Local treatment of the ear

Purpose and goal

The research group behind the project ´Local treatment of the ear´ has been doing research on hearing loss due to noise and the ototoxic anticancer drug cisplatin for many ears. They have developed a intratympanic drug treatment that can prevent cisplatin-induced hearing loss in the laboratory. The aim here was to get the treatment closer to the market. This was achieved by experiments in the laboratory and mapping of the market opportunities.

Expected results and effects

A main goal has been to find ways to create IP. One method is to modify the drug composition with sustained otoprotection. This was performed in the present project. The original and the modified products´ distribution and elimination in the middle ear was also studied. When analyzing the market opportunities, a large unmet medical need was found. The overall conclusion of the project is that product optimization is required to explore the safety of the product as well as to attract investors.

Planned approach and implementation

The behaviour in the middle ear was studied with magnetic resonance tomography at KERIC, Karolinska institutet. All other experiments were performed in the research group´s laboratory at Uppsala University Hospital. Effects on hearing were assessed with ABR and by counting hair cells. The drug formulations were provided by Viscogel. The commercial activities were carried out by the project´s coordinating part, Karolinska Insitutet Innovations AB (KIAB).