Otonomy, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for diseases and disorders of the inner and middle ear, has completed the acquisition of certain assets and rights to intellectual property (IP) related to the use of gacyclidine for the treatment of tinnitus from an affiliate of NeuroSystec.

Serial entrepreneur Alfred Mann founded NeuroSystec to develop a drug-device combination product that could provide sustained delivery of gacyclidine to the inner ear. Gacyclidine is a potent and selective antagonist of the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Clinical studies, including pilot studies conducted with gacyclidine, support the use of NMDA antagonists as treatments for tinnitus. The company's third development program, OTO-311, utilizes Otonomy's proprietary drug delivery technology to achieve sustained exposure of gacyclidine in the inner ear from a single intratympanic (IT) injection.

The acquisition provides the company with preclinical, clinical and manufacturing data produced by NeuroSystec in its development of gacyclidine, which was delivered to the inner ear via a pump and micro-catheter for the treatment of tinnitus. In addition, the company also acquired intellectual property rights including issued and pending patent applications that augment the current patent estate protecting OTO-311.

"Emerging clinical data combined with completion of this transaction help set the stage for a streamlined development path for OTO-311 as a treatment for tinnitus," said David A. Weber, Ph.D., president and CEO of Otonomy.