Audion Therapeutics BV

Audion Therapeutics is a private biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of acquired hearing loss. Audion's headquarters are in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with a presence in the Boston area. Founders are Professor Albert Edge of the MEEI (Harvard Medical School) in Boston, Dr Helmuth van Es, founder of Galapagos, Citryll, Antabio and Effecta Pharma and Rolf Jan Rutten CEO. Investors are Eli Lilly and Inkef Capital and the early clinical development of its lead compound LY3056480 was also funded by a Horizon2020 grant from the EU for a consortium of ENT clinical sites in UK, Germany and Greece.

Audion's mission is to improve the lives of patients suffering from the most prevalent forms of hearing. In 2015, almost 7% of the world's population, approximately half a billion people, had disabling hearing loss. In 2015 hearing loss was the 4th leading cause of years lived with disability (YLDs). The reach of hearing loss extends far beyond sensory impairment in young as well as older people and is associated with increase in dementia. Yet no drug treatments currently exist. Audion is committed to discovering effective therapies through our world-leading research into inner ear cellular biology and physiology.

LY3056480 is a potent small molecule gamma-secretase inhibitor identified by Audion and Eli Lilly scientists. Preclinical development was completed in 2017 and a phase 1 study has been completed in which the drug has been shown to be safe upon transtympanic administration. A phase 2 study has been finished and long term followup data analysed in 2021, with promising signs of efficacy.

To develop LY3056480 we collaborate with leading research institutions and companies both in the EU and US and are currently interested in partnerships with pharmaceutical companies committed to bringing treatments for sensorineural hearing loss to market.