GOUT

Gout is a form of arthritis — an inflammation of the joints — that causes sudden, severe attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth, and swelling in some joints. Imaging modalities that have clinical relevance in gout include conventional radiography (CR), ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), dual energy computed tomography (DECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear medicine.

In clinical trials, imaging biomarkers are used to assess joint inflammation and to be more specific about including a patient intro the trial, as imaging is more specific to and even pathognomonic of gout.

IAG’s team is actively working with drug developers to determine and help including into the trial inclusion / exclusion criteria, the right methodologies for patient stratification that can help differentiating gout from other inflammatory arthritis conditions. This especially critical for novel therapeutics targeting early disease.

IAG’s team has extensive expertise in using in CR, US and DECT to assist in monitoring response to treatment.

DECT provides good diagnostic accuracy for detection of monosodium urate (MSU) deposits in patients with gout. However, sensitivity is lower in patients with recent-onset disease. DECT can have a significant impact on clinical decision making when gout is suspected, but fails to demonstrate inflammatory potential of the MSU deposits.

IAG team is very active in scientific community and recent work was focused on completing an MRI trial assessing the response of sub-clinical, synovial inflammation to nine months of urate lowering therapy (ULT). Sub-clinical synovial-based inflammation has been documented in inter-critical gout. Together with academic and medical colleagues, we have investigated and reported a significant reduction in serum urate levels and when the MRI data was analysed with a quantitative method, we were able to score inter-critical synovitis in the MRI data in gout patients.

IAG team brings a great site network and significant experience in working with:

• DECT
• CT
• MRI, inc Contrast MRI
• US
• PET

To support novel drug development for patients with gout. Reach out to our expert team, as you are designing and planning your trial.

About IAG, Image Analysis Group

IAG, Image Analysis Group is a strategic partner to bio-pharmaceutical companies developing new treatments to improve patients’ lives. Our dynamic Strategy, Trial Solutions and Bio-Partnering divisions work closely to meet critical needs of biotechnology companies: funding, clinical development, and monetization of their assets. We fuse decades of therapeutic insights, risk-sharing business model and agile culture to accelerate novel drug development. IAG broadly leverages its core imaging expertise, proprietary technology platform DYNAMIKA and capabilities to support an objective early go no/ go decision and drive excellence for tomorrow’s innovative therapeutic agents with speed.

Contact our expert team: imaging.experts @ ia-grp.com