PRAGMA Therapeutics Collaboration with UK Ministry of Defence to Research Tinnitus & HL Treatments

See their NEWS page entry from September 1st (unfortunately there's no direct link to the article, only to the news page).


PRAGMA Therapeutics and UK Ministry of Defence’s Center for Defence Enterprise collaborate to support preclinical research on innovative treatment for tinnitus
September 1st, 2016 – Archamps, France – PRAGMA Therapeutics announced today that the company has signed a major collaboration with the Center for Defence Enterprise (CDE), a division of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). Among the top 6 winners over 52 worldwide applicants in the MOD themed competition “detect and treat hearing loss and tinnitus”, through this CDE funded research PRAGMA Therapeutics and CILcare, a French CRO specialized in hearing disorders, aim at demonstrating the therapeutics benefit of PRAGMA’s mGlu7 allosteric modulators in a translational and multi-parametric model of tinnitus.

“Hearing loss and tinnitus are among the most severe disorders that active military members are suffering when returning from military operations. We provide here a unique and innovative therapeutic approach targeting the peripheral and central components of tinnitus that can develop after acute and chronic acoustic trauma” said Sylvain Celanire, Chief Executive Officer of PRAGMA Therapeutics. “We are very grateful to the CDE for its financial as well as preclinical and clinical support in this project. We are thrilled to work with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory team, and our collaborator CILcare, to advance our program towards prevention and treatment of tinnitus” added Guillaume Duvey, Chief Scientific Officer of PRAGMA Therapeutics.

“The health and wellbeing of UK armed forces personnel throughout their career is very important to the MOD. One particular area of concern is the potential for noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus. In military service loud, impulsive noise can be a specific occupational hazard. PRAGMA Therapeutics innovative approach has the potential to specifically treat and prevent these serious debilitating disorders, in particular tinnitus, which could be of benefit to UK operational forces” said Jim Pennycook, Head of operations for CDE.

Célia Belline, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of CILcare, commented: “The determination of physiological markers of tinnitus in humans and animals remains a challenge, which the scientific community is strongly focusing on. Over the recent years technical improvements in imaging have led to the determination of activated brain areas following the administration of tinnitus-inducing agents. CILcare with the collaboration of Dr. Yves Cazals and Dr. Arnaud Norena, experts in auditory research and Dr. Christophe Goze-Bac, expert in NMR Spectroscopy and Imaging, have successfully applied and developed further these technics, which progress will directly benefit to the evaluation of PRAGMA Therapeutics’mGlu7 modulators in tinnitus.”

In May 2016, PRAGMA Therapeutics had announced a major funding from the UK Action on Hearing Loss charity for its mGlu7 program to specifically address Noise-Induced and Age-Related Hearing Loss, in collaboration with the Global Center for Speech and Hearing Research at the University of South Florida. Adding tinnitus to the therapeutic potential of mGlu7 modulators, PRAGMA Therapeutics provides a first-in-class treatment to both military and civilian population suffering from severe hearing disorders, tapping into a high growth market of nearly 10 billion euros.

 

Excellent news! It seems more and more parties are joining the pursuit of a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

 

That's still good news even if nothing is coming for the years to come !

 

CILcare is pursuing a major research project in tinnitus aiming to develop a preclinical tinnitus detection model with novel techniques that can be applied to humans
by CILcare | Sep 21, 2018

https://www.cilcare.com/cilcare-is-pursuing-a-major-research-project-in-tinnitus/

CILcare, a world-leading company specialized in the research and development of drugs and medical devices in the field of hearing, is announcing the launch of the second phase of their tinnitus research project DETECT today. DETECT-2, a public/private project, is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Montpellier, and aims to develop a preclinical tinnitus detection model, notably with the use of a new MRI imaging technique.

To date, there is no therapeutic solution to treat tinnitus due to a lack of understanding of its physiopathological mechanisms, the lack of reliable models for developing new compounds in preclinical research, and the difficulties in accurately diagnosing patients.

“DETECT-2 will place CILcare at the forefront of tinnitus research and development; no other company in the world has the expertise of CILcare’s team and our partners for testing the effectiveness of new therapies in this area”, explains Dr. Sylvie Cosnier-Pucheu, Scientific Director of CILcare, DETECT-2 Project Manager.

“DETECT-2 will allow us to generate new knowledge which should significantly accelerate the development of preclinical tools to better understand the effects of medicine on the inner ear and the auditory cortex. The relationship established between CILcare and the MRI platform of the University of Montpellier, directed by Dr. Christophe Goze-Bac, is an essential asset to the success of this project”, adds Dr. Yves Cazals, former Research Director at INSERM, President of CILcare’s Scientific Committee.

Given this perspective, CILcare is already able to provide its clients (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) a unique offer for evaluating the effectiveness of new therapies in treating tinnitus. By meeting the expectations of the industrial players in this field, CILcare hopes to accelerate the arrival of therapeutic solutions for patients suffering.
DETECT-2, valued at 1.2 million euros, is supported by the Region of Occitanie, BPI France, and the French State, via the funding of future investment projects and innovation aids. On a daily basis, the project is assisted by the economic development agency AD’OCC and by Evoly Consulting. The funds that have been raised have already enabled the creation of a research engineer position within CILcare, as well as the funding of a postgraduate in biophysics with a specialty in MRI techniques position.

 

The best part of the aticle!

