Startup Tackles 5-Year Wait for Endometriosis Diagnosis

María Teresa Pérez Zaballos knows what it's like to hurt and not know why. She spent five years visiting specialists, carrying a thick folder of test results from doctor to doctor, trying to convince someone to take her pain seriously.

She saw gynecologists and pain specialists. She had her digestive system examined and took countless urinary tests. Each appointment added another "no" to her growing collection of ruled-out conditions.

Finally, after years of dead ends, one doctor suggested endometriosis. The diagnosis changed everything, but it also sparked a question that would reshape her career.

At the time, Pérez Zaballos worked at pharmaceutical giant Merck, where she helped identify a biomarker for rare cancers. She couldn't understand why women with endometriosis didn't have access to similar diagnostic tools. The contrast felt absurd and unfair.

Endometriosis affects approximately 1 in 10 women worldwide, causing severe pain and often leading to infertility. Despite how common it is, getting diagnosed typically takes seven to ten years. Women are frequently dismissed, told their pain is normal, or sent home without answers.

The diagnostic delay happens partly because the condition can only be definitively confirmed through surgery. Many doctors miss the signs or don't consider endometriosis until they've exhausted other possibilities. Women lose years to pain, uncertainty, and mounting medical bills.

Pérez Zaballos decided to do something about it. She founded Endogene.Bio in Paris, bringing together her scientific expertise and personal experience. The startup is working to develop biomarker-based diagnostic tools that could identify endometriosis through simple blood tests or other non-invasive methods.

Why This Inspires

This story represents more than one woman's journey from patient to founder. It's about transforming personal suffering into solutions that could help millions of women get the care they deserve.

When patients become innovators, they bring something pharmaceutical companies often lack: lived experience. Pérez Zaballos understands the frustration, the self-doubt, and the desperate need for answers because she's been there. That empathy drives her mission forward.

The emerging field of endometriosis diagnostics is growing, with several startups now racing to crack this problem. Each one represents years of women's pain being taken seriously by the medical innovation community. Together, they're building a future where women don't have to spend half a decade proving their pain is real.

For the estimated 190 million women living with endometriosis worldwide, better diagnostics could mean earlier treatment, preserved fertility, and finally being believed.

María Teresa Pérez Zaballos turned her five-year nightmare into a mission to ensure other women won't have to wait nearly as long.