Drug Being Tested in London Could Be Breakthrough in Treating Hearing Loss

Researchers at University College London (UCL) are testing a new drug they hope will have the potential to restore hearing, reports the Evening Standard . Phase one trials conducted last summer at the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital verified the drug's safety, and the phase two trials seek to determine if the treatment can regenerate sensory hair cells in the inner ear, administered via three weekly injections through the eardrum. The drug was developed by Audion Therapeutics in the Netherlands and is being tested by the Regain trial consortium. The trial will evaluate the drug's usefulness in 40 adults with mild to moderate adult-onset sensorineural hearing loss, with participants recruited in England, Germany, and Greece. Such hearing loss can be induced by old age, by an adverse reaction to chemotherapy or antibiotics, or exposure to noise.