Published on 19 Oct 2022 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance
Eli Lilly (LLY) to Buy Hearing Loss Gene Therapy Maker Akouos
Eli Lilly and Company LLY announced a definitive agreement to acquire Boston-based Akouos, AKUS, which is developing gene therapies for the treatment of inner ear conditions, including hearing loss, for an aggregate amount of up to approximately $610 million.
Akouos’ lead pipeline candidate is AK-OTOF, a gene therapy intended for the treatment of OTOF-mediated hearing loss, a form of sensorineural hearing loss caused by mutations in the OTOF gene. Last month, the FDA cleared an investigational new drug (IND) submission, which was filed to begin clinical studies on the candidate. Akouos plans to initiate a pediatric phase I/II study on AK-OTOF for OTOF-mediated hearing loss soon.
The stock has risen 21.3% this year so far against a decline of 2.4% for the industry.