Endometriosis innovation from Serac shows promise

A pharma firm pioneering a new approach to endometriosis treatment has reported positive findings from its latest trial.

Serac Healthcare has developed a molecular imaging agent which supports the visualisation and diagnosis of superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SPE); the most common type of endometriosis, which affects 80 per cent of people with the condition.

The latest findings, which emerged from a meeting with the FDA, indicate that the agent has potential as a non-invasive test for the detection of SPE.

SPE is not well visualised with current non-invasive imaging tools, ultrasound and MRI, and definitive diagnosis requires laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure.

The next planned study will compare the findings from women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis with imaging using the agent prior to surgery.

David Hail, chief executive of Serac Healthcare, said: “Chronic pain, fertility issues and depression are just some of the consequences that one in ten women with endometriosis are living with every day.

“A non-invasive test, particularly for early-stage disease which cannot easily be visualised by other imaging methods, and which accounts for eighty per cent of diagnoses by laparoscopic surgery, is desperately needed by the 190 million women worldwide suffering from this debilitating condition.”

The company said it is now “finalising the protocol and will be working with the FDA to prepare for the start of the phase III programme”.