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miguel angel
02-07-2009, 10:21 AM
"It gives a nice little rundown on GNVC's platform and also some potential market opportunities such as the impaired hearing market that is estimated to be at least $6B/year in which there are currently NO competing drugs on the market currently.


Large Market Opportunity.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 28 million Americans have a hearing impairment. Even with the most conservative estimates, this represents an opportunity of at least $6 billion.

Positive Results For Hearing Loss & Balance Disorders.

The underlying adenovector delivery technology has been proven safe in thousands of patients across a range of diseases and proof of concept of TherAtoh has been established in multiple preclinical models. The program is positioned to be quickly advanced into the clinic.

TherAtoh

TherAtoh Atonal Therapy is a product concept to restore hearing or balance function through the regeneration of critical cells of the inner ear. Hearing and Balance require specialized cells of the inner ear called sensory hair cells. During embryonic development a gene termed atonal (ATOH) induces the generation of these cells. GenVec has shown preclinically that the production of the ATOH protein results in the formation of new inner ear sensory hair cells, and the restoration of hearing and balance function.

TherAtoh Atonal Therapy – Validated Science; Untapped Market

Atonal Therapy is a product concept to restore hearing or balance function through the regeneration of critical cells of the inner ear. Hearing and Balance require specialized cells of the inner ear called sensory hair cells. During embryonic development a gene termed atonal (ATOH) induces the generation of these cells. GenVec has shown preclinically that the production of the ATOH protein results in the formation of new inner ear sensory hair cells, and the restoration of hearing and balance function. TherAtoH is an adenovector product delivering the human atonal gene (Hath1) to trigger the production of therapeutic proteins by cells in the inner ear.

Addresses Unmet Medical Needs – There are no drug therapies available to treat hearing loss or balance disorders.

This investigational drug is being developed to improve the treatment of inner ear disorders including hearing loss and balance function disorders. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 28 million Americans have a hearing impairment. Even with the most conservative estimates, this represents an opportunity of at least $6 billion. TherAtoh therapy could be explored for patient segments including those with hearing loss caused by exposure to excessive noise or other trauma, aging, and diseases and infections or their treatment (also in pediatric patients). These segments total approximately 24 million patients. In the United States alone, it is estimated that 5-10% of the population suffers from balance loss and there is little available treatment. The cost of medical care for patients with balance disorders has been estimated to exceed $1 billion per year.

Program is de-risked - The underlying adenovector delivery technology has been proven safe in thousands of patients across a range of diseases and proof of concept of TherAtoh has been established in multiple preclinical models. The program is positioned to be quickly advanced into the clinic".
link: http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_G/threadview?m=tm&bn=7976&tid=48975&mid=48976&tof=1&off=1

jowei
02-08-2009, 11:07 PM
Great News! Can't wait until it gets FDA clearance.

JennyB
02-08-2009, 11:19 PM
I'm against a "cure".

As a culturally Deaf person I see my culture and language being threatened.

Lucille
02-09-2009, 12:29 AM
I am hoping the research will come up with a cure. That would be wonderful for me, and for so many adults and children who want to hear.
I love my new hearing aids, but part of my loss is so profound that I won't get it back. Not to mention the occasional Meniere's type symptoms which would be helped by such research,

Hask12
02-09-2009, 11:24 AM
Jenny, you always have the right to refuse the treatment. You don't have the right to refuse it for others. Or are you just being funny?:confused:

zinzan
02-09-2009, 07:50 PM
If it hasn't gone to "clinic" yet, what's the timeline on commercial availability? Consumer cost projections?

JennyB
02-10-2009, 05:37 PM
Jenny, you always have the right to refuse the treatment. You don't have the right to refuse it for others. Or are you just being funny?:confused:

This is a little more "Deaf militant" than I normally get...

For me, I do not have a disability. I am part of a linguistic and cultural minority that exisits within the majority western culture and English speaking culture in Canada. It is the exact same as any other cultural and linguistic minority group, like the French speaking Francophone culture.

For the exact same reasons Francophones wouldn't want to see their culture and language destroyed, I don't want to see mine destroyed. For me "curing" deafness is a sense of cultural genocide.

