Sanofi partners with Audion on potential hearing-loss drugs

French drug major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) has entered into a two-year research collaboration with the privately-held Dutch biotech company Audion Therapeutics to develop potential treatments for hearing loss through the optimization of small molecules by using a regenerative medicine approach. Financial terms of the accord were not disclosed.

This research will utilize technology developed at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory, one of the world's largest basic research facilities dedicated to the study of hearing and deafness, by investigator and Audion co-founder Albert Edge, who has strong expertise in stem cells and inner ear biology.

Early-stage compounds identified