Johnson & Johnson's Hearing Loss Drug Discovery — Targeting α9α10 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson) has entered the game, folks. The hearing loss drug discovery game, that is.

a9α10 receptor modulators emerge as a novel therapeutic strategy for hearing loss.

Introducing α9α10:

Researchers recently identified a target that could be used to treat hearing loss and a handful of related auditory disorders -- including tinnitus -- and soon we may have another promising hearing restoration 'horse in the race'.

What's happening -- May 22, 2021 update:

This week, David S. Bredt -- molecular neuroscientist and Global Head Discovery Neuroscience at Johnson & Johnson -- will be presenting the recent findings at The Inner Ear Disorders Therapeutics Summit, an upcoming digital conference taking place a few days from now (May 25 - 27).

His presentation is titled:
Targeting the α9α10 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor for Hearing Loss

Link:
Targeting the α9α10 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor for Hearing Loss

Article:
Promising targets for deafness drug discovery

...the race to find a cure seems to be getting more interesting by the day -- with new and unexpected participants joining the action, sometimes out of nowhere.

 

Holy shit! J&J is on the game folks. It's official, we are in the big leagues now.

 

What the heck is the mechanism behind this? Is it basically mimicking Scopolamine which helps some people with tinnitus.

 

Just to add, The Inner Ear Disorders Therapeutics Summit, will be featuring presentations from all the major players - including David Lucchino from Frequency Therapeutics, Otonomy, Akouos, Decibel Therapeutics, and more. Rinri Therapeutics will also be presenting on their stem cell approach to hair cell regeneration (so I assume they are not going down the transdifferentiation route like many others are, then).

This conference has a $1,700 pricetag to attend though lol.

 

Here is the gist of what I heard from a researcher: we are in the middle of a paradigm shift in medical research. While doctors might still be archaic and not listen to their patients, researchers are starting to realize that the best data points come from the patients and sufferers, not from theories or textbooks. This sentiment and fundamental shift also brings to light that we have something today that we didn’t have 20 years ago: information. Forums like this allow for an accumulation of data points that have already been parsed and organized giving researchers information and insight into illness and their respective treatments.

Basically what this means is, even companies like J&J scour these forums to understand a) the value of a treatment and b) the efficacy of previously administered treatments. Every post that contains a reaction, a status update, a chain of events, clinical diagnoses, etc. is a valuable piece of information for future research. My friend also told me that there will be an influx of funding for chronic illnesses that were previously considered incurable due to COVID-19 and medical advancements over the last couple years, especially mRNA.

Keep up the good work and continue to produce those data points!

 

This evidence led Bredt to suggest that the α9α10 receptor could help prevent sound-induced hearing loss and potentially aid in the repair and rescue of damaged hair cells before they die. “Upregulating its protective effects could therefore have a variety of applications in both industrial and military settings,” he said.​

Sound preventive or for acute hearing loss though.

 

Yeah, without going down the rabbit hole of wishful thinking theories, that's what it sounds like.

However, the fact that now this massive company is pursuing hearing loss is awesome. As @Lukee mentioned, this is a sign of a whole new attitude towards hearing loss. The door has been cracked open and it's getting opened.

A few years ago, the idea of repairing hearing was so absurd that medical professionals today still don't believe that regenerative medicine is anything but science fiction, due to their own ignorance.

No disrespect to the amazing biotechs working on fixes but the fact that such a big player has entered the arena is great as it lends credibility to the fight for the Average Joe. Kind of like when alternative news outlets are reporting events that go ignored by big media and the Average Joe is oblivious to it because they didn't see it on CNN or whatever.

It also shows that big companies are getting interested in this and more likely to partner with small biotechs to help their products get to market.

Also, coming at a time when hearing loss and tinnitus are getting more attention thanks to the pandemic, companies are all seeing the incentive to pursue what is no longer an impossible feat; to fix hearing issues.

 

What % of efficacy does Scopolamine have?

 

Now we are talking! Big boy is in.

 

This is great. Now we have big names in the game. ❤️

 

The next decade is going to be a good one for us, even if we don't get a cure. Research is finally starting to pick up.

 

The next decade Really hoping we get some results and even treatment this decade

 

Haha I meant "this" instead of "the". Hopefully we will actually have working treatments/cures in the 2030s, provided the climate apocalypse doesn't ruin everything for us.

 

I'll believe it when I see it, but any sign of progress is good!

 

Let's hope for big pharma companies to pour more money into research on hearing restoration.

 

I believe the pharmaceutical lobby is more powerful than the hearing aid lobby. And I hope that pharmaceutical greed will lead to at least some treatment... An effective drug for tinnitus and/or hearing loss can create a lot of profit.

 

Maybe pharma companies have come to realise (after COVID-19, vaccines etc) how profitable it can be to find a solution for a common problem.

Hearing loss and tinnitus are very common problems.

 

I had never heard of tinnitus until I got it.

 

I had but only because of Archer.

 

Not too much talk about, but seems quite common that “someone knows of someone” or has it themselves if one asks around. Especially so called mild variants of tinnitus.

The ”tinnitus attack” (as I call it) which is the tone and that fades in and lasts a few seconds (and also mutes hearing during that time) is something more or less everyone seems to experience a couple of times a year or more. Not sure what the reason behind it is – anyone has more insight about what the cause of that would be? If you know what I mean.

 

From what I heard it’s like a spasm in your cochlear. Yes I think everyone experiences that.

 

I remember being scared shitless of it as a kid. I experience this much more since having tinnitus.

 

Happened to me throughout my entire life -- until I developed chronic tinnitus. It hasn't occurred for 16 months now.

 

When I was a kid I also remember getting those “attacks” very frequently as well. I thought I was going deaf haha. But it’s funny how my tinnitus was foreshadowed by that.

 

@Matchbox, have you tried Scopolamine?

 

FWIW, I have these episodes very regularly now that I have tinnitus and hyperacusis. It only happened a few times a year in the past.

 

J&J is a really big company. With the capital to pursue research as aggressively as it wants.

 

That's called Sudden Brief Unilateral Tapering Tinnitus (SBUTT) - and it appears to be related to facial muscular dysfunction. That's why it happens to almost everybody not just those with tinnitus. It might have increased in frequency with your H partially due to damage, but also due to a protective "clenching" stress reflex to sounds over time.

Sudden Brief Unilateral Tapering Tinnitus (SBUTT) Is Closely Related to the Lateral Pterygoid Muscle

 

Isn't that exactly what we're calling fleeting tinnitus? I have those multiple times a day, both ears.

 

Yup. SBUTT is just the medical term for it. Maybe explore some facial exercises with a physio if it's causing you upset.