Otonomy, Inc (Nasdaq: OTIC), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for neurotology, announced an “exclusive license agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd. (“Kyorin”) that provides Otonomy with exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a novel compound for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss.” Under the terms of the agreement, Otonomy will make an upfront payment to Kyorin as well as success-based milestone payments and royalties on worldwide net sales of a product containing the patent-protected compound. Otonomy is formulating the compound utilizing the company’s proprietary technology to provide sustained drug exposure in the inner ear following a single local administration.
“We are pleased to complete this license agreement that stems from a successful research collaboration with Kyorin focused on identifying a novel treatment for hearing loss,” said David A. Weber, PhD, President and CEO of Otonomy. “We have demonstrated that this compound is active in preclinical models of cochlear hair cell regeneration, and has potential for the treatment of severe hearing loss. The OTO-6XX hair cell regeneration program is complementary to our OTO-413 hearing loss program that repairs damaged connections between hair cells and auditory nerve fibers, giving us the opportunity to address a broad population of hearing loss patients. We look forward to advancing the OTO-6XX program while also working to complete the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of OTO-413 in patients with speech-in-noise hearing difficulty, with results from this trial expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.”
Source: Otonomy
