Rhino Therapeutics: pre-clinical model development and efficacy testing of the first disease-modifying therapy globally to restore sensorineural olfactory loss and improve patient outcomes and quality of life

Our sense of smell, or olfaction, enables us to detect millions of different odours. It plays a crucial role in our daily life, from taste perception to emotional wellbeing and safety. However, through the natural process of ageing, 25% of individuals over 50 years old will experience some degree of smell loss, while close to 50% of those over 70 will have significant loss of their olfactory ability (presbyosmia). While perceived as benign, smell loss in old age has serious, severe knock-on impacts on our health and quality of life. Affected individuals are significantly more likely to: * Experience increased physical frailty, leading to more frequent and severe falls; * Experience clinical depression (\>30% of affected individuals vs 6% in the general population); * Develop neurogenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, dementia); and * Develop cardiovascular diseases (e.g. strokes, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease). Additionally, patients with presbyosmia report decreased enjoyment of life, relationship difficulties, and feelings of isolation, compounding the significant health implications. Overall, losing our sense of smell in old age predicts mortality risk, with affected older adults being twice as likely to die within 10 years. Corticosteroids and surgical intervention are effective at treating reduced smell linked to rhinosinusitis, while smell training can offer some relief following temporary smell loss due to viral infections. However, there is currently no specific treatment available to restore smell following its loss due to ageing. This is what UK SME Rhino Therapeutics is aiming to achieve. In this 14-month project, Rhino Therapeutics will test and validate the first disease-modifying regenerative therapy designed to treat presbyosmia. This treatment would restore olfactory function and ameliorate disease progression and co-morbidities associated with olfactory disorders and dysfunction. The study results will provide foundational data to progress a drug toward human clinical trials (post project). The project team brings extensive commercial, project management, and technical knowledge, including industry-leading experts in drug discovery, delivery, and pharmaceutical development to undertake this project successfully. Rhino Therapeutics' novel drug will ultimately improve health outcomes and quality of life for presbyosmic patients, filling a gap in current treatments and reducing NHS, healthcare, and societal costs (estimated as billions of pounds). Rhino Therapeutics' vision to develop transformative regenerative therapies for patients living with age-related olfactory loss directly aligns with the UK's Health and Care Act 2022\. This framework aims to enhance personalised care for older adults directly addressing their unique needs.