54.3 F
San Diego
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
-Advertisement-

Navy Likes the Sound of the Hearing Pill

Navy Likes the Sound of the Hearing Pill

Locally Based American BioHealth’s First Product Is Tabbed as

a ‘Nutraceutical’

BY BRAD GRAVES

It’s an organization that sends people to work among guns, noisy ship machinery, and fighter jets.

Simply put, the Pentagon’s got noise problems.

But on top of earplugs and ear covers, the Pentagon considers a pill as a possible defense against hearing loss.

While scientific testing continues, the Pentagon has licensed the technology to a San Diego company, American BioHealth Group LLC of Rancho Bernardo.

This month, American BioHealth began offering the compound to the civilian community under a simple name: the Hearing Pill.

The Hearing Pill is an over-the-counter product whose active ingredient is also available at health food stores.

According to American BioHealth, the Hearing Pill “is indicated for the remediation of the mechanisms that lead to permanent hearing loss, either before or shortly after a noise trauma.”

The compound reportedly boosts the inner ear’s defenses.

The active ingredient in the pill is N-acetylcysteine. According to American BioHealth, the compound “has been shown by researchers at (the Department of Defense) Spatial Orientation Center, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, as well as other respected research facilities, to effectively help prevent and treat acute noise-induced hearing loss in the laboratory.”

The Navy holds the patent for the use of N-acetylcysteine to prevent and treat acute hearing loss. It has licensed that technology exclusively to American BioHealth. Terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

Company Chairman and CEO David Karlman said the Pentagon’s skill sets do not include manufacturing, so his company is doing the work.

Karlman calls the Hearing Pill a “nutraceutical” , that is, a dietary supplement that helps fight disease.

A Growing Family

The Hearing Pill is American BioHealth’s first product. Karlman said that will become a “family of products” that will include one more nutraceutical and two pharmaceuticals.

Two clinical trials for the Hearing Pill are scheduled to begin soon, according to one published report.

In January, recruits at San Diego’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot will begin a six-week trial, taking either the pill or a placebo.

A second trial involving Marines and Army troops begins in March.

American BioHealth was founded in 2001. It is privately held and does not release financial information. Counting board members and consultants, the company has 10 people.

The government, universities and the company have spent more than eight years and $14 million developing the Hearing Pill. Karlman declined to say how much American BioHealth has put into the project.

The company reports that the N-acetylcysteine has been used in hospitals for more than 30 years. Health professionals use it to treat several conditions.

N-acetylcystine and cysteine are widely sold by health food stores.

People buy cysteine because “it’s a really good antioxidant,” said Ryan Green, a salesman at the General Nutrition Centers store in Mission Valley.

The Hearing Pill officially went on sale Dec. 3. American BioHealth plans to take it to market in a number of ways, including its Web site, (www.thehearingpill.com).

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-