Having said that, I do understand how an adult with a late onset hearing loss would want a cure.I have nothing against that at all.

xbulder
02-11-2009, 09:52 AM
Im sure this will be a reality in my lifetime....

hambon
02-11-2009, 10:43 PM
With all the science and medical advancements you would think even a partial gain should be possible by now... I really hope they get investment because this will open up a whole new ball game

http://www.genvec.com/download/2007%203.14%20ATOH_Summary.pdf

jchunter
02-12-2009, 09:08 AM
This "concept" seems to be two years old, now. I was unable to find any clinical trials, so my assumption is that it is still "pre-clinical" and it could be a decade before is is available. Don't throw away your hearing aids yet.;)

More info at http://www.allpennystocks.com/aps_ca/stock_of_month.asp

It would be a good idea to monitor GenVec for announcement of clinical trials using TherAtoh Atonal Therapy. Maybe some of us could join it.

zafdor
02-13-2009, 06:10 AM
Im sure this will be a reality in my lifetime....
I hope you're right, but I am not optimistic. Do you remember when Richard Nixon declared war on cancer and prediction of its cure?...was it 1971?

miguel angel
03-08-2009, 05:09 AM
hi!
I do not know whether to be optimistic or not. But I think there are several tests today. Even if I am not mistaken, there are experiments on animals. Preclinical stage. Do you not think there could be a short-term cure for deafness?

miguel angel
03-22-2009, 01:43 AM
2006 Heller: "Heller's vision is to develop a variety of possible cures for deafness. For the past year and a half, since coming to Stanford from Harvard, he's been focused on two paths: drug therapy -which could be as simple as an application of ear drops - and stem cell transplantation into the inner ear to remedy hearing loss.

Currently he's working on perfecting the steps toward eventual stem cell transplantation into humans, with the goal of first curing deafness in mice within the next five years".

curing deafness in mice?

source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63386.php

Ozzie
03-23-2009, 10:58 AM
Im sure this will be a reality in my lifetime....

Finding a cure for the hearing means looooosing thier business, it is not in their advantage to find a cure but to get money and keep working with stable income. Sorry I'm so negative. I hear a lot research around the world but almost none of them found any thing helpful.

hippeaux
03-23-2009, 11:15 AM
Finding a cure for the hearing means looooosing thier business, it is not in their advantage to find a cure but to get money and keep working with stable income. Sorry I'm so negative. I hear a lot research around the world but almost none of them found any thing helpful.
Maybe you're right in your cynicism, your pessimism, but...

I just can't - no, strike the "can't"... I will not live that way. I'd rather live my life with a bit more optimism and faith in people.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Pollyanna. I've not got blinders on. Life has enough going on without adding more stress and suspicion. :p

xbulder
03-23-2009, 07:08 PM
Finding a cure for the hearing means looooosing thier business, it is not in their advantage to find a cure but to get money and keep working with stable income. Sorry I'm so negative. I hear a lot research around the world but almost none of them found any thing helpful.

companies are evolving... Phonak and Oticon - HI companies are now going in the implant business.. they know the future is not HI and therefore they must either adapt or die....

I think with in 1-2 yrs phonak and or Oticon will get into cochlear implants...
this seems to be the future..

I would not rule out other types of solutions...

Cheffy
03-27-2009, 01:44 AM
2006 Heller: "Heller's vision is to develop a variety of possible cures for deafness. For the past year and a half, since coming to Stanford from Harvard, he's been focused on two paths: drug therapy -which could be as simple as an application of ear drops - and stem cell transplantation into the inner ear to remedy hearing loss.

Currently he's working on perfecting the steps toward eventual stem cell transplantation into humans, with the goal of first curing deafness in mice within the next five years".

curing deafness in mice?

source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63386.php


I suppose curing deafness in mice is the way forward, could you imagine a mouse with a hearing aid?

miguel angel
03-28-2009, 02:32 AM
hi.
regeneration hearing has already been achieved in animals such as rats, I suppose the next step will be to restore hearing in humans. no?

MarvinMartian
03-28-2009, 08:03 AM
I see no reason why hearing loss could not be cured. With advances in nano-technology, surely an electronic solution could be made. Curing cancer is much more difficult. It is systemic, involving the entire body. There are many forms of cancer and it is hidden. With the exception of skin cancer which can be seen, detection is difficult. Hearing loss, however, is easier to detect. With hearing, there are a limited number of components that play a role. There are cochlear implants now, but they are external. I think it would be wonderful to be able to have surgery that would replace the defective parts, connect to the hearing nerve and be completely internal.

Of course, I'm talking about a hearing replacement rather than fixing hearing. If the cochlea is damaged, I'm not sure how it could be repaired. I think it would be almost impossible to repair the labyrinth with the surrounding bone.