IAG Partners with WHO–ESCEO–IOF PRECCO to Advance Osteoporosis & Bone Health Research
What is PRECCO, the WHO–ESCEO–IOF Precompetitive Consortium?
PRECCO was established through a collaboration between the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis (ESCEO), the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), and the WHO Collaborating Center for Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Health and Ageing at the University of Liège, as part of a five-year partnership to improve osteoporosis management and fracture prevention worldwide.
The consortium brings together organizations and companies committed to advancing osteoporosis care, strengthening fracture risk assessment, and informing global health policy, with a particular focus on older adults and high-risk populations. Through PRECCO, members contribute data, methods, and expertise to support the development of robust epidemiological evidence, refined risk prediction tools, and practical guidance for national health systems.
By joining PRECCO, IAG reinforces its long-standing commitment to innovation in quantitative imaging and AI-driven biomarkers for bone health and osteoporosis.
IAG partners with biotech and pharmaceutical companies to design and run imaging-centric clinical trials, applying advanced image analysis to better characterize bone density, microarchitecture, and fracture risk across diverse patient populations.
IAG’s involvement in PRECCO will focus on leveraging its imaging science, including CT- and MRI-based quantitative measures, to support studies that inform guidelines, improve patient stratification, and enable earlier, more precise assessment of therapeutic effect in osteoporosis trials. The collaboration also aligns with IAG’s broader strategy to work with leading academic groups and global consortia to accelerate the development of new therapies for musculoskeletal diseases.
Joining PRECCO underscores IAG’s dedication to improving clinical evidence, fostering cross-stakeholder collaboration, and supporting scalable solutions that elevate osteoporosis and fragility fracture prevention in global health agendas.
How IAG Supports Osteoporosis Clinical Trial Imaging?
Image Analysis Group (IAG) supports osteoporosis clinical trial imaging by providing end-to-end design, execution, and analysis of imaging endpoints tailored to bone health and fracture risk. The team integrates modality selection, protocol optimization, central reads, and advanced analytics so that imaging meaningfully supports efficacy, safety, and health-economic outcomes in osteoporosis programs.
Beyond central image reading, IAG works with bio-pharma Sponsors early in protocol design to choose appropriate imaging endpoints, visit schedules, and stratification criteria. This includes advising on when imaging should focus on BMD change, incident vertebral fractures, opportunistic CT biomarkers, or exploratory microarchitectural measures, depending on the mechanism of action and development stage.
IAG’s scientific and medical affairs experts also help align imaging strategies with current clinical guidelines and regulatory expectations for osteoporosis trials. This can include supporting interactions with agencies, preparing imaging sections for protocols and investigator brochures, and ensuring that endpoints are suitable for both approval and reimbursement discussions.
What are the Imaging modalities and endpoints relevant to bone health trials?
IAG deploys a full range of imaging modalities in osteoporosis trials, including DXA, quantitative CT (QCT), conventional X‑ray, and MRI to characterize bone mineral density, bone geometry, and microarchitecture. Standard measures such as areal BMD from DXA, volumetric BMD from QCT, trabecular bone score, and vertebral fracture grading are combined with more advanced structural biomarkers to generate robust, regulatory-ready endpoints.
By centralizing acquisition standards and read procedures, IAG reduces site-to-site variability and improves the sensitivity of imaging to detect treatment effects. This approach helps sponsors power studies more efficiently, particularly when targeting high-risk groups where fracture events are relatively infrequent and imaging must capture subtle but clinically meaningful changes.
In operational delivery, IAG runs blinded, centralized image review using a global network of expert musculoskeletal and bone health radiologists. Standardized read criteria and calibrated readers ensure consistent grading of vertebral fractures and other skeletal events, strengthening the reliability of primary and key secondary endpoints.
All imaging workflows, from data transfer to read and analysis, are supported by compliant technology infrastructure that meets standards such as 21 CFR Part 11 and ISO 13485. This ensures secure handling of patient data, audit trails for imaging decisions, and traceability of endpoints from original images through to final analyses and clinical study reports.
How Advanced analytics and AI are being used in Osteoporosis Trials?
IAG increasingly applies quantitative imaging, radiomics, and AI methods to osteoporosis datasets, especially CT and X‑ray. These techniques can extract additional features related to bone texture, cortical thickness, and biomechanical strength, potentially improving risk stratification beyond standard BMD measurements.
By integrating advanced image-derived biomarkers into trial analyses, IAG helps sponsors explore novel endpoints, identify responders earlier, and generate mechanistic insights that support differentiation in a competitive osteoporosis landscape. This innovation focus complements IAG’s participation in broader bone health initiatives and consortia, positioning imaging as a strategic asset in osteoporosis drug development.
For more information about IAG’s work in osteoporosis and its participation in PRECCO, please contact contact@ia-grp.com.
About Image Analysis Group (IAG)
Image Analysis Group (IAG) is a science-driven imaging CRO specialising in advanced medical imaging, AI-powered analytics, and precision clinical trial design. Through its DYNAMIKA platform, IAG delivers fast, standardised, validated imaging biomarkers and endpoints across all phases of clinical development, accelerating drug development and supporting robust evidence for regulators, investors, and partners.
