Limerick firm in new research link-up

A NEW partnership has been announced between the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RSCI) and staff at Annacotty firm Serosep.

As a result of the link-up, it will see the diagnostics company improve its treatment for bowel disease, and, it is hoped, improve a patient’s quality of life.

Under this alliance, researchers with RSCI will work alongside Serosep staff to accelerate the development of new tests to help predict the progression of the disease, which damages the lining of the gut over time.

At present, medications are the most common first line of treatment for mild-to-moderate bowel disease, and as this progresses, it is managed with steroids, immunosuppressants and biological drugs.

“Currently there are no biomarkers which allow prediction of disease progression in patients with ulcerative colitis,” explained

Dr Sudipto Das, lecturer and principal investigator at the RCSI School of pharmacy and biomolecular sciences.

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Ulcerative colitis is a reference to the bowel disease the scientists will be working to tackle.

“Through recent work in our lab we have identified specific genes that can potentially predict disease progression in adult ulcerative colitis patients,” Dr Das added.

“This in turn would allow early treatment for those patients, and sparing patients who are less likely to progress from unnecessary treatment. The ultimate impact of this test would be to improve quality of life in patients with ulcerative colitis.”

Founded in 1997, Serosep is headquartered at Annacotty and has subsidiaries in London and Johannesburg in South Africa.

It was named Irish Medtech company of the year in 2022.