 

Second best part of the article!
(Actually acknowledging that there are NO therapeutics at this time)

 

There are some good guesses out there.

 

@Autumnly : very well done. IMHO, just a suggestion : this info needs to be redirected in a new thread.

I remember I contacted Yves Cazals some years ago since he was the Research Director (cognitive sciences department, working on tinnitus) of the University of Marseille, but he never replied me.

As I live close to Marseille (which is 1h30 from Montpellier), I sent today an e-mail to the contact address, specifying that I am keen on participating to this trial if they need participants.

 

Cilcare just replied me :

Hello sir,
We thank you for your interest in the activity of CILcare and its research project DETECT-2.
This project does not concern a clinical trial in humans, it is preliminary stages performed in animals.
We hope that our research will lead as soon as possible to the introduction of effective treatment for tinnitus!
Best regards,

 

The problem here is that we have no accepted pathology or mechanism for tinnitus. One study talked about excessive activity in the temporal lobe and used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to reduce tinnitus loudness and prevent its return over time. But another published study decided that cause was in the brainstem. "The brain, and specifically the region of the brainstem called the dorsal cochlear nucleus, is the root of tinnitus," said Susan Shore, the U-M Medical School professor who leads the research team. "When the main neurons in this region, called fusiform cells, become hyperactive and synchronize with one another, the phantom signal is transmitted into other centers where perception occurs...If we can stop these signals, we can stop tinnitus".

Until there is a proven pathology, all this funding just keeps researchers employed.

 

Until there is a proven pathology, all this funding just keeps researchers employed.
It's like the dog chasing their tail.

 

And so you think by not having researchers employed and working on the problem is going to get us closer to figuring out the pathology and a cure?

 

That sounds so easy @Silvio Sabo.

 

Yeah, that makes sense......NOT!

That is one of the dumbest and most idiotic opinions I have ever heard.

 

In case you didn't notice I was being sarcastic...

 

I know

 

Look at Alzheimer's research. This started in 1990 and was well-funded by government and big pharma. Earlier this year, it was announced that all this research was stopping as nothing tangible or helpful had come of it in almost 30 years.
Without a known pathology, 'treatment' research is unlikely to be of any benefit. Of course there should be research but cause comes before cure.

 

IMHO this is not similar to Alzheimer's in this way.
In many or most cases of tinnitus there is a clear core pathology: some form of hearing loss. Cure that and it seems very likely you'll reduce, or even eliminate tinnitus.
That's where research should be headed imo.
@Contrast

 

Have you ever heard of noise induced hearing loss?

 

I may not have made myself clear - while we have some idea of the context of tinnitus, for example with hearing loss, we have no idea about the brain mechanisms that underlie the perception of noise that we call 'tinnitus'. Hearing loss is not the core pathology - it is a condition in which tinnitus is more likely. There are cases of tinnitus without hearing loss and there are cases of hearing loss without tinnitus.

One group of researchers stated that the cause was in the temporal lobe of the cortex and based their treatment strategy on that while another group say it is in the brain stem (in brain terms, that is a million miles away) and base their treatment on that.

My point in comparing with Alzheimer's research was that 30 years of researching the wrong pathology produced (surprise, surprise) nothing. We know that Alzheimer's is much more common as we age but that has not helped us find the cause.

 

@katri LOOK AT THIS !!!!

 

They are doing human trials to restore hearing, if it works, and tinnitus goes away, then we will know the mechanism for these cases. Therefore all attention should be focused here presently.

 

CBSET Partner CILcare Leads Phase 2 of $2.1 Million Total Detect Project to Develop a Preclinical Model for Tinnitus Drug Therapy Development

November 13, 2018 08:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

LEXINGTON, Mass. & MONTPELLIER, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CBSET partner CILcare, a world-leading CRO (clinical research organization) specialized in the research and development of drugs and medical devices in the field of hearing, has initiated the second phase of its ongoing tinnitus research project, DETECT, a public/private project being conducted in collaboration with the University of Montpellier that aims to develop a preclinical tinnitus detection model.

“DETECT empowers us to discover new insights that should dramatically advance development of preclinical tools so we might better understand the effects of medicine on the inner ear and the auditory cortex, and thereby expedite the arrival of industry’s therapeutic solutions for patients suffering from tinnitus”

“DETECT is a testament to our partner CILcare’s leadership in preclinical tinnitus research and development,” said Peter M. Markham, CEO and a co-founder of CBSET.

“DETECT empowers us to discover new insights that should dramatically advance development of preclinical tools so we might better understand the effects of medicine on the inner ear and the auditory cortex, and thereby expedite the arrival of industry’s therapeutic solutions for patients suffering from tinnitus,” said Celia Belline, CEO and founder of CILcare.

 

I’m a layman here Dr Ancill and I see your point of view without a cause there is no treatment.

However I have been on psychiatric medicines and a lot of them say things like “it is not generally understood how this medicine works but.......”

 

It would be great if restoring hearing resulted in tinnitus going away but I am not sure it is clear what you mean be 'restoring hearing'. We can use modern computerized hearing aids that try to fill in the lost frequencies but tinnitus does not go away. Patients with a cochlear implant for single-sided tinnitus (Arts RA et al, 2012) have reported improvement in the tinnitus but this is quite a drastic treatment and there is no data regarding bilateral tinnitus. Single-sided tinnitus is atypical of patients with tinnitus and often reflects a specific trauma.