When Yilai Shu was training to be an otolaryngologist in Shanghai, in the mid 2000s, he often met parents with congenitally deaf kids.
“They always asked me, ‘Do you have any drugs to treat our kids?’ said Shu, who is hearing and a professor at Fudan University in China. “That’s what really inspired me to think about developing a drug.”
Decades later, Shu is closer than ever to such a drug. In October, he presented extraordinary data at a conference: His team had successfully enabled hearing in four congenitally deaf children using gene therapy. The work is the culmination of decades of genetic research and has spurred companies like Regeneron and Eli Lilly to swoop in and back other groups developing similar treatments.
