Sensorion (FR0012596468 – ALSEN) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapies to restore, treat, and prevent inner ear diseases such as hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo, announced that the “AUDINNOVE” project was awarded a €9.7m (USD $11 million) funding grant following its Hospital Research-University (RHU) request proposal for funding as part of the public investment Program “Avenir.” This program is designed to support innovative large-scale projects in the Health sector.

The “AUDINNOVE” project tackles congenital deafness through the development of new approaches for both diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this project is to develop a specific gene therapy program aimed at correcting an inherited monogenic form of deafness caused by a mutation in the gene encoding for the Otoferlin protein (DNBF9).

The composition of the consortium is as follows:

  • The clinical pediatric ENT team led by Professor Françoise Denoyelle and the clinical genetic team led by Dr Sandrine Marlin at Hôpital Necker-Enfants malades, Assistance Publique –Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP);
  • Institut Pasteur, the Genetics and Physiology of Hearing laboratory’s team Professor Christine Petit and Dr Saaid Safieddine;
  • The Foundation for the Hearing, a nonprofit foundation of public utility, said to carry a double ambition to accelerate research and therapeutic applications as well as to expand opportunities for deaf individuals,
  • Sensorion, as the industrial partner for the consortium.

All consortium members will contribute their expertise and Sensorion will leverage its particular expertise in the development of drug candidates for inner ear pathologies, specifically to conduct regulatory preclinical and clinical studies on behalf of the consortium. Led by the ENT Department of AP-HP-NECKER (Dr Natalie Loundon), this project will be financed through a grant/subsidy of €9.7 m (USD $11 million) and partners Sensorion with the leading French academic institutions.

Source: Sensorion