The efficacy of OTARMENI was evaluated in an ongoing, multi-center, single-arm study (Study DB-OTO-001; NCT05788536). The study enrolled pediatric patients with molecularly confirmed OTOF gene associated profound sensorineural hearing loss (defined as >90 dB HL on pure tone audiometry averaged across 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz and auditory brainstem response), evidence of outer hair cell activity by otoacoustic emissions testing, and who were considered candidates for cochlear implant. Patients with cochlear implants in the same ear to be treated with OTARMENI were excluded from the study.
A total of 24 patients (10 patients received unilateral treatment and 14 patients received bilateral treatment) received a single dose of OTARMENI at a dose of 7.2 × 1012 vector genomes (vg) in 0.24 mL per ear.
The demographic characteristics of the population (N=24): The median age was 2 years (range 10 months to 16 years), 16 patients (67%) were female, 17 patients (71%) were White, 4 patients (17%) were Asian, and 3 patients (13%) had race not reported. Eleven patients (46%) were Hispanic.
Of the 24 patients, 20 had completed efficacy assessments at 24 weeks. Among these 20 patients, five had a contralateral cochlear implant in place prior to enrollment, and two received a cochlear implant in the contralateral ear during the same surgical session for OTARMENI administration. Two patients had bilateral hearing aids before OTARMENI treatment.
The primary efficacy endpoint was the achievement of a hearing sensitivity threshold ≤70 dB HL assessed by average pure tone audiometry (i.e., average of PTA thresholds at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 kHz) at Week 24 after product administration. The key secondary efficacy endpoint was the presence of auditory brainstem response (ABR) to a click (broadband sound) stimulus of ≤90 dB nHL at Week 24 after product administration.
Efficacy results for Study DB-OTO-001 are presented in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Efficacy Results for Study DB-OTO-001 | Endpoint | N | Participants Achieving Threshold/Response For patients who were treated bilaterally, the data reflect the treated ear with better average PTA/better ABR to click at Week 24. |
|---|
| ABR: Auditory Brainstem Response; CI: Confidence Interval; PTA: Pure Tone Audiometry |
| Primary Endpoint Achievement of a hearing sensitivity threshold of ≤70 dB HL assessed by average PTA | 20 Patient without available Week 24 data (n=1) was imputed as a non-responder. |
|
| n (%) | 16 (80%) |
| 95% CI | 56%, 94% |
| Key Secondary Endpoint ABR to Click at ≤90 dB nHL | 20 | |
| n (%) | 14 (70%) |
| 95% CI | 46%, 88% |
At Week 24, a total of 9/20 (45%) patients achieved an average PTA threshold ≤45 dB HL (ability to hear soft conversational speech level) and 3/20 (15%) achieved ≤25 dB HL (normal hearing level i.e., ability to hear whispers).
One patient received a cochlear implant as rescue treatment approximately 8 months after OTARMENI administration in the same ear following determination of treatment failure.
Among the 20 patients, 12 patients were evaluated at Week 48 after product administration. Of these, all 9 patients who previously had a response at Week 24 and who were evaluated at Week 48 maintained their response. One additional patient who had not initially achieved response at Week 24, achieved an average PTA threshold ≤70 dB HL by Week 48, resulting in a total of 10/12 (83%) patients who achieved an average PTA threshold ≤70 dB HL by Week 48. Eight of the 12 (67%) patients achieved an average PTA threshold ≤45 dB HL and 5 of the 12 patients (42%) achieved ≤25 dB HL by Week 48. Additionally, 9 of the 12 patients (75%) demonstrated presence of auditory brainstem response (ABR) to a click (broadband sound) stimulus of ≤90 dB nHL by Week 48.