Women with endometriosis may soon be able to have a simple blood test to diagnose their disease thanks to a breakthrough by Proteomics International Ltd. that has developed a plasma protein biomarker panel that identifies all stages of endometriosis.

Celmatix Therapeutics (Celmatix Inc.) has announced a new drug program for endometriosis, with the development of a novel Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor that targets pain and inflammation. The company’s aim to focus on JNK inhibitors with greater specificity for JNK1 and JNK3 than for JNK2 led it to license lead compounds from Baylor College of Medicine.

Edap TMS SA recently published data showing that its Focal One high intensity focused ultrasound technology is non-inferior to radical prostatectomy as a first-line treatment for localized prostate cancer. The company is also working towards gaining approval for the technology as a therapy for endometriosis.

Endometriosis has been woefully under-recognized in the medical community, and consequently, the delay between onset and diagnosis is often quite long, with some women waiting up to 12 years for a diagnosis. Endometriosis affects about 10% of women, and about 190 million women worldwide live with endometriosis.

Endometriosis has been woefully under-recognized in the medical community, and consequently, the delay between onset and diagnosis is often quite long, with some women waiting up to 12 years for a diagnosis.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that blocking the neuron-released peptide CGRP decreases pain sensitivity and reduces lesion size in endometriosis. Endometriosis is a painful, steroid-dependent inflammatory condition in which tissue similar to that of the endometrial lining grows and establishes outside the uterine mucosa.

Hope Medicine Inc. reported positive interim results for monoclonal antibody HMI-115 in a phase II endometriosis trial that saw the mean non-menstrual pelvic pain score reduced by 50%. “HMI-115 is a prolactin receptor blocker, and we're using it to treat endometriosis and some other diseases. It is a first-in-class new mechanism to treat endometriosis,” Hope Medicine CEO Nathan Chen told BioWorld.

Lisata Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a sponsored research agreement with the University of Cincinnati to investigate Lisata’s novel cyclic peptide product candidate, certepetide, in combination with bevacizumab in a preclinical animal model for the treatment of endometriosis.

Hope Medicine Inc. reported positive interim results for monoclonal antibody HMI-115 in a phase II endometriosis trial that saw the mean non-menstrual pelvic pain score reduced by 50%. “HMI-115 is a prolactin receptor blocker, and we're using it to treat endometriosis and some other diseases. It is a first-in-class new mechanism to treat endometriosis,” Hope Medicine CEO Nathan Chen told BioWorld.

According to World Health Organization data, endometriosis affects about 10% of reproductive-age females globally. That already makes endometriosis a wildly underresearched and underfunded disease in relation to its prevalence. Plus, Rama Kommagani thinks even 10% is an underestimation.