Ziwig, a company from Lyon, has developed a saliva test to detect endometriosis in just a few days. This diagnosis took until then eight years on average.
On November last, Yahya El Mir evoked with great tweezers, with Tribune de Lyon, his hopes of seeing his company, Ziwig (Lyon 3e), manage to develop a test to detect endometriosis in a few days instead of… eight years on average. A major step forward, but he wanted to avoid false hope.
Today, he allows himself to be more precise, even downright enthusiastic: Endotest has just obtained its CE marking and is in discussion with the health authorities to obtain reimbursement for the test. “Everything is ready, it’s a world first. We are planning different distribution channels depending on the country: pharmacy, direct sales or via laboratories”.
A self-test
About fifty doctors, specialists in artificial intelligence from Lyon, Angers, Bastia, Paris… worked on the development of a non-invasive saliva test that uses artificial intelligence, high-speed sequencing, and micro-RNAs: small RNAs non-coding which, unlike messenger RNAs, are not translated into proteins by the cellular machinery.
Result, a saliva test to be performed yourself, to be returned to the lab, and the result of which is known within a few days.
Endotest has led to the filing of three patents, a fourth is in progress. Production will be carried out in partnership with several specialized companies. No marketing date yet, but Yahya El Mir is hopeful of an “accelerated” procedure, while on January 11 Emmanuel Macron announced a national strategy to fight endometriosis.
