Chief Medical Officer. Géraldine Honnet is a medical doctor and joins from Généthon, where she…
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UK Researchers Identify 44 Genes Tied to Age-Related Hearing Loss, Raising Hope for Future Treatment Options
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Researchers from King’s College London, and University College London (UCL), have identified 44 genes linked to age-related hearing loss. The study helps shed light and provide a much clearer understanding of how the condition develops, and also potential treatment options in the future. The study, published in The American Journal of…
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Study: Malaria Drug May Help Prevent Common Form of Genetic Hearing Loss
CLEVELAND, OHIO — Our ability to hear depends on proteins to reach the outer membrane of sensory cells in the inner ear (hair cells). But in certain types of hereditary hearing loss, mutations in the protein prevent it from reaching these membranes. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, using a zebrafish model,…
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Sensorion Announces Partnership Framework Agreement with Institut Pasteur on Gene Therapy Programs for Hearing Loss
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE — French biotech firm Sensorion has announced the signature of a research partnership framework agreement with Institut Pasteur (Paris) granting to Sensorion an option to obtain exclusive licenses to develop and market drug candidates in gene therapy coming from collaborative projects, for the restoration, treatment and prevention of hearing disorders. In accordance with…
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Researchers Restore Hearing in Deaf Mice Using Gene Therapy
PARIS, FRANCE — Researchers have announced the successful restoration of hearing in an adult mouse model of DFNB9 deafness — one of the most frequent cases of congenital, genetic deafness. Individuals with DFNB9 deafness are profoundly deaf due to a deficiency in the gene coding for otoferlin, a protein which is essential for transmitting sound…
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University of Miami Receives $3M NIH Grant for Genetic Hearing Loss Research
MIAMI, FLORIDA — The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology has received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will fund research related to biological treatments and clinical diagnosis of patients with hearing loss. The grant allows Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of otolaryngology, human…
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Israeli Researchers Get One Step Closer to Unraveling Cause of Human Deafness
As much as 98% of the human genome does not code for protein. RNAs contained in this non-coding part act as regulatory molecules and have a substantial impact on gene expression. One type of these RNA molecules, called long non-coding RNAs, has been linked to a wide range of diseases and inheritable conditions such as…
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