Blog – Rescue Hearing

Rescue Hearing Inc signs Sponsored Research Agreement with University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute

August 17, 2018 Jim Ayala

AUGUST 2018: Rescue Hearing Inc (RHI) has signed a Sponsored Research Agreement with the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute. RHI will be conducting research to develop gene therapies for hearing loss in the lab of Dr. Hinrich Staecker. Dr. Staecker is a scientific advisor to RHI and he is known for multiple clinical trials, including those focusing on inner-ear drug delivery.

Dr. Staecker is currently evaluating the effect of different vector constructs on cochlear and vestibular function, as well as evaluating the efficacy of atoh1 gene transfer for the regeneration of vestibular function. A practicing physician / surgeon, Dr. Staecker’s clinical practice focuses on otology and neurotology, specifically cochlear implantation, auditory brain stem implants and acoustic neuroma surgery.

Rescue Hearing Inc is developing a gene therapy platform to treat persons with debilitating hearing loss (360M people worldwide). There are currently no approved therapies for hearing loss. For more information on RHI please visit our website at www.rescuehearing.com or contact CEO / Founder Jim Ayala at jayala@rescuehearing.com.

Rescue Hearing signs Sponsored Research Agreement with Mass Eye and Ear

July 20, 2018 Jim Ayala

July 18, 2018: Rescue Hearing Inc (RHI) has signed a Sponsored Research Agreement with Massachusetts Eye and Ear. RHI will be conducting research to develop gene therapies for hearing loss in the lab of Dr. Zheng-Yi Chen. Dr. Chen is a scientific advisor to RHI and an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chen’s research interests include functional genomics of hearing, inner ear hair cell regeneration, mechanisms and treatment for age-related and noise-induced hearing loss and gene therapy for hereditary deafness. For more information on RHI please visit our website at www.rescuehearing.com or contact CEO / Founder Jim Ayala at “jayala@rescuehearing.com“.

Dr. Zheng-Yi Chen publishes new study in the scientific journal “Nature”

January 5, 2018 Jim Ayala

Rescue Hearing Inc scientific advisor Dr. Zheng-Yi Chen of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary has published a new study entitled “Treatment of autosomal dominant hearing loss by in vivo delivery of genome editing agents” in the scientific journal “Nature”. Dr. Chen is an expert in the use of Crispr Cas-9 technology in the development of gene therapies for hearing loss. The team at Rescue Hearing Inc wishes to congratulate Dr. Chen on the publication of this pivotal study.

Rescue Hearing Inc CEO / Founder to present at NY Venture Summit (7/19)

July 17, 2017 Jim Ayala

Rescue Hearing Inc (RHI) CEO / Founder, Jim Ayala will be presenting at the sold out NY Venture Summit on Wednesday (7/19) at 11 am.

Rescue Hearing Inc (RHI) is a seed stage, hearing loss Portfolio Company developing products for the hearing loss market (360M persons worldwide). RHI’s initial gene therapy product will target a genetic mutation known to cause deafness. RHI’s world renowned scientific team is passionate about creating therapies for hearing loss. The team includes Dr. Hinrich Staecker, the inventor and principal investigator of the first gene therapy to restore hearing (currently in phase II clinical trials at 3 sites in the USA).

Please visit our website to learn more about Rescue Hearing Inc.

The Next Logical Step: Rescue Hearing Inc.

May 19, 2016 AchillesFrenkel

THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP

In January 2015, I read a New York Times article by Andrew Pollack entitled “Ear Ailments are New Focus for Drugs from Vertigo to Tinnitus”. Since that day in January of 2015, I have personally interviewed over 25 experts in the hearing loss field (Key Opinion Leaders), profiled over 21 companies involved in developing hearing loss therapies, established relationships with hearing loss foundations, attended my first scientific conference ARO (Association for Research in Otolaryngology) and created this blog on Linked-In called “Dispatches from the Hearing Loss Space”.

As a result of my many interviews, meetings, conferences, scientific articles read and the support I have received from the scientific community (especially Dr. Larry Lustig), I move to the next logical step. Create a company dedicated to developing therapies for those with hearing loss. That company is “Rescue Hearing Inc.”.

Profiles in Courage: Jennifer Lentz PhD, Michelle Hastings PhD and Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy

November 9, 2015 AchillesFrenkel

Profiles in Courage

I’m not sure who coined the phrase “to the pioneers go the arrows” but I’ve found this to be true across most worthy endeavors from civil rights activism to the business of science. In the business of science, the arrows come in many forms: lack of research funding, peer and investor skepticism and the inevitable dead end(s) when an experiment’s hypothesis fails. To march on takes courage.

Profiles in Courage – Lawrence Lustig M. D. Chair at Columbia University Medical Center

September 15, 2015 AchillesFrenkel

Profiles in Courage?

It may be presumptuous to borrow the title “Profiles in Courage” from the 1957 Pulitzer Prize winning book to describe the scientists who are pursuing therapies to restore hearing loss, but I feel it’s appropriate. The more I research, the more I appreciate the difficulty of creating therapies in the lab and then moving them into the “clinic”.