InfectoPharm invests in AudioCure to advance innovative hearing loss therapy

Drug candidate AC102 in the clinical phase

Heppenheim/Berlin, 13 February 2025 – There is currently no drug approved worldwide for the treatment of sudden hearing loss. However, preclinical and clinical phase-1-studies with the innovative drug candidate AC102 have been promising. AudioCure Pharma, a Berlin-based start-up supported by investors, is driving forward research and development. Now, InfectoPharm, a successful medium-sized company, is joining as a new and essential competence partner. The Heppenheim-based ENT specialist is leading the new round of financing and is strengthening the existing group of investors, which includes main investor MED-EL and seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). The main goal of the collaboration is to successfully advance the clinical development of AC102, a drug for sudden hearing loss.

The investors are not only providing AudioCure with financial support for the development of new drugs, but are also expanding its knowledge base with their respective scientific and commercial expertise. MED-EL Medical-Electronics and InfectoPharm Arzneimittel are contributing their extensive expertise gained from over 30 years in the ENT field.

Dr Reimar Schlingensiepen, CEO of AudioCure, is delighted: ‘AudioCure and its partners complement each other perfectly. Together, we can advance our research and development activities even further and develop innovative active ingredients. We are also pleased to now have InfectoPharm’s many years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry on board.’

The additional funds will mainly be used for the further development of the drug candidate AC102. This has already been successfully tested for tolerability and safety in humans and is currently being investigated in a Europe-wide phase-2-study for its efficacy in sudden hearing loss patients. In preclinical models of hearing loss, AC102 was able to restore hearing almost completely, exceeding the efficacy of conventional corticosteroid therapies.

Philipp Zöller, managing partner of InfectoPharm Arzneimittel und Consilium GmbH, comments: ‘As a specialist in pharmaceutical products for ear, nose and throat conditions, we are very familiar with the difficult situation of sudden hearing loss patients. We are therefore delighted to be able to support the development of a potentially groundbreaking drug like AC102, both financially and with our expertise, as part of the AudioCure investor team.’

About AudioCure
AudioCure Pharma GmbH is an innovative pharmaceutical company based in Berlin that is currently in the clinical development phase. AudioCure has developed a unique portfolio of small molecules to protect and restore inner ear structures affected by hearing disorders. Having demonstrated the safety and tolerability of its lead compound AC102 in a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers, the compound is currently being investigated in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with sudden hearing loss. Projects for the treatment of tinnitus and the protection of residual hearing in cochlear implant recipients are also in development.
https://www.audiocure.com/

Media contact
Dr. Reimar Schlingensiepen, Managing Director AudioCure
E-Mail: pr@audiocure.com

About InfectoPharm Arzneimittel und Consilium GmbH
InfectoPharm Arzneimittel und Consilium GmbH specialises in the new and further development of medicinal products. For more than 35 years, the family-run German company has made a name for itself as a courageous pioneer in the industry. The portfolio currently comprises around 130 preparations with numerous innovations for the fields of paediatrics, infectiology, pneumology, dermatology, allergology and ENT medicine, which are increasingly attracting international attention. The consilium service is available free of charge to healthcare professionals as a product-neutral advisory and knowledge transfer service.
https://www.infectopharm.com/

About MED-EL 
MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 2,900 employees from around 90 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
www.medel.com   

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing start-ups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports start-ups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Across its funds, HTGF has over 2 billion euros under management. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 770 start-ups and achieved over 190 successful exits.
Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.
For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn. 

Media contact
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121
t.jacob@htgf.de