Trans-tympanic drug delivery

Otitis media affects almost all children, creating a huge medical burden. Current treatment consists of ten days of oral antibiotics. This regimen is hard to implement in toddlers, frequently causes side effects such as diarrhea, and may select for drug-resistant bacteria. We have developed a therapy that would be applied to the tympanic membrane once, at the time of diagnosis, and would provide an entire course of treatment. This platform consists of an antibiotic contained within a hydrogel, along with chemical permeation enhancers to facilitate drug flux across the tympanic membrane