Jian Zuo, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Ting Therapeutics, is working to develop small-molecule therapies designed to prevent and treat hearing loss, including hearing damage caused by chemotherapy and antibiotics.
Founded in 2018, Ting Therapeutics is focused on addressing a major unmet medical need: the lack of effective therapeutic options for many forms of permanent hearing loss. The company is particularly targeting hearing damage associated with cisplatin chemotherapy and aminoglycoside antibiotics, where patients can experience lasting hearing impairment following treatment.
Hearing loss remains difficult to address because damage to the inner ear is often irreversible. Patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example, may successfully complete cancer treatment but subsequently experience permanent hearing loss that significantly affects their long-term quality of life. Similar risks exist for patients receiving certain antibiotics to manage serious bacterial infections.
Ting Therapeutics is taking a small-molecule drug development approach, differentiating it from strategies centered on gene therapy or locally administered treatments. The company aims to develop therapies that can be delivered systemically, including through oral formulations, potentially making treatment more convenient, accessible and cost-effective for patients.
The company's drug candidates are rooted in decades of academic research into the biological mechanisms of hearing loss, including drug screening and validation in preclinical models. This work has helped identify a small group of promising molecules for further clinical development.
Ting Therapeutics is now focused on advancing its lead program into clinical studies, initially evaluating safety and preliminary efficacy in adult cancer patients at risk of chemotherapy-induced hearing loss. Longer term, the company aims to generate clinical proof of concept and progress successful candidates into larger efficacy studies.
For Ting Therapeutics, the goal is clear: move beyond managing hearing loss after it occurs and develop practical therapies capable of preventing irreversible hearing damage before it begins.
