Iterative Health to Showcase AI Advancements at ECCO 2025 for Ulcerative Colitis Trials
Iterative Health, a healthcare technology and services company focused on advancing gastrointestinal care in partnership with physicians, will present five abstracts at the European Crohn’s & Colitis Organization (ECCO) meeting in Berlin, Germany, from February 19-22, 2025. The presented data will highlight the groundbreaking performance of Iterative Health’s AI-enabled Endoscopic Score (AI-ES) and extended Endoscopic Score (AI-ESe). These innovative tools offer a standardized, reproducible method to assess disease severity and treatment response for ulcerative colitis (UC). The research, conducted in collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company and leading academic experts, underscores the potential of AI in improving clinical trial endpoints and advancing ulcerative colitis care.
Iterative Health, a healthcare technology and services company focused on advancing gastrointestinal care, has partnered with Eli Lilly and Company to improve the assessment of outcomes in ulcerative colitis (UC) clinical trials. The collaboration aims to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to modernize traditional endoscopic assessments, enhancing the precision and efficiency of UC research. This partnership addresses the growing need for more reliable and reproducible disease assessment methods that can advance treatment options for UC patients.
Dr. Mark Genovese, Senior Vice President of Immunology Development at Eli Lilly, highlighted the importance of modernizing clinical trial endpoints for UC research. “There is a pressing need to modernize traditional endoscopic assessments in IBD to enhance precision and efficiency in ulcerative colitis research,” said Dr. Genovese. “Through our partnership with Iterative Health, we are uncovering the tremendous potential of AI and machine learning to improve how outcomes are assessed in clinical trials.”
One of Iterative Health’s key innovations is the AI-enabled Endoscopic Score (AI-ES) for UC, which automates the scoring of endoscopic inflammation severity. This approach aims to enhance the reliability and reproducibility of endoscopic outcomes in clinical trials.
AI-ES serves as an advanced alternative to traditional clinical trial endpoints, providing a more standardized and objective assessment compared to the traditional human-based central reading paradigm. In addition to AI-ES, Iterative Health’s extended Endoscopic Score (AI-ESe) for UC provides a more detailed characterization of the overall burden of inflammation, offering unprecedented levels of insight into the disease.
Dr. David T. Rubin, Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the University of Chicago Medicine, emphasized the value of AI-driven approaches in improving disease assessment. “Accurate and consistent disease assessment is critical for advancing ulcerative colitis research and treatment,” said Dr. Rubin. “AI-driven approaches can enhance the precision and reproducibility of endoscopic evaluations, which are central to clinical trials and patient care. By improving research with more reliable and standardized assessments, we can accelerate the development of new therapies and generate better data on their efficacy, ultimately enabling providers to make more informed treatment decisions and improve patient care.”
At the upcoming European Crohn’s & Colitis Organization (ECCO) meeting in Berlin, Iterative Health will present five key abstracts showcasing the potential of AI-driven endoscopic assessments in UC clinical trials. These presentations will offer insights into the application of machine learning models in UC research, specifically focusing on endoscopic severity and inflammation.
The five abstracts being presented include:
- Digital Oral Presentation #DOP078: “Machine Learning Assessment of Endoscopic Severity in Ulcerative Colitis Trials: Model Evaluation Against the 2+1 Reference Standard” – February 21 at 9:00 a.m. CET
- Poster #P0430: “Central Reading of Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Disease Activity: Automated but with a Human in the Loop (2M+1H)” – February 21 at 12:40 p.m. CET
- Poster #P0307: “Application of a Machine Learning Model in the 2+1 Central Reading Paradigm to Assess Endoscopic Severity in Ulcerative Colitis Trials” – February 21 at 12:40 p.m. CET
- Poster #P0451: “Using a Machine Learning Model to Assess Agreement Between Inflammation in the Rectosigmoid and Entire Colon in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis” – February 21 at 12:40 p.m. CET
- Poster #P0264: “Using a Machine Learning Model to Grade Clip-Level Endoscopic Inflammation Reveals the Heterogeneity of Mucosal Inflammation in Ulcerative Colitis” – February 21 at 12:40 p.m. CET
Shrujal Baxi, Chief Scientific Officer at Iterative Health, spoke about the company’s vision for the future of gastrointestinal diseases. “At Iterative Health, we believe that AI can fundamentally change how GI diseases like ulcerative colitis are understood and managed,” said Baxi. “Our partnerships with leading life science partners, like Lilly, and renowned academic researchers are paving the way for advanced approaches in assessing and measuring the severity of GI diseases, and exemplifying how advanced technology and deep clinical expertise can come together to work towards improving patient outcomes.”
Iterative Health is committed to transforming the future of gastrointestinal care. By leveraging AI and machine learning, the company is making significant strides in the development of more accurate, efficient, and reproducible disease assessments. With the collaboration of Eli Lilly and academic experts, Iterative Health is well-positioned to drive advancements in the treatment and management of ulcerative colitis, ultimately improving patient care.
About Iterative Health
Iterative Health is a healthcare technology and services company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to advancing gastrointestinal care. The company focuses on providing timely access to high-quality colorectal cancer screenings and supporting clinical research teams with novel therapeutics. Iterative Health is committed to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and clinical research to improve patient outcomes. With offices across the United States, Iterative Health works to expand access to innovative treatments and enhance clinical research efforts in the field of gastrointestinal diseases.
