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Imaging study indicates 99mTc-maraciclatide is a promising diagnostic and monitoring tool for endometriosis

DETECT endometriosis molecular imaging radiopharmaceutical Serac Healthcare

Serac Healthcare, a clinical radiopharmaceutical company developing the molecular imaging agent 99mTc-maraciclatide, and the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford have had phase 2 data published from the DETECT (Detecting endometriosis expressed integrins using technetium-99m) imaging study.

Published online in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, the study highlights that 99mTc-maraciclatide has potential as a novel, non-invasive diagnostic test, particularly for superficial peritoneal endometriosis, which cannot be reliably detected by conventional imaging techniques and currently requires laparoscopic surgery for definitive diagnosis, It also has potential as a tool to enable disease monitoring, eliminating uncertainty around disease recurrence, and as a marker of treatment response.

99mTc-maraciclatide is a gamma-emitting radiotracer that binds to αvβ3 integrin, which is upregulated during angiogenesis, a cardinal feature of inflammatory diseases. The DETECT study describes, for the first time, the use of 99mTc-maraciclatide as a potential tool for the visualisation and diagnosis of endometriosis.

Serac Healthcare CEO David Hail said: “The completion and publication of this clinical study is a major milestone for Serac Healthcare. These data, from a representative patient population, including women receiving hormone therapy, provide evidence of maraciclatide’s anticipated real-world performance.
“With FDA Fast Track Designation and agreed phase 3 study designs, we are now advancing to validate these findings in larger trials and progress to regulatory submission.”

Lead author Dr Tatjana Gibbons at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health added: “These exciting findings indicate that maraciclatide offers a highly promising diagnostic and monitoring tool, particularly for superficial peritoneal endometriosis, which is the most common and yet the hardest type of endometriosis to identify.”

Picture: The phase 2 exploratory, open-label, single-centre study evaluated preoperative imaging in 20 individuals with suspected or confirmed pelvic or thoracic endometriosis using SPECT/CT, with IV 99mTc-maraciclatide.

Read this report on page 12 of the July 2026 issue of RAD Magazine.

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