In 2018 it was announced that Decibel Therapeutics had exclusively licensed Oricula Therapeutics LLC's ORC13661, a Phase I oral drug for the prevention of hearing loss and balance disorders following the treatment of severe infections with aminoglycoside antibiotics. It was indicated at the time that the firm's SBIR funded projects had moved to Blue Sky Designs of Minnesota, Firm's background: Spun out of the University of Washington (UW) with exclusively-licensed technology and start-up fundingfrom the University, Oricula Therapeutics is a biotechnology company investigating drugs and methods of preventing hearing loss. Specifically, Oricula targetied a treatment to be used alongside Aminoglycoside antibiotics that are determined often to have the side effect of hear damange or loss. By protecting the inner ear hairs and preventing ototoxicitiy, Oricula's investigational drug is able to prevent this damage. Aminoglycoside antibiotics are primarily used in the developing world and represent an underutilized resource due to their side effects. The firm is one of the first biotech companies introducing medications to preserve hearing and balance from the damaging effects of medications and aging. Commercializing research originally undertaken at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Oricula holds an exclusive license to the resulting intellectual property. With FDA approval granted in early 2018, Oricula has proceeded to clinical trials and will introduce the first FDAâapproved medication designed specifically to prevent hearing loss for patients undergoing aminoglycoside antibiotic treatment and expand the worldwide use of these inexpensive -- yet effective antibiotics -- to treat lifeâthreatening bacterial infection
