Lilly’s gene therapy restores hearing in an 11-year-old, paving way for more treatment

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Hey there. So, today we talk about how Eli Lilly’s gene therapy, developed by Akouos, worked in a child born with an inherited form of deafness. Also, we see some interesting biopharma trends from Stifel, and consider Novo Nordisk’s new obesity investment that is tangential to GLP-1s.

Lilly’s gene therapy restores hearing in a child

A gene therapy made by Eli Lilly has allowed an 11-year-old boy with a genetic form of deafness to hear sound for the first time. Aissam Dam’s inability to hear is caused by a mutation in a single gene, called otoferlin. The gene therapy is delivered directly to the ear, which is a closed system — so it won’t affect other cells in the body. There are about 200,000 people with this form of deafness around the world, the New York Times writes.

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