Naval Medical Center San Diego, and American BioHealth Group Announce Positive Clinical Results on Compound that Protects against Hearing Loss

The Naval Medical Center San Diego and American BioHealth Group announced today a medical breakthrough that protects against hearing loss. The results of an extensive double blinded, placebo controlled, 566 patient clinical trial confirmed that a novel compound, protected by a patent issued to the United States Navy and licensed exclusively by American BioHealth Group, is effective in preventing hearing loss from noise exposure.

(PRWEB) April 22, 2005 -- The clinical trial found that permanent hearing loss was reduced in the ear closest to the acoustic trauma when compared to the placebo. The results of this study add to the extensive body of positive evidence done in the laboratory. The complete study detail will be published in several peer-reviewed publications in the coming months.

This study was carried out under the direction of Navy Commander Ben Balough MD. Commander Balough states, The successful completion of this clinical trial marks an important milestone in the development of a much needed medical solution to prevent hearing loss. Further work will need to be done to refine optimal dosing to achieve maximum benefit. This study substantiates that the effects seen in the laboratory may be translated effectively in humans. The collaboration between Naval Medical Center San Diego and American BioHealth Group is a terrific example of diverse entities joining together for the good of all those individuals who will benefit from this work including, most urgently, our service personnel in all branches of the military."

American BioHealth Group holds the exclusive license to commercialize this compound, and others, that address hearing disorders. The license was initiated and facilitated by the TechLink center, a Bozeman, Mont.-based technology transfer organization, which is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Defense to move technology to the marketplace. David Karlman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American BioHealth Group comments For the first time millions of individuals have available a safe and clinically proven compound that helps prevent the debilitating damaging effects of common noise exposures. This product is available now at www.thehearingpill.com. Additionally, we have anecdotal evidence that this product has some positive effect on tinnitus and balance disorders. We are launching clinical studies to further study these areas.

Further, based on the positive results as evidenced in this clinical trial, we are accelerating our other product development plans and adding new compounds into our growing product pipeline. We will continue to work closely with a number of our valuable partners, domestically and internationally, with the objective of advancing development of other drugs and indications that address hearing disorders."

Side Bar:
· It is estimated that 30 million individuals are exposed to injurious levels of noise each day. (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH. Fact Sheet: Work-Related Hearing Loss. Washington, DC: HHS, 1999)
· Reduced hearing capacity affects 39 million Americans and costs the nation billions of dollars per year. (Center for Disease Control)
· Hearing disorder treatment and retraining cost our nation $56 billion each year. (National Institute for Occupation Health and Safety)
· At present exposure limits, one in four will develop a permanent hearing loss as a result of their occupational exposure to noise hazards. (National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety)
· Each year the DoD spends $300 million on hearing loss compensation. (Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Science and Technology)
· Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent disabling conditions in the United States. It can harm an individual's physical, cognitive, behavioral, and social function. (National Institute of Hearing)
· 22,000 new hearing loss claims are filed annually for the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. (Air Force Research Laboratory)
· Noise induced hearing problems costs the Navy some $69 million dollars a year. (Office of Naval Research)   

American BioHealth Group
American BioHealth Group LLC (www.abgpharma.com), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company located in San Diego, California, is developing proprietary hearing loss technologies based on using oral dose such as pills or capsules. The company is marketing The Hearing Pill (www.thehearingpill.com)

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hearing biohealth american biohealth group biohealth group hearing loss group american american biohealth loss center

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