Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. provided an update on its auditory neuronal cell therapy program (ANP1), for the treatment of hearing loss, with an initial focus on auditory neuropathy spectrum disorders. Preclinical testing of ANP1 has begun through a collaboration with the University of Michigan and Yehoash Raphael, Ph.D., The R. Jamison and Betty Williams Professor of Otolaryngology, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Lab Director at the University of Michigan Kresge Hearing Research Institute. Dr. Raphael will serve as Principal Investigator and direct initial preclinical testing in collaboration with the company.

Hearing loss is a significant unmet medical need, and by 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are estimated to be impacted by listening impairments across the globe. Dr. Raphael is an expert in hearing loss research whose interests include inner ear biology, protection and regeneration, gene therapy, genetic deafness and stem cell therapy. Research interests in his lab include repair and regeneration in the inner ear, tissue engineering technologies as applied to the cochlea and vestibular organs, and hereditary deafness.

Dr. Raphael is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and has published extensively in the area of hearing loss, with more than 200 publications. Auditory neuropathy is a challenging hearing disorder in which the inner ear successfully detects sound but has a problem with sending signals from the ear to the brain, currently accounting for approximately 10% of cases of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children. Current medical knowledge suggests that auditory neuropathies play a substantial role in hearing impairments and deafness.

Hearing depends on a series of complex steps that change sound waves in the air into electrical signals. The auditory nerve then carries these signals to the brain. Auditory neuropathy can be caused by a number of factors including damage to the auditory neurons or loss of these neurons.

Researchers are still seeking effective treatments for those affected with auditory neuropathy.