Otonomy and AGTC to Present Preclinical Proof-of-Concept Results for OTO-825 Gene Therapy at ASGCT Annual Meeting

AAV-mediated gene therapy rescues hearing and cochlear damage in two preclinical models of congenital hearing loss caused by GJB2 deficiency

SAN DIEGO, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Otonomy, Inc. (Nasdaq: OTIC), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for neurotology, today announced the upcoming presentation of preclinical proof-of-concept data for OTO-825 at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting on May 13, 2021. OTO-825 is the clinical candidate targeting the gap junction beta-2 (GJB2) gene developed under the company’s collaboration with Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: AGTC). Mutations in the GJB2 gene are the most common cause of congenital hearing loss and typically result in moderate to severe hearing impairment.

"We are excited to present these preclinical results for OTO-825 that build on our previous presentations demonstrating gene expression in support cells of the cochlear, which are the target cells for GJB2 gene therapy, using novel AAV vectors identified through our collaboration with AGTC,” said Alan C. Foster, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Otonomy. “Based on these encouraging results that demonstrate hearing recovery and improved cochlear morphology following OTO-825 administration, the companies have initiated IND-enabling activities and look forward to providing additional details of the program in the next several months.”

The oral presentation entitled “AAV-mediated GJB2 gene therapy rescues hearing loss and cochlear damage in a mouse model of congenital hearing loss caused by conditional Connexin26 knockout” by Mathur et al., will be presented on May 13 at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

About Otonomy

Otonomy is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for neurotology. The company pioneered the application of drug delivery technology to the ear in order to develop products that achieve sustained drug exposure from a single local administration. This approach is covered by a broad patent estate and is being utilized to develop a pipeline of products addressing important unmet medical needs with a focus on hearing loss and tinnitus. For additional information please visit www.otonomy.com.