Lilly pushes further into gene therapy with buy of Akouos

Bolstering its presence in the gene therapy sector, US pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) today announced it is acquiring Akouos (Nasdaq: AKUS), a precision genetic medicine company that is developing a portfolio of first-in-class adeno-associated viral gene therapies for the treatment of inner ear conditions, including sensorineural hearing loss.

A late entrant into the sector, Lilly has been seeking to build its pipeline of gene therapies, following the acquisition of Prevail Therapeutics for $1 billion last year.

Boston, USA-based Akouos has integrated expertise across otology, inner ear drug delivery, and gene therapy with the goal of addressing the needs of people living with disabling hearing loss worldwide. Akouos' lead product candidate, AK-OTOF, is a gene therapy for the treatment of hearing loss due to mutations in the otoferlin gene (OTOF). Additional pipeline programs span across multiple inner ear conditions, and include AK-CLRN1 for Usher Type 3A, an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by progressive loss of both hearing and vision; GJB2 (which encodes connexin 26) for a common form of monogenic deafness and hearing loss; and AK-antiVEGF for the treatment of vestibular schwannoma.