Sur180 Therapeutics

In fiscal year 2024, the NIH allocated $28 million to endometriosis research. That is 0.067% of the NIH's total budget and $4.30 per affected individual per year.

Crohn's disease affects approximately 690,000 people in the United States and received $90 million in NIH funding in 2022. That is $130 per patient, more than 30 times what endometriosis receives per patient.

The problem is not that other diseases are overfunded. The problem is that endometriosis is severely underfunded for a disease that affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age and over 190 million people worldwide.

This funding gap translates directly into delayed diagnoses, limited treatment options, and millions of women forced to navigate their lives around debilitating symptoms with no real answers.

At Sur180 Therapeutics, this is exactly the gap we are working to close.

Source: https://www.endofound.org/why-january-25th-matters-womens-health-research-day-and-the-fight-for-endometriosis-funding

In 2024, health tech startups raised $28.5 billion in venture capital. Of that, just $1.6 billion, roughly 6%, went to femtech and women's health companies.

Meanwhile, the femtech market is projected to reach $103 billion by 2030.

Women represent more than half the global population. They are the primary healthcare decision-makers in most households. And they are living with conditions that remain chronically underfunded and undertreated.

The gap between the size of the problem and the size of the investment is exactly where opportunity lives.

✅Sur180 Therapeutics is positioned at the intersection of an unmet medical need, published peer-reviewed science, and a market that is finally being recognized.

www.sur180therapeutics.com

Source:

Stengel, G. "New Report Calls for Investment Shift in Women's Health." Forbes, June 5, 2025. Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/geristengel/2025/06/05/new-report-calls-for-investment-shift-in-womens-health/

VanScoy, A. and Gates, H. "Growing Femtech Investment Brings Solutions to Underserved Women's Health Challenges." Deloitte, March 17, 2024. Source: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/services/audit-assurance/blogs/accounting-finance/femtech-growth-investment.html

Endometriosis does not only affect a woman's body. It affects her career, her finances, and the broader economy.

✅Direct medical costs ranged from $1,459 to $20,239 per patient per year depending on the region. A five-year diagnostic delay results in at least $20,000 in additional direct costs per patient.

✅Indirect costs ranged from $4,572 to $14,079 per patient annually. These were calculated based on two factors: presenteeism, when a woman is at work but unable to perform at full capacity due to her symptoms, and absenteeism.

Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women worldwide. No FDA-approved oral treatment exists that targets the disease rather than masking its symptoms, that is safe beyond 12 months, and that preserves fertility.

✅At Sur180 Therapeutics, this is the problem we are working to solve.

Source:

Darbà J, et al. Economic Implications of Endometriosis: A Review. Pharmacoeconomics. December 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36344867/

https://www.endonews.com/economic-burden-while-living-with-endometriosis

Soliman, A.M., et al. "The Effect of Endometriosis Symptoms on Absenteeism and Presenteeism in the Workplace and at Home." Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy. 2017;23(7):745-754. https://www.jmcp.org/doi/10.18553/jmcp.2017.23.7.745

According to the World Economic Forum and McKinsey Health Institute's 2024 report, the market potential for endometriosis treatments is estimated at $180 to $220 billion, based on the prevalence of 190 million women and the high level of unmet clinical need. The report also notes that faster diagnosis rates and earlier access to treatment could increase that market potential even further.

That is not a small gap. It is one of the largest unmet needs in women's health today.

Sur180 Therapeutics is developing a first-in-class, non-hormonal oral treatment for endometriosis, backed by NIH-funded peer-reviewed science, for the 190 million women who have been waiting long enough.

Source: World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey Health Institute. Closing the Women's Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies. January 2024.

Sur180 Therapeutics

Did you know that up to 74% of women with endometriosis present adhesions before any surgical intervention?

Adhesions are bands of scar tissue that bind organs together, causing chronic pain, bowel problems, and fertility complications. Currently, no oral pharmacological treatment is available to reduce endometriosis-associated adhesions.

Our published study demonstrated that pexacerfont reduced adhesion scores by 37% to 51% compared to the control group, a finding not observed with current hormonal treatments.

Torres-Reveron et al. Antagonizing the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 with an orally bioavailable drug reduces endometriosis pain and associated adhesions. Biology of Reproduction. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioag107

Endometriosis is not just a painful condition. It is a chronic inflammatory disease.

Our published study showed that pexacerfont decreased IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA expression within endometriosis lesions, suppressing the neuro-inflammatory and proliferative pathways that drive the disease. By targeting the CRHR1 receptor, Sur180's approach addresses the root of the inflammation rather than just masking the symptoms.

Torres-Reveron et al. Antagonizing the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 with an orally bioavailable drug reduces endometriosis pain and associated adhesions. Biology of Reproduction. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioag107

The pain is real. Even when it is invisible.

Endometriosis does not always look like someone in bed. Sometimes it looks like a woman doing everything right, exercising, eating well, taking care of herself, and still feeling like her body is working against her.

This is what so many patients live with every day. This is what we are working to change.

At Sur180 Therapeutics, we are developing a non-hormonal treatment for endometriosis, designed to address the disease without compromising fertility. Backed by a competitive, peer-reviewed grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

A new direction in endometriosis treatment.

Sur180 Therapeutics

This is a big deal for every woman living with endometriosis.

The largest genetic study of this disease ever conducted has been published in Nature Genetics. Analyzing the genomes of approximately 1.4 million women, including more than 105,000 cases, the study identified 80 genomic regions linked to endometriosis risk, 37 of them newly discovered, and uncovered genetic connections to pathways involved in immune regulation, hormonal regulation, and tissue remodeling.

The findings also point toward potential drug repurposing candidates, including treatments already used for breast cancer, contraception, and preterm birth prevention, opening new doors for endometriosis care.

We are proud to share that our Co-Founder and Chair of the Scientific Board, Dr. Idhaliz Flores, is among the international team of co-authors behind this landmark work.

Koller, D., He, J., Løkhammer, S. et al. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association and integrated multi-omics analyses of endometriosis and its clinical manifestations. Nat Genet 58, 1051–1061 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-026-02582-2

🧪Science doesn't have to stay in the lab, it can also become real solutions for people.

Our Co-Founder and CEO, Dr. Annelyn Torres-Reverón, co-authored a new article published in BMC Proceedings, a guide for scientists and faculty looking to take the leap into biotech entrepreneurship.

✅The article covers the key steps in that journey, from identifying an unmet clinical need, through proof of concept in the lab, to decisions around intellectual property, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyright, as well as the skills and ecosystem needed to build a successful company.

At Sur180 Therapeutics, we don't just develop science, we also contribute to strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem that helps more discoveries reach the people who need them.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://rdcu.be/foC2R