Project: New DX243-conjugated nanoparticles as a neuroprotective drug for hearing loss

Acronym	NANOEAR (Reference Number: EURONANOMED2021-159)
Duration	01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024
Project Topic	Because of their high prevalence, 5% of the population worldwide, an untreated decline of hearing impairments, has a profound negative impact on the affected individuals' quality of life, impeding communication, and leading to social isolation, depression, reduced physical and cognitive functions. Impaired synaptic transmission, degeneration of auditory neuron neurites, and neuronal loss characterize most of these disorders. Despite the major recent progress on hearing loss mechanisms, treatment options are mostly missing, and the economic and societal burden on healthcare systems worldwide keeps increasing. To date, the cochlear implant, which bypasses the damaged hair cells by providing direct electrical stimulation of the primary auditory neurons, is used to restore functional hearing in many patients who were profoundly deaf. However, their beneficial outcomes vary significantly among patients, often impacted by the number and functional state of auditory neurons. A therapeutic approach would allow the prevention or delay of degenerative processes is thus urgently needed. We previously identified a new drug that is promising to restore cochlear synaptogenesis. Local administration of this drug through the tympanic membrane is a preferable option. Still, the efficacy of such a way of administration relies on the drug's capacity to remain long enough at the cochlear round window level. The objective of NANOEAR is to develop a novel nanoparticle-based pharmacologic strategy for treating deafness caused by auditory synaptopathy in a well-defined group of deaf patients suffering from Clarin-1 mutation. WP1: Develop a unique nanoparticle formulation with DX243 and in vitro characterization WP2: Validate the efficacy of drug-loaded nanoparticles on human-derived inner ear organoids WP3: Provide in vivo proof of concept of the drug-loaded nanoparticles in synaptopathy preclinical models
Website	visit project website
Network	EuroNanoMed III
Call	Joint Transnational Call (2021)

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	University of Liège	Coordinator	Belgium
2	Instituto de Inverstigacion Sanitaria La Fe	Partner	Spain
3	Dendrogenix	Partner	Belgium
4	RS Research	Partner	Türkiye
5	Institut Pasteur	Partner	France