Sustained Release Inner Ear Delivery of Corticosteroid

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cochlear implants have restored hearing in thousands of patients over the last two decades. However, because residual hearing is damaged in the process of insertion, this valuable procedure has been restricted to thosepatients with profound or total deafness. Many patients with severe hearing loss, a far larger group, are not currently implanted for fear of losing their residual hearing. Steroids have been shown to have a protective effect against hearing loss caused bycochlear trauma. O-Ray's drug delivery technology releases steroids directly from a cochlear implant electrode, decreasing surgery associated inflammation and, in turn, protecting against residual hearing loss. The successful development of O-Ray's cochlear implant for the preservation of residual hearing would have a dramatic impact on hundreds of thousands of patients each year that would now be able to restore hearing using this device. O-Ray's team has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of its s