SoundCure to Market Tinnitus Therapy Developed at UC Irvine

June 2009

Editor: Have you noticed that there are suddenly LOTS of tinnitus treatments available? I guess that's a sign that the professionals are starting to take tinnitus seriously! Personally, I'm a bit skeptical about some of these treatments, but I think time will sort out those that really work from those that aren't so hot.

Here's a press release about a new company that will market the treatment developed by Dr. Zeng and others at UC Irvine.

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Allied Minds has established SoundCure, Inc. to improve the lives of people suffering from tinnitus (ringing in the ear). Allied Minds, a seed investment corporation specializing in early stage university business ventures, will provide the initial funding and has partnered with the University of California at Irvine to establish SoundCure, LLC to commercialize a novel acoustic therapy for the treatment and suppression of tinnitus originally developed at UC Irvine.

Tinnitus is a debilitating disease characterized by a ringing in the ear in the absence of any external sound. It is believed that over 17% of the general population suffers from tinnitus and based on a recent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs, tinnitus is now the #1 disability affecting returning troops. While tinnitus can affect anyone, it is more common with increasing age and occurs at higher rates with individuals who work in noisy environments or listen to loud music for prolonged periods of time.

SoundCure is actively developing technology that was first pioneered at the University of California at Irvine by Dr. Fan-Gang Zeng and Dr. Qing Tang as a treatment to quiet the ringing in their patient's ears. Of the many available treatments for tinnitus few can provide any relief beyond simple masking (providing a sound louder than the tinnitus) while others require the use of long retraining regimes or the use of powerful drugs with similarly dangerous side effects. The SoundCure technology does not require sounds louder than the tinnitus being treated and uses customized sound frequencies and pulsed tones to counter the effects of tinnitus. The technology has shown to provide long-term suppression of tinnitus through treatment.

"We are very excited about the contribution that SoundCure will make to stem the terribly debilitating affects tinnitus has on its patients. SoundCure will also pioneer a transformational way technology can be applied to treat disease and provide patient care only dreamt of in the past," said Allied Minds COO, Marc Eichenberger. To learn more about SoundCure please visit www.soundcure.com.

About Allied Minds, Inc.

Allied Minds is a seed investment company creating partnerships with select universities to fund corporate spin-offs resulting from successful early stage technology research. By providing corporate development support as well as funding, Allied Minds aims to guide early stage companies to commercial success, thereby generating value for all stakeholders. For more information, logon to www.alliedminds.com.

About the UC Irvine, Office of Technology Alliances