Endometriosis test backed by French government under scrutiny

"A saliva sample is all that is required for the Endotest, which is marketed as using artificial intelligence and new microRNA technology to diagnose the disease. Ziwig's founders have vowed a "revolution" that would enable "early detection of all forms of endometriosis, even the most complex". If successful, this would also mark a meaningful scientific advance -- though the discovery of microRNA in the 1990s earned a medicine Nobel last year, the technology has yet to lead to a significantly impactful pharmaceutical product."

"The government's support for the Endotest has not wavered, even during a turbulent few years in French politics. "The Ziwig project embodies French excellence in medical innovation," former health minister Genevieve Darrieussecq said last year. Current Health Minister Catherine Vautrin, who visited Lyon-based Ziwig's lab earlier this year, is quoted promoting the test on the start-up's website -- unusual in the biotech sector."

France launched a 2022 strategy that prominently promoted a saliva-based diagnostic called Endotest for endometriosis. Endometriosis affects at least one in ten women of reproductive age and significantly increases infertility risk. Current confirmation requires invasive surgery under general anaesthesia, leaving many women with long diagnostic journeys. Endotest is marketed as using artificial intelligence and microRNA technology and claims early detection of all forms. Ziwig received years of government financial support and ministerial endorsements, but several researchers report significant remaining questions about the test's effectiveness. MicroRNA, despite winning a recent Nobel, has not yet produced major pharmaceutical breakthroughs.

Read at The Local France