Inova Personalized Health Accelerator (IPHA), announced it has invested in a new therapy company Cyrano Therapeutics that is developing a solution to address a major unmet need in patients with olfactory impairment. Sense of smell can often be taken for granted until it is lost. This occurs most commonly by sino-nasal disease and upper respiratory infection, and in many cases, by head trauma.
Cyrano Therapeutics understands the profound impact these senses can have on the quality of life and is developing the first safe and effective nasal spray to restore and maintain the sense of smell and its connection with the ability to detect flavor in food (often perceived as taste). According to the peer-reviewed journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, 14 million patients in the United States have olfactory impairment or loss of smell, yet few treatments are available.
As Inova continues to advance its portfolio of precision medicine capabilities, Cyrano Therapeutic’s nasal spray solution may help to improve the lives of patients experiencing smell and taste loss, especially the more than two-thirds of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy that report changes in sensory perception.
“Without smell there is a diminished sense of taste and with it a diminished ability to detect flavor in food. Both smell and taste enhance our lives and provide pleasure, but they also serve as a warning system to alert of us potential dangers such as a gas leak, smoke or spoiled food,” said Cyrano Therapeutics’ founder Dr. Robert Henkin. “Our goal is to provide patients with an effective daily therapy with a low risk of side effects that restores smell and taste. The loss of these senses reduces the quality of life and can contribute to behavioral health challenges.”
In a pilot study, the nasal spray demonstrated a significant response rate and has the potential to offer providers, including otolaryngologists, allergists, and neurologists a long-term, effective solution for patients. Cyrano Therapy will also provide these physicians with a proprietary diagnostic kit to diagnose and quantify the severity of a patient’s loss of smell and taste.
“The sense of smell and taste are integral to our quality of life. This nasal spray will provide physicians with an effective tool to improve patients’ quality of life without causing significant limitations for patients,” said IPHA Director, Mike Thomas.
The spray is readily formulated and well-tolerated for nasal delivery. It is administered daily in a low-dose directly to the patient’s nasal mucosa and olfactory receptors. It can also be used with commercially available nasal pump dispensers. It was found to have no systemic side effects, and there was no detection of theophylline in the bloodstream in the patients tested to date.
