ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Auris Medical Holding AG (NASDAQ: EARS), a clinical-stage company dedicated to developing therapeutics that address important unmet medical needs in otolaryngology, today announced the extension of its collaboration with King’s College London. The collaboration is focused on the discovery of small molecule compounds for a second generation tinnitus treatment.
“Together with King’s College London, we have made great progress on our second generation tinnitus project,” commented Thomas Jung, MD, PhD, Auris Medical’s Chief Development Officer. “The team’s drug discovery expertise has generated interesting leads that have been tested in vitro and in vivo. The extension of our collaboration allows for further development with the aim of selecting a lead compound for our AM-102 program by the end of 2017.”
Professor David E. Thurston of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science is leading the team at King’s to develop and optimize a range of specific small molecules for Auris Medical’s AM-102 project. The project builds on earlier work performed at King’s for Auris Medical by Professor Pat Doherty and Dr. Gareth Williams. The AM-102 compounds bind to a novel, undisclosed drug target for treating certain types of tinnitus.
About Inner Ear Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the perception of sound without external acoustic stimulation. Tinnitus of the inner ear may be caused by various injuries to the cochlea, the organ of hearing, such as overexposure to noise. Tinnitus that has been present for less than three months is considered acute, while tinnitus that has been present for over three months is considered chronic. Tinnitus of the inner ear often has a serious impact on ability to sleep, relax or concentrate, which may lead to tiredness, irritation, anxiety or depression. There is no universal standard of care for tinnitus of the inner ear and efficacy of a pharmacological treatment for tinnitus of the inner ear has not yet been conclusively demonstrated.
About Auris Medical
Auris Medical is a Swiss biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing therapeutics that address important unmet medical needs in otolaryngology. The Company is focused on the Phase 3 development of treatments for acute inner ear hearing loss (AM-111) and for acute inner ear tinnitus (Keyzilen®; AM-101) by way of intratympanic administration with biocompatible gel formulations. In addition, Auris Medical is pursuing intranasal betahistine for Meniere’s disease and vestibular vertigo (AM-125) and early-stage research and development projects. The Company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. The shares of Auris Medical Holding AG trade on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “EARS.”
About King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2016/17 QS World University Rankings) and among the oldest in England. King’s has more than 27,600 students (of whom nearly 10,500 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 6,800 staff.
King’s has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four percent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £684 million.
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