Decibel Therapeutics hears it might be a takeout goal after Lilly acquisition of Akouos

Decibel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DBTX), which is concentrated on listening to loss therapies, is up 25% in Tuesday morning buying and selling after Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) stated it might purchase fellow listening to remedy firm Akouos (NASDAQ:AKUS).

Considered one of Decibel’s (DBTX) most anticipated applications is DB-OTO, a gene remedy designed to revive listening to in these born with vital listening to loss as a result of a mutation of the OTOF gene. On Monday, the US FDA cleared an IND software to start out a section 1/2 trial.

The candidate is the primary developed as a part of a collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceticals (NASDAQ:REGN) that was signed in 2017 and prolonged final 12 months.

That partnership has some hypothesizing that Decibel could possibly be a takeout goal. Baird analyst Jack Allan famous that Akouous’ (AKUS) pipeline of otology therapies is just like these underneath improvement by Decibel (DBTX).

“Transferring ahead, with Decibel having already produced robust information from its otoprotective remedy DB-020, and with DB-OTO (otoferlin gene remedy) set to enter the clinic within the coming months, we consider that there’s potential for Regeneron (REGN) or one other massive biotech/pharmaceutical participant to look to accumulate Decibel within the coming months,” Allan wrote.

DB-020 is in section 1b for cisplatin-induced listening to loss.

Searching for Alpha’s Quant Score views Decibel (DBTX) as a maintain.