There is currently no FDA-approved precision treatment for hearing loss.
According to foreign media reports , Akouos company, which develops gene therapy based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, has announced that it has completed over $ 100 million in Series B financing The round of financing was led by Pivotal bioVenture Partners. Cormorant Asset Management, Cowen Healthcare Investments, EcoR1 Capital, Fidelity
Management & Research Company, Polaris Founders Fund, Pagsgroup, Surveyor Capital and others followed suit. Akouos was announced in 2018 5000 10,000 USD in Series A financing .
This round of financing is mainly used to advance its first gene therapy, AK-OTOF, into the clinical research stage. This therapy is used to treat otoferrin (OTOF) gene mutations. Sensorineural hearing loss —— is caused by a problem or injury of sensory cells or inner ear nerve fibers.
This type of hearing loss common in cases of newborn deafness , and affects about 25% of the elderly (over 65 years), making It becomes the most common form of hearing loss and the most common of all sensory disorders. At the same time, hearing loss is still one of the biggest challenges facing the medical profession today. 360 million people worldwide suffer from hearing loss and there is no precise treatment approved by the FDA.
Akouos was established in the United States in 2016 and was co-founded by experts in neurology, genetics, drug delivery in the inner ear, and AAV gene therapy.