Ototoxicity Research

Turner Scientific is an industry leader specializing in nonclinical hearing research, Sinclair Research now offers GLP auditory safety testing to evaluate detect and define potential ototoxicity of any drug or chemical to cause damage to the ears. In addition, Sinclair Research now offers testing to evaluate efficacy of drugs in improving hearing and preventing hearing loss, reducing the risks and severity of tinnitus, and improving vestibular dysfunction.

The ear is the only major organ that is not included on the FDA’s list of recommended tissues to test for toxicity as part of regulatory submission. Since approximately one-third of all FDA approved drugs are associated with hearing loss or tinnitus as possible side effects, the potential for ototoxicity is both well-documented and not adequately addressed.  Turner Scientific and Sinclair Research feel that the potential for ototoxicity is not being adequately addressed and that evaluating such potential damage to hearing represents a large unmet need both patients and drug developers.

 

Ototoxicity Research Services

• Behavioral audiogram and tinnitus testing
• Cytocochleograms
• General middle and inner ear hisopathology
• Multiple animal models
• Multiple noise exposure models
• Multiple drug delivery routes

Ototoxicity is regrettably common to many medications:

• Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, Ibuprofen
• Aminoglycoside antibiotics such as kanamycin, neomycin, gentamycin
• Additional antibiotics such as erythromycin, vancomycin, and many others
• Diuretics such as furosemide, bumetanide
• Chemotherapeutic (cancer) agents such as bleomycine, cisplatin, carboplatinum, methotrexate
• Antimalarials such as chloroquine
• Cardiac medications such as propanolol, quinidine
•  Anesthetics such as lidocaine, bupivacain
• Psychopharmacologic agents such as amitryptiline, benzodiazepines, bupropion, fluoxetine, imipramine, lithium
• Glucocorticoids such as prednisolone, ACTH
• Thalidomide