Our love of iPods, iPhones and other personal audio devices means the problem of hearing loss is worsening. Otonomy has raised $45.9 million to advance its therapeutics to treat middle and inner ear disorders, such as Meniere’s disease and to develop treatments for hearing loss symptoms, according to a company statement. It’s one of a handful of companies braving the challenge of developing treatments for these middle and inner ear conditions.
Among the new investors that participated in the Series C round are Osage University Partners, Aperture Venture Partners and OrbiMed Advisors, which led the round. Other investors include Avalon Ventures, Domain Associates, Novo Ventures, RiverVest Venture Partners and TPG Biotech.
The funding positions Otonomy to conduct late stage clinical trials of its sustained release formulation of the corticosteroid dexamethasone to treat Meniere’s disease symptoms including tinnitus and vertigo. It will also be used to conduct late stage trials for its antibiotic for middle ear effusion in children undergoing tympanostomy tube placement surgery. The drugs are delivered using a single intratympanic injection, according to the company’s website. The delivery system and the formulations provide prolonged exposure to the drugs so their effects are present for an extended period, according to a spokesman for the company.
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Among the symptoms of Meniere’s disease are sudden onset of vertigo, a sense of fullness or pressure in one or both ears, hearing loss and tinnitus.
About 628,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Meniere’s disease but about 2 percent of the population say they experience the symptoms that come with it, so it could be frequently misdiagnosed. Jay Lichter, the company’s co-founder and a biotechnology investor with Avalon Ventures, told Xconomy he founded the company after he was diagnosed with the condition.
There are 13 clinical trials focusing on treatments for Meniere’s disease, according to search results on Clinical Trials.gov. Medtronic developed a device to treat the vertigo symptoms associated with the condition. Drugs are commonly used to treat dizziness, but there’s currently no cure for the disease.
[Photo credit: Audio spectrum glow from BigStock Photos]
