Sensorion Has Presented an Abstract on Recovering Hearing Loss at the Neuroscience 2015 Annual Meeting in Chicago

Regulatory News:

Sensorion (Paris:ALSEN) (FR0012596468 – ALSEN / PEA-PME eligible), a biotech specialising in the treatment of inner ear diseases, today announces that the results of a preclinical trial on a new drug candidate aimed at the curative treatment of severe hearing loss have been presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s 45^th annual meeting (Neuroscience 2015) in Chicago.

The abstract, entitled "Effective protection against severe noise-induced hearing loss by a small molecule clinical drug candidate following daily, post-trauma systemic administration”, was presented during a session devoted to mechanoreceptors and the cochlea by Dr. Jonas Dyhrfjeld-Johnsen, Sensorion’s Head of Pharmacology.

Sensorion carried out a proof-of-concept in vivo preclinical trial on animals affected by acute bilateral neurosensory hearing loss. In this study, animals were exposed to a 120 dB noise level for 2 hours and then randomized to 14 consecutive days treatment with either the systemically administered placebo or a Sensorion drug candidate from the small-molecule SENS-200 programme. In the group treated with this small molecule, the level of hearing loss measured on Day 14 was reduced by an average of 50% (with a maximum of 60%) compared with the placebo group, for which the hearing loss reached an average of 40 dB. This treatment effect was due to the recovery in hearing loss recorded in the group treated with the small molecule being twice as high (33.4 dB versus 16.7 dB in the placebo group) starting from the same initial level of hearing loss.

Furthermore, histological analysis revealed that the average loss of sensory outer hair cells in the most sensitive regions of the cochlea was reduced by around 36% on average (maximum of 75%) in the group treated with the small molecule compared with the placebo group, where there was substantial loss of neurosensory cells.

To date, there is no drug available to treat patients suffering from hearing loss resulting from acoustic trauma, which affects some 11 million patients worldwide¹. Given that the corticosteroids-based treatments that are sometimes used for this pathology only have a limited or insignificant effect, there is a substantial need for efficient and easy-to-administer drugs.

Pierre Attali, Sensorion’s Chief Medical Officer, says: "The small molecule identified by our screening platform and systemically administered to animals during this trial resulted in an improvement in their neurosensory hearing ability that would equate to a major improvement in humans. These results have attracted much interest from the international specialists who attended the Neuroscience 2015 annual meeting, and we are delighted with their very positive feedback. The next step will consist in determining the optimal dosing regimen to use, before being able to initiate clinical trials for this new indication with this drug candidate. Should its efficacy in humans be confirmed, this could be a particularly attractive solution for millions of patients around the world who are suffering from acute hearing loss.”

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About Sensorion

Spun off from Inserm (the French institute of health and medical research) in 2009, Sensorion is a biotech that specialises in the treatment of pathologies of the inner ear such as acute vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss. Backed by its pharmaceutical R&D experience and a comprehensive technology platform, Sensorion is developing three drug candidate programmes for treating the symptoms of vertigo or tinnitus, for preventing complications associated with progressive lesions in the inner ear and for preventing the toxicity of chemotherapy in the inner ear. Based in Montpellier, southern France, Sensorion has a portfolio of 7 patent families, employs 15 staff and receives financial support from Bpifrance, through the InnoBio fund, and Inserm Transfert Initiative.

For more information: www.sensorion-pharma.com

Name: SENSORION
ISIN code: FR0012596468
Ticker: ALSEN

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the prospectus on which the French Financial Market Authority (AMF) granted its visa n° 15-114 on March 27, 2015 and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements.

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¹ Source: Alcimed, Sensorion

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