Sensorion has partnered to improve the delivery of its hearing loss gene therapy OTOF-GT. Working with Eveon, the French biotech is aiming to develop an injection system for getting its therapies to the inner ear.
As OTOF-GT, a gene therapy treatment of otoferlin deficiency, has moved toward the clinic, Sensorion has set out plans to administer the candidate through a surgical procedure. The procedure is similar to cochlear implantation, according to the biotech, and as such is familiar to ear, nose and throat surgeons. Surgical administration is designed to get OTOF-GT to the inner cells at the root of the targeted disease.
The Eveon partnership positions Sensorion to add another, potentially more convenient administration route to the list of delivery options for OTOF-GT and its other inner ear gene therapies. Geraldine Honnet, M.D., chief medical officer of Sensorion, set out the goals of the collaboration in a statement.
“Our delivery system is intended to allow the delivery of Sensorion’s gene therapy product candidates into the inner ear with the aim of restoring hearing in patients suffering from hereditary monogenic forms of deafness. Effective and safe administration is critical for gene therapies and we need to ensure an optimal route of injection,” Honnet said.
Eveon landed the deal on the strength of its work to design and develop custom devices for preparation and delivery of advanced therapeutic treatments. The company’s product portfolio includes a platform for reconstituting and injecting complex drugs plus a device for administering therapies as a spray or mist.
Sensorion will work on the delivery device while advancing OTOF-GT into the clinic. The biotech plans to submit a clinical trial application for the gene therapy in the first half of the year.