Rinri Therapeutics Secures Innovate UK Funding Grant for £3.2m Project to Advance its Novel Cell-Based Therapy to Restore Hearing Loss

Rinri Therapeutics Secures Innovate UK Funding Grant for £3.2m Project to Advance its Novel Cell-Based Therapy to Restore Hearing Loss

Sheffield, UK, 13 May 2021: Rinri Therapeutics (‘Rinri’), a biotechnology company developing a novel cell-based therapy to restore hearing loss, is delighted to announce that it has secured a grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. This grant will fund a £3.2 million project to further develop Rinri’s novel stem cell therapy to reverse sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) an area where there remains a significant global unmet need. 

The project will be led by Rinri in collaboration with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGTC), and the Universities of Sheffield and Nottingham.

Over the course of the project, the CGTC will help establish a process and analytical tools for clinical trial manufacture of Rinri’s stem cell therapy for hearing loss, Sheffield University will further the nonclinical data package and Nottingham University will develop the necessary techniques for the first in human trial of Rinri’s cell-based therapy to restore hearing loss.

Rinri’s underlying technology, based on innovative stem cell research originating from the University of Sheffield, seeks to reverse SNHL by repairing the damaged cytoarchitecture in the inner ear. SNHL happens when there is damage to the hair cells in the cochlear and/or the auditory nerve. There are currently no pharmacological treatments available for SNHL despite the rapid increase in the number of patients that suffer from this condition globally.

Dr Simon Chandler, CEO of Rinri Therapeutics, commented: “We are delighted to receive this substantial grant from Innovate UK to conduct further important research into our stem cell therapy for hearing loss. We have made superb progress in refining and optimising our technology following our ground-breaking proof of concept data. This grant will be instrumental in supporting the development and initiating clinical studies of our pioneering approach to reverse hearing loss.”

Matthew Durdy, CEO of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult added: “Rinri’s cutting-edge stem cell therapy is a very exciting development in the field, and we look forward to working with them to prepare for clinical manufacture. Combining forces under this Innovate UK funded grant will help accelerate the development of this promising technology.”

Andrew Hogben, Head of Impact and Intellectual Property at the University of Sheffield said: “Given Rinri was founded on pioneering research led by Professor Marcelo Rivolta at the University of Sheffield, we are really excited to participate in Rinri’s Innovate UK funded project alongside Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and Nottingham University to advance this novel treatment into the clinic.“

Professor Douglas Hartley, from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, said: “This significant award from Innovate UK is a substantial boost to our pioneering UK partnership that could lead to a revolution in the treatment of disabling hearing loss.”