Lineage Cell Therapeutics has entered into a collaboration with William Demant Invest (WDI) to advance the development of ReSonance (ANP1), a Lineage cell therapy aimed at treating hearing loss caused by damage to auditory nerve cells.
According to Lineage’s announcement, WDI has committed up to $12 million to support preclinical development of the therapy. WDI is the holding company for the William Demant Foundation’s investment activities and the majority shareholder of Danish hearing aid manufacturer Demant A/S. PharmiWeb.com
The multi-year research collaboration will be carried out with scientists from the Eriksholm Research Centre, part of the Demant subsidiary Oticon. Research activities under the agreement include cell manufacturing, proof-of-concept studies, translational and functional models, delivery development, outcome measures, regulatory strategies, and market analysis. PharmiWeb.com
Lineage CEO Brian Culley emphasized the importance of the project, stating, “ReSonance is our first internally-developed cell transplant program and highlights the efficiency and breadth of our technology platform. This partnership will allow us to integrate the hearing loss research expertise of Eriksholm Research Centre with the manufacturing and cell transplant expertise of the Lineage team to explore the potential of a differentiated cell transplant, and position this therapy for initial clinical development.” PharmiWeb.com
ReSonance is designed to address auditory neuropathy, a condition in which auditory nerve cells are damaged or lost, disrupting the pathway that transmits sound from the inner ear to the brain. This disruption prevents sound signals from being properly processed, resulting in significant hearing difficulties. While hearing aids and cochlear implants provide benefit to some individuals, many patients with auditory neuropathy do not achieve meaningful improvements with these devices. PharmiWeb.com
The World Health Organization has projected that nearly 2.5 billion people globally will experience some degree of hearing loss by 2025, ranging from mild to profound. In severe-to-profound cases, auditory neuropathy can contribute to substantial communication challenges and loss of function. Current treatment options for this form of hearing loss remain limited, highlighting the need for new approaches. Business Wire+1
Cell-based therapy represents one such approach. By transplanting functional auditory neurons into the cochlea, therapies like ReSonance seek to replace lost or damaged nerve cells and restore hearing. This method may also increase the effectiveness of cochlear implants in some patients by improving the communication pathway between the ear and the brain. PharmiWeb.com
Beyond the ReSonance program, Lineage maintains a broader pipeline of cell transplant therapies for serious conditions. Its lead program, OpRegen, involves the transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial cells for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration. Roche’s Genentech entered into a deal worth up to $670 million in 2021 to take over development of OpRegen, which is currently being evaluated in a phase 2 clinical study. Lineage Cell Therapeutics+1
Lineage is also advancing OPC1, a program targeting spinal cord injuries through the transplantation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to support the regeneration of the myelin sheath surrounding nerves. A new study of OPC1 was initiated in February 2025, building on earlier clinical work that received partial funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. PharmiWeb.com+1
Through the new collaboration with WDI and Oticon’s Eriksholm Research Centre, Lineage aims to progress ReSonance through preclinical development toward a potential investigational new drug (IND/CTA) application.
While the collaboration marks a significant step forward for Lineage and its ReSonance program, there are key benchmarks to observe. First will be reproducible results in translational animal models demonstrating that transplanted auditory neurons survive, integrate, and restore function. Delivering these cells safely into the cochlea without triggering immune rejection or damaging delicate inner-ear structures remains a technical challenge.
Regulatory strategy will be crucial. Lineage must define outcome measures that convincingly show improvement beyond what cochlear implants and existing devices can achieve.
